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follows the followers?
the wrong: building a brand based on a borrowed identity cole haan is not happening because it is following coach which is following hermes, lv, gucci…. but now, why would they try to brand themselves by combining bottega veneta with burberry? it is not the exact plaid, and they probably think it is a ‘clever’ way to…
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…. she was never given the chance before….
the right: anyone should be given a chance simon cowell: “ok, what’s the dream?” susan boyle: “i am trying to be a professional singer.” simon: “and why haven’t it worked out so far, susan?” susan: “i was never given the chance before….” being a never-been-kissed 47-year-old, this unemployed lady wants to be as successful as elaine…
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flora by gucci by chris cunningham
the right: violently pushing the idea as far as one could while maintaining your identity this is a commercial by chris cunningham, frida giannini, and riccardo runin. the concept is crystal clear; the impact is tremendously direct. in short, this is what fashion at its best could achieve. the ‘feminine’ abbey lee actively affect her surroundings with a…
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first impression
julian macdonald, who is not very high on my designers list, is a great example of how important first impression is. at just 24, he launched himself with some strong airy open knit sweater dresses. karl lagerfeld helped his case by using him for both chanel and his namesake collections. and he has been living…
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same path, no thinking
the wrong: taking ‘inspiration’ so literally and unintelligently anyone really think that bottle-opening buckle would become a fashion icon in the way of the gucci’s horse bit buckle? come on jimmy! (or whoever ‘designing’ it)
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un-reality
the wrong: building a business on a fashion bubble words from the street are that thom browne is in financial trouble. should we be surprised? started in ’01, thom has been hailed as one of the most influential mens designer (along with hedi slimane) of the 21st century. bergdorf goodman was the first to support him; and…
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these soles got the right soul
the right: don’t lost sight of the dna of your company we were more of a black or white converse all-stars person. you will see tons of all-stars on the feet of chain-smoking designers on 7th avenue and 40th street in new york. you know them: they wear really expensive clothes with the 30 bucks…
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maximum effort, minimum impact
the wrong: shameless cross-disciplinary self-promotion without understanding of the field someone should have introduced damien hirst to mcqueen – 10 years ago – to save him the embarrassment. besides, did anyone actually pay any attention (never mind actual dollars) to those hirst’s levi’s? it was a failure with warhol. now, when would levi’s stop doing things for minimum impact?
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paving the path for beth ditto
the right: seeing the future with contemporary art beth ditto is all the rage in fashion nowadays. she is best pal with kate moss. she was seen in the front row at all the major shows. she is on the cover of the new conde nast magazine ‘love’ by katie grand. and you would have seen that coming, if you…
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the next calvin?
the wrong: waiting for the next fashion saviour people are always looking for the next donna, the next ralph, or the next calvin. (sorry tommy, we never consider you a fashion designer) but no one ever acknowledge that there may not be a next big fashion business bearing a designer’s name. consider this: after the big 3, name…
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essay: fashion, art and entertainment – isaac mizrahi 1.0
After a long break from fashion, Isaac is back and strong for a few years, first with Target and now Liz Claiborne. That’s the 2.0 version. Let’s revisit my paper written in the late 90’s. INTRODUCTION This essay is about how fashion design related to the issues of art in the 90’s. The subject…
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the blog and the ambition of kathy horyn
the right: being ambitious enough to push fashion forward relentlessly going to parsons right next to the byrant park more than a decade ago, my friend & classmate, somsack, and i never missed our semiannual chance to sneak into the new york shows. it’s the time of the year that awkward beauties roam the pavement on 7th avenue.…
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80/20
the right: paying attention to the business side of design you would hear fashion people talking about 80/20 all the time. my friend ce ce even named her shoe line 80%20. but what is it? the general name is ‘pareto principle’ – 80% of the result is from 20% of the effort. it means: 20% of…
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the function of fashion
the right: more than just reflecting its time, fashion should react to it as well i went to the burberry outlet last sunday and find this little piece of gem sitting at the corner rag for us 50 bucks. gribbed! ran! paid! i wanted it back in spring ’06 thinking that this editorial piece would…
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no excuses
the right: have faith in your products, unafraid of the perceived ‘adversity’ of the common man the wrong: not returning stolen goods the christies auction of the yves saint laurent and pierre bergé collection yielded a grand total of us$ 484.6 million, the largest private art auction in history. its success showed that when you have the right products, the quality…
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just follow it!
the wrong: blindly following a trend without even trying to understand why waterproof zipper has been hot for a few seasons. but, can someone please educate us on why they would need waterproof zippers on a cotton hoodie? water won’t zip through the zippers for sure, but the only problem is that the cotton fleece…
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being wong kar-wai
the wrong: be burdened by a certain amount of fame, status, or ‘identity’, thus forgetting to improve, to re-invent, and to take risk no doubt he has already wrote his name onto the history books, but judging from his recent and not-so-recent works, i would say being wong kar-wai must be pretty boring these days.…
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lincoln’s idea
a man is nothing without his views and knowing where he stands on issues. and lincoln had both firmly in place. feb 12th marks the bicentennial of lincoln’s birth. and other than his history-defining and world-changing view on slavery and the union, we want to bring this up: ‘while we do not propose any war upon capital,…
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‘de nouveau’ graphic direction
we call it ‘de nouveau’, a redux of art nouveau a century later. more than a 100 years ago, art nouveau was started as a resistance to the messy compositions and the revival tendencies of the victorian era. it was underlined by a particular way of thinking about modern society and new production methods, attempting…