-
fashion shows
the right: viktor & rolf online show last season new york is kicking off the fall ’09 shows next week. with all the cancellations, we really don’t understand why they don’t produce online shows. one word: technophobia. we can understand why fashion editors don’t like this format; online shows lessen the ‘importance’ and the elitism of the fashion…
-
co-incident?
on the left, we have the charles james anorak from the 70’s. on the right, we have the martin margiela ‘vest’ from the fall 08 couture show. and i am not saying he is copying….
-
the tools
some use boxing gloves for their jobs, others use machine guns. our tools are simpler but just as important. pencils are never used because there is no discipline to graphite. it makes people drawing 2 lines but only thinking once. with a pen, the opposite happens – thinking twice before drawing a single line. pentel r.s.v.p…
-
the revenge of alber elbaz
yves saint laurent not only left us with lots of revolutionary fashion ideas, but also made sure we are in good hands by handpicking then-little known hedi slimane to continue his menswear and alber elbaz to carry on with his womenswear. we all know that elf sanafi sold ysl to the gucci group in 2001,…
-
why coco chanel might be responsible for streetwear…
t-shirt is a staple of streetwear. it’s hard to imagine streetwear could exist without it. i mean, could you see all the street kids just wearing a cap and a shirt with jeans? t-shirt is made from cotton jersey (named for the island of ‘jersey’, between england and france). the fabrics was originally made of wool.…
-
essay: thoughts on originality
being original was very important to me and my classmates when we were in parsons school of design in the late 90’s. however, i came across an interesting article on design addict a few years back. it opened my eyes and formed part of my aesthetics. with the author’s permission, here is the original piece: …
-
what’s wrong with this picture?
these are the pre-fall collections of 2009. and they are not from the same designer. so why do they look the same? if the labels fall off, you wouldn’t know which hi-end fashion house to return them to! richard chai? nina ricci? ungaro? matthew williamson? or proenza schouler? it used to be a geographical problem; they should…
-
another word on style
i think miss vreeland might agree with e.b. white and me. “design is an act of faith, not a trick of gimmick.” “style is the designer, and therefore what you are, rather than what you know, will at last determine your style. if you design, you must believe – in the truth and worth of…
-
a market of one? or everyone?
the element of style is a great book for anyone who wants to write. i just didn’t expect that it can help a designer as well. on the last page, e.b. white concludes, “it is now necessary to warn you that your concern for the reader must be pure: you must sympathize with the reader’s…
-
vogue fading out of vogue?
the new york times fashion critic cathy horyn is always insightful and inspirational. here is her take on the rumor of miss wintour being replaced at american vogue: http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/01/style/01anna.php seeing though the juicy speculation, miss horyn managed to add depth to it. there is grace mirabella’s observation that we’ve “got a fashion market that doesn’t…
-
shanghai & fashion
during my trip to shanghai last week, i was curious to see the local fashion creations. by chance, i found them on both change le lu and xin le lu. names like even penniless, liu2, na(too), ne!ther nor (onebyone), estune, jade en plus are all part of the emerging scene. as items, the garments are…
-
say it loud and say it proud
egon schiele hedi slimane zaha hadid moët et chandon louise bourgeois loewe if you can’t pronounce it, go to pronounce it right. look under ‘categories’, ‘brands’ and ‘fashion’ are right there. can you say ‘ha ha’?
-
out of time and out of touch
next to the ceos, the pr department should be the first one to be fired. the american auto big (ego) 3 were begging for money from the government for a bailout, and the 3 ceos had to fly there by 3 different private jets? they couldn’t share 1 plane? they couldn’t ‘downgrade’ to fly first class?…
-
h&m comme des garçons: maximizing a single idea
you could say that the clothes are disappointing, the hype overbearing, or the wait exhausting, but we should notice 3 other points: 1 – was it a coincidence that kawakubo timed both collaborations – lv and h&m – so closed together? 2 – the picking of the simple concepts – polka dots – is…
-
couture
fashion is mainly an old world technician. some loves being inspired by the vintage pieces or an ancient-period theme. most are proud to use the century-year-old unchanged embroidery and beading methods. how exciting could it be? those who are really moving garment forwards are the sportlifestyle brands such as puma and adidas. just like at…
-
obama
on nov 4 2008 to be something great, he showed african-americans don’t have to be funny, to entertain, and to play sports to succeed. they, too, can aspire to the highest office. to be something great, chinese don’t have to copy, to knockoff, and to sell fakes to succeed. we, too, can aspire to the luxury…
-
aesthetics
all respected designers not only reflect his/her times, but they also push through a new aesthetics creatively and commercially. think nicolas ghesquiere, rei kawakubo, halston, yves saint laurent, balenciaga, coco chanel,….