Category Archives: Commentary

Quoted: A New Season

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Hello all and happy new year

I was feeling a bit run down by the end of last year and so decided to take a break from social media, which ended up being more long than short. Ah well. I’m back now so onwards and upwards 2013!

The high-maintenance, high-heeled, high-handed approach is looking very Kim Kardashian. Neurotic Chic – a look formerly favoured by many a tense-looking fashion insider here – is giving way to more relaxed codes. Flat shoes – not just lower heels – are everywhere. That’s radical. Flats don’t only make women move differently, they allow them to move fast.

-Lisa Armstrong, The Telegraph

“Nostalgia – it’s delicate, but potent”

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Mad Men – the one that started it all

The 1960s have proven to be an endless source of inspiration for television studios, especially in recent years. Most have pegged it as a need to look back to better times and escape – if only for an hour – from the current political and economic strife.

This nostalgia pervaded the fashion industry as well, and for the past few seasons the runway has seen its share of coquettish kitten heels, sharply cut pencil skirts, billowy blouses, and prom dresses. But  while designers have moved on and are inspired by new things, the demand for 60s style seems to continue.

Britain’s offering – The Hour

TV studios cottoned on to this a while ago and have been innovative in reaching out to consumers and giving them a slice of what they see on screen – costume designers like Mad Men’s Janie Bryant are collaborating with brands to create lines; the merchandising for Pan Am was in place long before the show began airing with the retro flight bag quickly becoming a bestseller.

When flying was fashionable – Pan Am, the newest one

It looks like the love affair with 60s fashion is set to continue, and it may have little to do with the fashion industry.

Image sources:
textually.org
independent.co.uk
dailytruffle.com

 

The Weekly Round-Up {5-9}

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Fashion’s Night Out took place in over 250 cities this year

New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn has come under a lot of fire lately for…well, doing her job really. First, Lady Gaga had a go at her from the pages of V Magazine. Then, Ms. Horyn put together her list of not-to-miss shows this season and in doing so, upset quite a few designers {via New York Times and WWD}

“What slowdown?” says Narayana Ramaswamy, executive director at consulting firm KPMG India, “In India, luxury products are flying off the shelves.” {via Economic Times}

Confused about this season’s trends? You’re not the only one – Tina Gaudoin guides us through the schizophrenia that is A/W 2011 {via Wall Street Journal}

Grace Bonney, the creator of one of our favorite blogs Design Sponge has written a book ‘Design Sponge at Home’ – which we’ve ordered and hope it’s arrived every time the doorbell rings – meanwhile we’re watching this

Image source:
vogue.in

 

In Print: ‘Fashion Week, 10 Years Later: A Bond Forged in Tragedy’

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“It started out as the most exciting morning of my life,” said the maternity designer Liz Lange, who, long before the date, had circled Sept. 11, 2001, on her calendar. Her first fashion show, under the tents of Bryant Park, was scheduled for 9 a.m. that day. “We were in our own little bubble,” she said. “And then, I’d say 10 minutes into the show, I looked around and all of these camera crews were just bolting out the door. I was wondering: ‘Have we done something wrong? How did we go from being the center of the universe to everyone’s leaving?”

- Eric Wilson, New York Times (click to read the article)

I read this article early morning and was moved by the stories of each of these designers, how their hopes and dreams were pinned on this one day and what became of them in the aftermath of 9/11.

A few hours later, there was a terrorist attack in Delhi and while I’ve been so angry with what’s happening to my city, parts of this article kept coming back to me – the hope, support, and solidarity – and I thought I’d share it with you.

The Weekly Round-Up {15-19}

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In our new ‘Blogs we ♥’ series, this week’s feature is Paris versus New York Why? We love the sometimes irreverent, always humorous take on the two cities, told through art.

Designers and the London riots – do you agree? {via Design Observer}

Is this the end of the red soles? The fashion and trademark debate is back {via The Cut}

We love these sketchbooks from Fashionary

The week @CondeElevator came and went {via The Daily Beast}

The top global fashion capitals see London claiming the top spot. Closer home, Bombay comes in at #24 and Delhi at #39 {via The Global Language Monitor}

“Can I tell you how grateful I am to Kate Middleton? Because she is such an advocate for dressing like a lady.” – Anne Hathaway

Enjoy your weekend reading and we’ll see you on Monday!

Image source:
parisvsnys.blogspot.com

 

I Get By with a Little Help…

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It’s a rare thing for a designer to publicly support and recommend another designer’s work so we were happily surprised when we saw this post on footwear designer Tabitha Simmons on Tory Burch’s blog. It’s refreshing to see a designer who is secure in their brand and identity, and is able to appreciate and promote the work of others.

Image source:
toryburch.com

 

Rebuttal

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Over the last few months there have been a number of collaborations between fashion magazines and blogs, be it through interviews or shoots. There’s something fresh about these pieces – a new perspective coupled with insightful comments on the industry and social media. Here are a few glimpses:

Elle India talking to bloggers Elin Kling and Rumi Neely

InStyle UK’s 50 best fashion sites and blogs

Elle UK photoshoot by Tommy Ton (jakandjil)

…and Garance Doré

Marie Claire India talks to Nikhil D (plasticbirdcage)

 

There’s Room For Everyone

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It’s an interesting time to be writing a fashion blog, what with the spat between editors and bloggers reaching civil war territory. In London, at Mark Fast’s show, Sarah Brown – British PM’s wife and senior member of the Fashion Council – lost her seat to a blogger. In Paris, at a fashion show, a blogger wearing a large hat was seated in front of a Grazia journalist, which resulted in this very one-sided article with no bloggers being given a chance to state their point of view.

Robert Johnson, associate editor at GQ, said: “Bloggers are so attractive to the big design houses because they are so wide-eyed and obsessed, but they don’t have the critical faculties to know what’s good and what’s not. As soon as they’ve been invited to the shows, they can no longer criticise because then they won’t be invited back.”

There are so many things wrong with that comment, but I’ll take the most glaring one – underestimating the readers. For most, the idea behind starting a blog is to say something new or say it differently. Blogs that are successful now and are taken seriously as intelligent voices on fashion have been around for a while and slowly built up a readership, largely due to their “critical faculties”. It is only after readership numbers have grown that the fashion industry has taken note of them. Bloggers who have achieved success have done so largely due to their independent thought and are not about to risk it to become a designer’s mouthpiece.

Further, why should the rules be different for editors and bloggers? Through their blogs, writers like Scott Schuman, Garance Doré, and many others have built careers for themselves and are as much part of the fashion industry as editors. Why shouldn’t they be able to speak directly to designers, visit fashion houses, and be invited to shows? If anything, it allows them, and consequently their writing to be more informed.

As Helene Le Blanc of Luxe Chronicles said, “it would be a far more productive debate if, rather than sniping at bloggers…journalists and editors actually engaged bloggers in a genuine dialogue about the state of the industry and the ways in which social media can make fashion a more participative industry.”