What is wrong with U.S?

I know that this is a subject I have posted on a few times in the past, but last Thursday I spent the bulk of my late afternoon and evening with some tremendously talented young designers. First there was a showcase event at the Soho Grand hotel for many of London's top talents that was hosted by the Centre for Fashion Enterprise or C.F.E. The C.F.E is a non-profit organization that exists solely to assist and promote emerging design talent. The CFE was responsible for organizing and coordinating the designers out to New York. The event was done in partnership with the UKTI (UK Trade and Investment) who helped fund the event, Laforce + Stevens and Grandlife. The New York showcase featured, Jean Pierre Braganza, Hannah Marshall, Aminika Wilmont, Peter Pilotto, and more. It was great to see all of these risk embracing designers who freely play with structure and form and are the vanguard of fashion's future. While I was there, two representatives from the British Consulate stopped by just to ask each individual designer if everything was all right. Here is the difference; if these are American designers, there is no C.F.E, there is no money nor talent devoted to showcasing American design talent abroad, and no way on earth does anybody from the American embassy ever stop by to just check up.
After that it was off to Saks to meet my friend Camilla Skovgaard who is the top up and coming shoe designer in the world. She was ostensibly supposed to be signing sketches and speaking about her collection. Inside joke between Camilla and me...she doesn't sketch her shoes; elements yes; whole shoes no. But she and her wonderful brand manager Angelique did a great job as did all of the superior talented Saks management and staff. If you like shoes and you come to N.Y.C you must go to the 8th floor! While Camilla's venture was financed privately, she also has received a great deal of public assistance as a British educated designer. America leaves it's emerging fashion artists out in the street to starve while they learn the business and if they survive after 5 or more years of hell they may be able to make a modest living. Is it any wonder that the American fashion scene is so stale and lacking in risk?

What are you paying for?

I haven't ranted much lately so I feel compelled to fill that void. When you buy fashion, what are you paying for? The first reaction of most people to clothing and accesories is "I like the way that looks". That's good, that is a logical starting place and fits with what clothing's actual role is in your life. The most common second reaction is a bit more troubling "What does it cost"? Now please understand I am in no way saying that money is not a valid concern when deciding on a purchase. In fact it is precisely because it is such a critical concern that "How much does it cost?" is not the right question. The penetrating question is "what is its value to me?" Let me go inside of my thinking for you. If you see a Trina Turk dress for example this one:


and you think, "wow that dress is so me, I would wear that every week all summer long", and you try it on, and it is flattering and you know that because it is Trina Turk that it is well made then it is worth the $298 dollars. It has a high personal value to you and therefore it is worth the price. If you see something and you think, that would be my go to outfit for job interviews or formal events then that sets its value. Whether or not you can afford it is decided by looking at your bank statement not at the price tag.
Seth F.

F/W 09 is writ

New York, London, Milan, and Paris. Thousands and thousands of designs in less than a month. It takes a bit of time to retract your focus and try to see a big picture. Ultimately what we see on the catwalks is a reaction, sometimes it is a reaction to the world and other times it is a reaction that is born from the designers world. The events of this past year and the cascade of catastrophes that have occurred in relentless succession from them, have of course commanded nearly everyone's focus. Many designers react along similar lines and so they create what most call trends. I refuse to use the term because in modern fashion journalism that term has come to mean something that you must follow and their is nothing in style you should follow except for your eye and your instinct. That having been said here is what my instinct forecasts; 90% of the designers reacted to the collapse by creating fashions that went one of two ways. One, they were more layered or structured and created the effect of insulating or armouring the wearer. This would include the tremendous volume of leather fashions that were all over the runways. The other reaction was to create cleaner simpler some might even say starker looks. How should you react to that? In any way you choose of course, I urge people to take this summer season and all the seasons that follow and create distinctive looks that are uniquely theirs. No one else is you, so you really should be able to execute a fairly unique look by just D.I.Y'ing. Oh also please, please, please, please, please...please stop borrowing from the past and calling it the future. It doesn't work like that, we have the perfect time this summer to begin to change things in this world. Let's all start by dressing for ourselves and being loudly us.

Making manifest my manifesto

I do not qualify my tastes, I believe in what I believe in and say so. My mind is not closed to learning, but at 42 I have enough experience and learning to have the right to speak my mind and be respected for what I say. This is what I believe:

We are at the close of what has been a liminal time in design. The convergence of the new world community brought about by shifting populations and borders, and global cultural sharing is creating many new aesthetics. The emergence of new fabrics and textile techniques are allowing designers to do things that were never before possible. With this nova of creative possibility before us, any designer who clings to the past will become a footnote. This is not a time to be inspired by history, that time will come again but it is not now. The future arrives when the present is severed from the past. The future always belongs to the bold and so it is now. If I have seen a piece of fashion before, no matter how well executed it may be, it bores me. Distinct, attention grabbing fashion is the future. Change is not genteel, it is not polite, it simply happens and leaves debate to others while it moves on. The next wave of revolution in thought and creativity is happening now. Those that will define this time are those that will grab the lenses of the world and say "pay attention to me." Not out of ego, but from a faith in oneself and a demand to be heard. Dress different, think different, accept nothing that currently exists without inspection. The last time the human race was in such a place it created, "The Age of Enlightenment", which was based on the core idea that reason was the way to improve humanity. Now we must free ourselves from the shackles of fear and doubt, now we must create "The Age of Fearlessness" Designers, design for it and clients dress it.

Nina Ricci, Theyskens ascends and Ghesquiere's lyrical beauty

Olivier Thesykens' potentially final collection for Nina Ricci was a major step forward in his development as a designer. His departure looks increasingly likely, and his brilliant fall/winter collection makes this possibility more intriguing. The specific reason that I feel that Theyskens has moved in to the upper echelon of designers is the balance that is obvious in this collection. Theyskens has always had the boldness of a designer who loves to create new shapes and structures. But with this collection there is a smoothness and an undeniable elegance in his designs. These clothes shine in their gem like brilliance, naturally fiery but refined.

There are a few designers whose collections I look forward to with heart racing anticipation. Nicholas Ghesquiere's efforts for Balenciaga always get me feverishly excited. The thing that makes it worth it season after season is he never disappoints. Ghesquiere as always is distinctive and often effortlessly elegant. This Fall/Winter collection is no different, beautifully draped skirts mixed with body flattering tops. He also featured some ethereally asymmetrical dresses colored with a soft palette yet still possessing great visual impact. Another imperial effort from this French fashion royalty.
Seth F.

Parisian boldness

Paris, Rue De Maile's Martine Sitbone is a fantastic designer that not a lot of Americans are familiar with. She, like many of the designers I favor, loves to play around with shape and structure. Unlike some however she does not so much deconstruct a traditional form but rather she reconstructs them. The height of a waist on a balloon skirt is a bit higher than normal or the placement of a contrasting color panel is higher on the chest or extends on to the shoulder in an unusual way. Sitbone's understanding of how details impact a viewers interest is to be applauded.

Gareth Pugh's aesthetic is so strong that he does not end up "re" doing anything. He may start off with a traditional form but he has such a unique vision that it ends up being unmistakably new. Although this collection was very dark it was dark in a rich way, it was the fashion equivalent of a cup of fresh Kona. You could call his work fearless but the referent would point to an empty space. I get the sense that he has no fear, not that he overcomes it.

Finally, I want to use Agatha Ruiz De La Prada's designs in specific to point something out about fashion in general. With non traditional designers there is a seam in the sand that fashion reviewers generally draw. On the good side is "avant Garde", challenging, and revolutionary. On the bad side you will find the words costume and unwearable. What then do you say about a designer whose works are so consistently wild that theatrical costume is her aesthetic? Agatha Ruiz De La Prada is exactly that designer. It is easy to accuse her of creating clothes that "no one would wear" but I think she would laugh in your face. I decided while viewing her collection that if I ever did see one of her whimsical and flirty designs on the street I will walk up to the woman wearing it and hug her for making my day brighter.

Seth F.

New interview with shoe designer Camilla Skovgaard

I am so proud of my interview with Camilla Skovgaard. Talking with her under the tent at Bryant Park was just such an amazing experience. She is a force and I am so happy I got to speak with her. Read all about it here http://whatshaute.com/?cat=403

Moschino to the rescue!

I feel clean, Moschino's F/W collection was just the cleansing breath that my fashion senses needed. The clothes were cut boldly and experimentation in shape and structure was a strong theme. But my favorite element was how romantic the designs were. Head designer Rosella Jardini flawlessly executed a balancing act between darkly poetic romanticism and a lighter more frivolous tone. Gorgeous and elegantly cut designs were done in shinning black fabrics adorned with deep, rich red roses and hearts. Ruffles mixed with formal fabrics that were cut with wide bottoms and sharply defined waists. Bold collars and lapels were in sharp contrast with lace and toile and other softer touches. These are clothes that I would love to buy for all of my friends, and what higher compliment can I give?
Seth F.