week 11: on fashion forecasting.

This is obviously over simplifying it but, essentially there is really only one trend and it takes on different forms but it goes like this: There is a norm. There are people that like to push against the norm (usually rebellious youth or fringe culture). Those people push and get more and more people to join them until that is the norm, then the pushers start pushing back the other way. It can be seen anywhere, names, colors, hemlines, facial hair, diets, basically anything people make decisions about. So whatever is considerered really ugly or bad by the norm will be a trend before you know it. I mean the thought of skinny jeans when I was in high school (90's) was the most laughable thought, yet popular in the 80's and 2000's. in the 20's the general public notion was to conserve and reuse and care for possessions and keep them for a long time. In the 60's the general thought was disposable, easy, convenient, available, out of sight=out of mind. Now conserving, reusing, and long-term quality is becoming in fashion again. The length of the ping and pong is different for each variable, but the concept is constant.

So when we look at a designer like John Galliano, we still see trends emerge within his own body of work, shifting from edgy/scary badass to sexy/soft darling and back or combining different components of different era's to create  new styles. There is still an ebb and flow to it even if it's not dictated by an outer contemporary source. He's got the whole bag of tricks up his sleeve and in choosing which tricks to pull out when, he influences the broader global concept of what's in. He's a pusher. Even if it looks like he "didn't hold to a lot of trend" it would be naive to think that what is popular isn't influencing him, because obviously he's not going to put something down the runway that has recently been done, so he has to know what is in vogue so he can push it!

Ali's response:

Very well put - no matter how avant garde the designer there is always a trend followed to a certain degree -if nothing else the color palette at least. There is too much money depending on a collection to leave it to the free will of the designer - he/she would not want that risk and responsibility either. It might sound sad in a certain way that there is always a sort of compromise but that is how fashion is as an art form. It has to really relate to to the pulse of its customer. Fashion forecasting allows us to feel that pulse better.

10.1:Let me hold your crown, babe.

This collection juxtaposes visual structure against easy wearablilty. The fabrics are stretch denims and jerseys, breathable, comfortable, classic. A woman can wear these clothes and look put together but also move around and be active and productive in a busy life. The clothes are simple but fun. The inspiration started with the song "King of Anything" by Sara Bareilles and branched out from the imagery I derived from the song. The pieces could be easily mixed and matched for many more outfits. The red and gold fabrics are shiny and they look more like the color swatches at a diagonal angle. So shooting it head on makes the colors not match. I just wanted to address it because it annoys me.

 Ali's comments:

The project has come out nice - i really love the mood board with the artsy feel to it and the collection shows a nice balance of creativity and restraint. Your flats have really improved though some minor technical mistakes like fly seams. I also really like the super flat rendering of the garments though i don't think that effect translates well to skin and hair - I think an exact opposite (very loose skin/hair rendering) combined with very flat precise clothing might give interesting results.

9.2 sweater flats

I think this would be a lot more interesting (to do, and to look at) on a slightly to much larger scale. My tiniest pen ran out so I'll be going out for more tomorrow!!

9.1 project 2 continued

I took the designs with positive feedback and did variations on each. The possibilities are virtually endless.

on licensing, ridden with cliche and cynicism

Designer Soyon An Links With Baby Phat

This chick is all over. Pop, country, hip hop, if it's in the limelight, Sohon An is behind the scenes making people look good.
Reading articles about licensing just drives home why this is not the industry for me. It's so convoluted. Like fine art or pretty much any creative endeavor today, the whole market has been pluralized. Everyones got a hand in 20 different cookie jars. In this world of corporation and liabilities, I can see why designers would want to have sort of multiple business identities, so that if one takes a hit, the others can still keep the money rolling in.
I can't decided if this has saved the fashion industry or destroyed it but clearly it has fractured it if nothing else. With the horizontal and vertical conglomerates, it's such a messy tangled web, most consumers are clueless. Where does one even begin to try to figure it out?
My experience in this byzantine business structure is more in the health food industry. In order to know who is who and what they are all doing you really have to be actively seeking out information all the time. For example, long time patrons of a company, say like Burt's Bees, family run business, gets bought by Clorox. The average American (granted probably doesn't care, but almost definitely) doesn't know that, they sure don't repackage it to say "now corporate!" People keep mindlessly buying the product that they think is "all-natural" "small business" etc, but really they are putting money into pockets of very not-healthy-for-the-planet people...
But between horizontal and vertical collaborations, licensing, multiple labels/price points/markets, my head is spinning. I know a lot more about designers and the history of fashion than I did 2 years ago, but I feel like I've barely chipped a snowflake off the tip of the iceberg. I can't help but wonder what a course like this will be like in 30 years. How will they keep it all straight? All the simultaneous things that are happening?

8.2 flats- jackets and coats

8.1 20 looks - project 2