WAR.WORN.FASHION

A Little #Fashion Public Service Announcement

The more you know…

This week has been a hectic one so far. IFB Conference was yesterday and the beginning of fashion week in New York City.

Today was the official start of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and all around, fashionistas were scattering to runway shows across town. Between New York Fashion Week shows (aka the presentations outside of Lincoln Center and the Tents), Nolcha Fashion Week, MADE (aka all the presentations held at Milk Studios in the Meatpacking District), and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (aka the actual shows that occur at Lincoln Center), it’s a wonder how fashion bloggers, editors, stylists, and other fashion hopefuls are still alive by the next week. Biannually, this event is the highlight of our years as fashionistas: we say “Happy Fashion Week,” like it’s a holiday. In fact, I’m tempted to petition so that fashion school students have these weeks off during the semester (I know I hold my composure but wow oh wow oh wow is it hard to manage my personal life’s responsibilities with my scholarly studies AND my blogging objectives). Case and point: it’s that serious to me.

And still, in spite of the happy frenzy, I can’t help but be incredibly underwhelmed by my experiences during fashion events like those that occur during fashion week. Though to be perfectly honest, it has nothing to do with the actual event itself.

It is at this point that I continue with an honest truth that may or may not be applicable to some but is definitely evident. An honest truth that some may or may not want to hear or acknowledge.

I have been ranting now about these sentiments on Facebook for a while but I felt like I needed to bring it to fashion community. That, and the following is the perfect motivation for the #OccupyFashion movement (one I am a part more and more, each and every day):

• Fashion people are very pretentious individuals. Before, it was just the editors who had this “holier than thou” likeness – partially in their own right because they had paid their dues to the industry and finally got to call the shots. It’s like the real life The Devil Wears Prada. As fashion and style authorities, I respect that they may have an air to them. Do I like it? No (we’re all humans) but I respect it.     
  
• However, when fellow fashion bloggers are snubbing me, that’s when I have a problem. It doesn’t matter how many followers you have on [insert social media platform here] or who you know. We all know people, we all have insight, we all have exclusives. There is absolutely no need to flaunt, exaggerate, undermine, or be obnoxious about the experiences you’ve had or your connections. The funny part is that there are people that think so highly of themselves for being at a certain event. 
• Newsflash: you weren’t the only one invited AND you’re in standing room – so get over yourself.

Besides this realization (or rather re-actualization that I come to each and every fashion week after mingling with the throngs that show up at these things – some how I forget and then, BAMN, I realize why I hate the fashion scene), fashion week reminds me of how fickle and trivial fashion (and fashion people) can be. It all comes down to the social scene. It’s all about networking. That should be good but there is a difference between good networking and schmoozing. It suddenly becomes all about cocktails, seating assignments, and gift bags.

The goal: evolve the influence we have on each other and create a more harmonious atmosphere. We all have one thing in common. No matter what background we have or where we come from, we all share a mutual interest in fashion. Let us remember what was preached at the last panel of the IFB Conference – the art of working together as a community and not competing but rather joining forces to create new opportunities for us. Not rejecting but embracing. Not perpetuating the stereotype that fashion is superficial but creating a new image. Let’s forget about the photo ops and cameras. We’re not going to these shows to be photographed, we’re going to see clothes. Not our clothes. Not the clothes already in the market. No, new clothes - we go to fashion shows to celebrate newness and creativity. 

I just hope people can remember that. THAT IS THE ESSENCE OF FASHION WEEK. And as I always say, “It’s all about the clothes.”

With that, I cannot wait to start sharing…

What has #fashion taught me? Part three

PART TROIS

    3. As just about the clothes

Perhaps this is the most objective aspect of fashion. As a business, product development, merchandising strategies, and sales techniques are driven depending the retailer/designer’s custom specifications of and for the target customer. It is a collaborative effort between public relations, designers, buyers, editors, marketing, manufacturers, and shoppers. As a matter of many individuals’ opinions, it is merely a subjective matter. Likewise, fashion, as an art, is a reflection of personality and culture, all varying factors amongst humanity, as they are unique mental and social attributes. The moment emotions (and consequently, emotional differences amongst the customer, editor, and suppliers) are accounted for, fashion instantly becomes an art form.

This concluding segment however, is not about all that; it is simply about the clothes- the design, patterns, textiles/trims/findings, and construction of a garment, any garment. Maybe it is because I make clothes, but I have a keen fixation with what people wear. Looking at what they wear is captivating. Mind you, I look not to interpret style or taste (though I do make my conclusions and judge), but rather to analyze the actual items. It is at this moment that I apologize to everyone I’ve ever spent a long time staring at (be it on a train, bus, in class, whatever); forgive me; I know it is rude to stare but I meant no harm. I wasn’t checking you out, I was checking out what you were wearing. The darts, seam lines, details, embroideries, silhouette, and styling of a garment all have a voice – a very loud one, frankly, that measures the craftsmanship, tailoring, and overall techniques taken to create a single piece. Two words: grain lines (what makes a garment drape, fold, hang, move, fit, and look the way it does- the intricacies that us buy, want, and appreciate clothes). It is at this point that designers become celebrities in their own right- where their talent and skill-set shine, giving us an opportunity to perhaps label them as genius, or better yet, revolutionary.

Clothes should beare the reason we pay attention to the latest catwalks, tune into shows like Project Runway and relish in shopping. The goal is to create a “perfect” harmony, the union we call an outfit. With the additional consideration of accessories, shoes, jewelry, hair, etc, there is a marriage. Voilá, l’ensemble. You know the marriage has failed when components of the outfit/garments conflict one another and you look a mess. That is why it is always important to remember the now wise words of Coco Chanel: “Take one thing off before you leave the house.” AKA Don’t overdo it, don’t overaccessorize. This establishes the boundaries in looking timeless, inappropriate, professional, chic, tasteless, or whatever other adjective we have now grown to associate with fashion.

With all that said, I’d like to finish with a single example that summarizes exactly what I’ve learned from fashion so far (because of course, I have so much more to learn, a lifetime’s worth):

•  Andy Sachs: “…You know, it’s just that both those belts look exactly the same to me. You know, I’m still learning about all this stuff and, uh…”

• Miranda Priestly: “This… stuff’? Oh. Okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select… I don’t know… that lumpy blue sweater, for instance because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise. It’s not lapis. It’s actually cerulean. And you’re also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent… wasn’t it who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff.”

That sweater on Andy. You could’ve asked yourself where and why she purchased it. What does that purchase say about her? Now, just look at the sweater. What exactly are you looking at? Fine yarns creating a delicate cable-knit sweater, possibly in cashmere or maybe a polyblend, with a ribbed crew neck, cuffs, and hem.

NB: I will discuss this no further on Tumblr but please feel free to message me, tweet me, or contact me about this. Clearly, this is my passion and I could go on forever.

Much like true style, my love for fashion is eternal…