The 1970s were a pretty crazy time in New York. There was Berlin in the 1920s, and Paris in the 1930s, and New York in the 1970s. The orgy campaign started with me thinking about Studio 54. People ask me if it was really like that. Probably, yeah... But what is happening in the culture does not give anyone the right to act in an abusive way. | | | | Adorned, Vogue 1977.
(Deborah Turbeville/Condé Nast Collection/Getty Images) | | | | | | “The 1970s were a pretty crazy time in New York. There was Berlin in the 1920s, and Paris in the 1930s, and New York in the 1970s. The orgy campaign started with me thinking about Studio 54. People ask me if it was really like that. Probably, yeah... But what is happening in the culture does not give anyone the right to act in an abusive way.”
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| | rantnrave:// I'll never forget when, while delivering a talk at MOMA PS1, hypertext pioneer TED NELSON said that technology is really just "the available options." Fashion has one of the most fascinating histories with the available options throughout time: backstrap looms, needle and thread, the SINGER sewing machine, and the JACQUARD loom are all technologies used to create fashion, not so far removed from INSTAGRAM's algorithm feed and the latest APPLE devices. So the "fashion and tech" space has been useful, and in other ways, it corners itself off by too heavily self-categorizing. Because it's all technology. Even heavily polluting dye processes and old selvedge denim machines: technology. It's been interesting to see some #fashiontech experiments begin to depart from being strictly software. That's not to take anything away from AR skin analysis, AI recommendations, virtual closets, and the like, but seeing innovation happen at the production level (which yeah, includes software too) has broad implications for how people think about fashion. I'll admit, many people still seem to think clothes fall from the heavens unto the store floor—but there seem to be subtle shifts in that mindset too. From the GOOGLE x LEVI's connected jacket, which makes use of conductive fibers, to engineered spider silk, innovative materials are changing how apparel is made and worn. Other technologies lower environmental impact, like 3D knitting and lab-grown leather. And partnerships with labels like STELLA MCCARTNEY seem to be turning the tide away from #fashiontech as a gadget-heavy category into something more holistic. It takes a perfect storm of design, function, desirability, talent, and investment to make these things happen, so we'll see. Will tech-driven R&D see wider adoption in fashion? FashionSET: Pioneering Materials: Fashion and Tech... GUCCI is surging, combining that rare quality in fashion where it looks good on the runway and on a bar chart. CEO MARCO BIZZARRI revealed at the WWD SUMMIT that the company has a "shadow committee" of millennial advisors that it consults. As MARC BAIN reports, Bizzarri emphasizes a "bottom-up approach," with open lines of communication to executives. He quoted PETER DRUCKER, saying "Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” That sounds a lot to me like how some tech companies are organized: de-emphasing hierarchy and promoting open communication where everyone is free to pitch ideas... Speaking of different ways of doing business, don't miss this feature on RESONANCE NYC, which aims to put power back in the hands of creatives in fashion... ICYMI: VIRGIL ABLOH lectures at HARVARD DESIGN today... SEARS brings back its print catalog... UNDERCOVER and THE SOLOIST will be the next guest designers showing at PITTI in January 2018. | | | - HK Mindy Meissen, curator |
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| While Terry Richardson has become the poster child for fashion’s sexual harassment problem, photographers, editors, stylists, casting directors and others are known to routinely engage in misconduct in an industry where power dynamics disadvantage young women. | | |
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| In a 463-page tome, the designer looks back on his experience pushing boundaries. | | |
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| The crowdfunding platform made fashion accessible to newcomers with different, weird, and Romphimy ideas. | | |
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| 2015 was a tough year for designer Gaby Basora. Her brand, Tucker, had seen a successful run, bringing in around $8 million in wholesale revenue, but had shut down for four years after a fire wiped out a full collection. She had then cold-called Lawrence Lenihan, Resonance co-CEO, after meeting him years prior and exchanging business cards. | | |
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| The struggling department store chain tests customer and employee recommendations at a New Jersey location before rolling them out nationwide. | | |
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| Dries Van Noten measures out his working life in fashion shows rather than years and in March 2017, the 59-year-old Belgian designer -- recently made a baron by King Philippe -- marked his 100th catwalk show in his own inimitable way. | | |
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| Subscription clothing services should make you feel great. Shouldn’t they? Oh God, wait, is it you? | | |
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| CEO Marco Bizzarri explains Gucci's remarkable turnaround. | | |
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| Jake Hall argues why the fashion industry has to change in light of email leaks revealing Terry Richardson has been banned from working for Condé Nast. | | |
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| From Manish Arora’s international appeal to the youthful French twist at Atlein and Jacquemus, designers conquer the language barrier. | | |
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| L'Ecole Van Cleef & Arpels is sharing the art of fine jewelry with the general public. | | |
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| You've probably seen those ads paid for by America's Cotton Producers and Importers: Smiling couples and families are pictured roaming the great American outdoors with that ubiquitous slogan: "Cotton, the fabric of our lives." Of course, that line is a misnomer-cotton is a fiber, like wool or flax-not a fabric. | | |
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| Jack McCollough, Lazaro Hernandez and Judd Crane tell BoF how Proenza Schouler White Label (PSWL) will open the brand to a broader audience. | | |
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| You’ll need a smart lock and Amazon’s new Cloud Cam. | | |
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| "What's your favourite animal?" is not usually a relevant question, but in the case of Alice Shirley, it stands. Headhunted while still a student at the prestigious Royal Drawing School in east London, Shirley has been designing scarves for Hermès since 2012, most of which feature exquisitely rendered animals, in all their multi-hued, multi-patterned glory. | | |
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| While retail adjusts to harsh reality, tech(-ish) startups live in fantasy land. | | |
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| The idea that retailers can shrink their way to prosperity is misguided. In fact, more times than not, it only serves to hasten their inevitable demise. | | |
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| Watch out, British influencers. The Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) has its eyes on sponsored social media posts and is willing to take action as indicated by a string of recent activity. The latest matter involves "Geordie Shore" and "Celebrity Big Brother" cast member Marnie Simpson. | | |
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| Aesop and others realize that modern brand building lies in meeting today's new consumer in the places they are: the hotel, the restaurant, the boutique. Now the onus is on CPGs to unlock new channels to break out of stalled growth. | | |
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| To shave or not to shave? At the start of the twentieth century, a trend away from facial hair reflected dramatic social and economic shifts. | | |
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