Milan Causes Fashion Week Drama

Diane Von Furstenburg, President of the CFDA

Paris Fashion Week ended less than a week ago, and already the drama has begun. Usually, it is about designers switching houses or editors at magazines. Well, not this year. The issue comes from Milan.

Fashion weeks are orchestrated by a reigning fashion authority of some sort that determines the parameters of the industry within each country or city. For example, in the US, the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) makes major decisions about helping young designers and nurturing the industry in America. The BFC (British Fashion Council) serves the same purpose in the United Kingdom, and so on.

Days after the conclusion of fashion week, the Camera Nazionale della Moda (Milan’s equivalent of the BFC and CFDA) announced the dates for Milan Fashion Week’s 2013 spring collections. The dates are September 19-25, which would push up Milan FW a whole week, therefore, intruding on the end of New York FW and essentially overlapping with London FW.

And Showmanship Returns

Last Wednesday, the final leg of fashion week began in Paris. Already, there have been amazing showings, particularly from Balenciaga and Haider Ackermann. There are still many more highly anticipated shows to come (Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, to name a few).

Every fashion week, designers make decisions on how to best showcase their collections, and at times those choices are made because of costs and budgets. Fashion shows including the full production of music, runways and large seating areas, are the most expensive. Established, aka wealthy fashion houses, almost always utilize this option because it allows more room for press, editors and buyers. Other show options include presentations or photo shoots.

The whole point of having a fashion show is not only to showcase the garments, but also to create or help pronounce brand identity through music and décor. Everything about the fashion show is to make the collection and brand look as appealing as possible. With that in mind, many designers navigate safe water in an attempt to either present a sober idea in a clean, concise show. However, there have always been designers who believe in showmanship.

Is Fashion Up in the Air?

Fashion week is still in motion, and with that comes a lot of information.  One of the most interesting factors about fashion and its seasonal changes is how designers perceive the moment. How do they capture the time we live in? How does it translate into garments? What do you and I want to look like in six months? These are all questions that designers grapple with when working on new collections. They have to figure out a direction, a way to move forward from what they have already done.

Prada Spring 2011

Oftentimes, there is a seasonal coherence where the collections as a whole look incredibly similar. There is a general wave of interpretation of which the color palettes are similar and the shapes and perceptions of the body are united in one direction.  The shift is usually a bit gradual or can be marked by a strong break such as a “Monkey Business” Prada collection or Phoebe Philo Céline collection that brings pajama dressing to minimalism.

Kanye West: The Designer?

Since the beginning of his career, Kanye has made it a point to showcase a discourse of style through his personal appearances and music videos. Since 2008, he has made one of the most legitimate celebrity entrances into the fashion arena.

The most common error celebrities commit when considering a design career is the desire for another hyphen (e.g. actor-singer-fashion designer). They propagate the misconception that fashion is not a career that demands study and a particular skill set, not an industry full of vapid shallow individuals.

Kanye’s first formal step was to intern at Fendi under the tutelage of Karl Lagerfeld, which is obviously not where most begin, but definitely an incredible opportunity. From there, began his collaborations with Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton. Eventually, he released his popular sneaker, the Air Yeezy.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Gets Scandal-Ass in Miami

It was the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week for swimwear in Miami this week, which means only one thing: skin.  Oh yes, the Miami heat upped the ante with cheek-bearing bottoms for men, putting the term “Speedo” to shame and an incentive to getting married in, get this, bridal bikinis. Do we really need that? Yes, yes we do. Thanks to Beach Bunny Swimwear for that cascading bow on my ass.

And an even bigger thank you to Sonia Vera—a hottie herself—for fulfilling every man’s dream on the beach by designing bikinis that show a lady’s apple bottoms. DSquared and Versace have designed uber tighty-whiteys for those who like to hang-three, uh I mean, hang-ten beach side surfers and tanners alike.

YSL Flies Above All the Drama

 

style.com

 

Fashion week (a.k.a. month) is over. The entire emotional circuit ran its course: the apprehension at seeing the new ideas, new trends, the joy or disappointment at shows.

The next phase is going through all the collections, picking the most interesting ideas and forecasting what the public will want. During this phase, another phenomenon starts up: rumors float about designers’ futures.

In fashion, as in most creative enterprises, nothing is guaranteed. Every collection, every season, is a test. Designers are constantly pushed to achieve more, to stun, to innovate. This is even more true now that corporate giants run the industry.

 

style.com

 

That said, Stefano Pilati, creative director of Yves Saint Laurent, was said to be on his way out after this collection. But the reviews are in and Pilati is saved. He tapped into the quintessential YSL style and exceeded all other designers’ attempts to bring back the legend. Pilati proved that this is where he belongs, signed with YSL for another three years, and stopped the rumor mill.

~Nadjma Sajo

Nina Garcia Doesn’t Know What Diversity Means

“I think there’s diversity already. I think it’s been a little bit blown up out of proportion.” -Nina Garcia

Entertainment Weekly

We are in the middle of fashion weeks (month, actually), and the usual issues come up. The race issue is always up there, and for good reason. I usually don’t really pay attention to it, but this Nina Garcia comment annoyed the shit out of me.

Nina Garcia was Fashion Director at Elle for 13 years until she took up the position at Marie Claire in 2008. She’s been a judge on Project Runway since season 1. I’ve always admired her taste and her approach to fashion. I actually think she is great at what she does.

But this statement makes no sense and seems completely unfounded. Where is she seeing all this diversity? Just because she is Hispanic and has succeeded in the industry doesn’t mean there’s diversity. And to be frank, she barely counts as diversity simply because she looks very European. She has a look that is accepted and valued. It goes along with why models like Gisele and Adriana Lima don’t count as diversity; they fit right along with the eurocentric standards of beauty created by the fashion industry.

Every season the race debate comes back, because every season there is a grave underrepresentation of non-white models on the runways, which reflects the industry itself. The runways this fashion week are no more diverse than in previous years. Caucasian models still dominate. There was not a single runway where Caucasian models were not featured.

Jezebel

Diversity is a great term, and everyone wants to be able to say that they are diverse by incorporating a few “exotic” faces here and there. But that’s the issue: white should not be the standard by which  everyone else is judged. It should not be a shock every time you see a black, Asian, or Latina model. It needs to not be a big deal if at ONE fucking show there are more non-white models walking.

Some might think the issue is “blown out of proportion,” but that’s just because people hate talking about this—and especially hate being called out.

~Nadjma Sako

An Open Letter to Tom Ford

Fashionologie

Dear Tom Ford,

I love you. You brought Gucci back to the forefront of the fashion world after years of bankruptcy and tabloid dramas. Gucci had lost its place among the most respected and desired brands in fashion. In 1994, you became creative director and took control of the entire company. You created a new Gucci image by controlling every detail of the business. You took us out of grunge and brought back the glamour and the sex.

Your years at Gucci were considered a new golden age in fashion after the passing of Gianni Versace and the end of the supermodels. The excitement was back and we couldn’t get enough. Fast forward to 2004; the Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR) luxury group buys Gucci. There is a dispute over creative control of the company and you decide to peace the fuck out. We are heartbroken, what will we do now, who will guide us? It’s alright; you’ll come back to us somehow.

2005, you start the TOM FORD brand where you take on menswear. You are brilliant, naturally. We love your menswear, but we still feel left out. We want to partake in the genius too.

This brings me to my point. We are in 2010. Last Sunday, after months and months of speculation, you finally showed a women’s ready-to-wear collection. The show was very much on the down low, you did not publicize or even invite us. You requested the top of the crop in models, celebrities, and editors. You supposedly had your guests and all involved sign non-disclosure agreements. You made Terry Richardson the solitary photographer. That’s cool. But then I find out he can’t release the pictures until January.

Fashionista

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? WHAT THE FUCK do you mean until January?! After all this time, after all the anticipation, after all the love we’ve shown you, this is how you repay us?

You gave some bullshit explanation about how the internet has ruined fashion, how fast fashion is not the way to go, and how you don’t want us to get bored by the clothes. Get the fuck out of here, you are fucking Tom Ford. That would not happen. We will jizz now, we will jizz in six months, and we will jizz when the next collection comes.

Admit it, you just like control and attention.

Love,

Nadj

~Nadjma Sako

“Fashion for Relief” Relieves

Naomi Campbell is infamous for assaulting various individuals with an array of mobile devices. But last week the supermodel turned activist was all up in the media for a more positive reason. Campbell successfully organized the Fashion for Relief charity catwalk show that went down on February 12th in Bryant Park to raise money for the reconstruction effort in Haiti.