Our overall marketing strategy has always been to try and do the opposite of what everyone else is doing and to challenge the status quo of this assumed set of rules that the fashion world operates in. It’s an imaginary set of rules that everyone abides by, and for many years it definitely worked. But it’s been very obvious that that old way of communicating is not really relevant these days.
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Pleats, thank you. Issey Miyake A/W 1994-95, March 7, 1994.
(Thierry Orban/Sygma/Getty Images)
Wednesday - May 03, 2017 Wed - 05/03/17
rantnrave:// With recent headlines about FTC warnings to influencers and the pay-to-play looks at the MET GALA, tensions between culture and commerce continue. ALEKS EROR argues that buying and selling of mass-produced goods means that streetwear is not a subculture. True enough, fan communities are often the least critical of being marketed and sold to, and in the case of streetwear, they often have their own profits to turn by buying and selling in secondary markets. Whether or not that's culture is up for debate... Authenticity and artifice have been at issue in fashion for centuries. But the latest round of critique might accurately reflect a broader condition in which the boundlessness of advertising leaves people feeling bombarded and suspicious. Enter ad creep. MARK BARTHOLOMEW makes a compelling case for regulation. The next step is to ask "what next?" If advertising is failing, who is accountable? Are all ads bad, or is it poor execution? There's a huge opportunity for inventiveness here, from both a regulatory and commercial standpoint... RAG & BONE CEO MARCUS WAINWRIGHT says he wants to dispense with the rules of fashion marketing and commissioned a short film to spread awareness about the label. PROENZA SCHOULER installed a kind of in-store book club to connect customers with the designers' inspiration... The proposed rezoning of NYC's GARMENT DISTRICT is a complicated issue—there are as many people invested in the status quo as there are people who benefit from moving operations to BROOKLYN. There's a cultural aspect as well: the Garment District is part of NYC heritage and has been popularized through media. Does that offer additional motivation to save it? The options, which have amounted to "stay" or "go," don't leave much room for compromise—yet. Stay tuned... Cheers to i-D for looking at SEOUL street style from a cultural perspective... From COACH to conglomerate.
- HK Mindy Meissen, curator
above the fold
The Business of Fashion
France at a Crossroads: Fashion Reflects on a Monumental Election
by Vikram Alexei Kansara
France is choosing between presidential contenders with radically different visions. What’s at stake for the luxury industry? BoF caught up with the French fashion elite at the 32nd Hyères Festival.
The Washington Post
James Scully's radical idea for the fashion industry: Treat models like human beings
by Robin Givhan
The outspoken casting director has become and advocate for diversity and protecting the rights of young models.
The New York Times
Rei Kawakubo, the Nearly Silent Oracle of Fashion
by Matthew Schneier
The 74-year-old designer, now the subject of a major show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, prefers to let her clothes speak for themselves.
StyleZeitgeist Mag
Comme des Garçons at the Met
by Eugene Rabkin
One of the several questions that came to me as I was leaving the press preview of the “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between” show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was, “Who is this exhibit for?” Or, to reframe it in broader context, what is the role of museums today?
Racked
Brands Are a Lot More Responsible for Terrible Factory Conditions Than They Want You to Think
by Nandita Raghuram
We shouldn't be surprised that fast fashion is at fault here.
The New York Times
The Late-Night Fashion Wars
by Guy Trebay
The suit is not dead. Colbert, Fallon, Noah and Kimmel are seeing to that.
High Snobiety
Let’s Stop Pretending That Streetwear Is a Subculture
by Aleks Eror
In our latest op-ed, we look at the reasons why streetwear doesn't qualify as a subculture - even though some would argue that it does.
Wallpaper* Magazine
Cutting room: behind the scenes of Rei Kawakubo’s Met Fifth Avenue show
by Alexander Fury
This summer, the work of Rei Kawakubo, founder and creative director of Comme des Garçons, is the subject of an exhibition at the Costume Institute of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Bloomberg
Could Coach Be the Next LVMH?
by Shelly Banjo
The handbag maker wants to do more than just restore its brand.
Fast Company
Can We Stop Ad Creep?
by Alex Pasternack
Places that used to be ad-free--from the living room to our friendships--are now becoming sites for ads or surveillance designed to make them more effective.
pique
i-D Magazine
the secret meanings behind seoul's outlandish street style trends
by Tim Chan
Rebelling against the constrictions of conformity and uniform dressing, young Koreans are taking to the streets in extreme pastiched looks.
Glossy
The fashion industry fights to preserve Manhattan's garment district
by Bethany Biron
The garment district is under even more duress as the result of a proposed redistricting plan put into action by Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s administration, with the support of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, that has the potential to relocate the area to Brooklyn.
New York Post
Why Sixth Avenue is the jack of all trades
by Steve Cuozzo
If “retail is [bleeped], plain and simple,” as developer-landlord Billy Macklowe said last week, Sixth Avenue -- its entire, nearly four-mile length -- hasn’t gotten the memo. From Franklin Street, where “Avenue of the Americas” is born amid a confusing traffic tangle, all the way to Central Park South, Sixth has many fewer vacancies than any other Manhattan boulevard below 86th Street.
The Washington Post
Skip the ‘fast fashion,’ and other first-job wardrobe advice from an expert
by Robin Givhan
Higher-quality clothes last longer and help the environment. Plus, you’ll look and feel good.
AnOther
Introducing the Young Designer Transforming Ordinary Clothes
by Helena Fletcher
We sit down with Central Saint Martin's graduate Stefan Cooke, whose graduate collection presented an extraordinary series of optical illusions
i-D Magazine
Step Into The Surreal Seaside World Of Rottingdean Bazaar
by Charlotte Gush
James Theseus Buck and Luke Brooks’s label may be shaking up the London fashion scene, but they don’t work in the capital. i-D visited their studio in the seaside town they call home.
R / D
RETRO READ: Authenticity and artifice
by Mark Pimlott
Why is authenticity in architecture an issue?
Fast Company
Here's Why The PR Industry Is Failing
by Marcus Baram
A public relations veteran shares his thoughts on the current state of the industry--and what it can do better.
Reuters
Blackstone's GSO snaps up J. Crew debt in restructuring gambit
by Jessica DiNapoli
GSO Capital Partners, private equity firm Blackstone Group LP's (BX.N) credit arm, is acquiring more of J. Crew Group Inc's debt, hoping for a profitable trade that could also give the U.S. fashion retailer more time to stave off bankruptcy, people familiar with the matter said.
Fast Company
American Giant Is Ready To Think Outside The Hoodie
by Elizabeth Segran
Famous for its high-quality hoodies, the brand is expanding with dresses, pants, and jackets. Can it convince American consumers to buy U.S.-made gear?
MUSIC OF THE DAY
YouTube
"Pawdy"
2nd II None feat. Hamm
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