Editorial GIF by Reed + Rader | Source: V Magazine

LONDON, United Kingdom — Instagram, Barbour, vinyl records, artisanal butchers, moustaches, and the biography of your potatoes lovingly detailed on chalkboard signs at Whole Foods. What is wrong with this picture? As London-based writer and entrepreneur Russell M Davies puts it, “most of Shoreditch would be wandering around in a leather apron if it could. With pipe and beard and rickets. Every new coffee shop and organic foodery seems to be the same. Wood, brushed metal, bits of knackered toys on shelves. And blackboards. Everywhere there’s blackboards.”

For the last few years, the stylistic purview of much of the creative class in places like Shoreditch in London, the borough of Brooklyn in New York, and Berlin’s Mitte district has been curiously backward-looking. Perhaps this retreat into retro nostalgia is a reaction to economic uncertainty and technological change. Maybe it’s a craving for what we imagine were simpler times or a search for authenticity in a world that is increasingly artificial. Whatever the reason, the backward-looking trend extends to fashion, as well. In fact, perhaps more than any other design discipline, fashion is engaged in an intense dialogue with the past. “There’s so little innovation in fashion in its current state,” Susanna Lau, widely known as Susie Bubble, told BoF. And indeed, from Belstaff to Moynat to Schiaparelli, reviving dusty heritage brands is undoubtedly the business model du jour.

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Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin | Source: VLMstudio

NEW YORK, United States — In hindsight, it seems remarkable that there was once a moment when combining digital technology and fashion photography was a radical move. But when Dutch photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin first began to manipulate their images, they were among the first to see and seize the tremendous potential of these new digital tools in a fashion context.

“We saw a demonstration of what Paintbox could do,” van Lamsweerde recalled, referring to a Quantel-produced precursor to Adobe’s Photoshop. “At that point it was used to straighten lines and shine up the wheels of a car for advertising. It hadn’t really been used for fashion or for images of people. We were like ‘Oh my god’ – it was so unbelievably exciting. It just opened up the whole world for us.”

Working as a team, Lamsweerde and her husband, Vinoodh Matadin, have forged a unique personal and creative union which has given rise to a remarkable body of work that seamlessly spans global campaigns for advertising clients including Balenciaga, Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, editorial assignments for magazines such as American Vogue, French Vogue and W, classic black and white portraiture for the New York Times’ annual Oscar portfolio, music videos for the likes of Björk and fine art pieces that have been exhibited in some of the world’s most influential galleries and museums.

This 25 year partnership has firmly establishing the duo, known simply as “Inez and Vinoodh,” among the most successful and powerful imagemakers in the fashion industry.

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American Giant logo | Source: American Giant

SAN FRANCISCO, United States – Even as the American economy begins to show signs of life, with positive economic indicators and growing consumer confidence, the wider arc of conversation, fuelled in no small part by the debate surrounding the upcoming U.S. presidential election, has focused on a complex and politically charged question: what is the role of American manufacturing in the 21st century?

It’s a theme that has been taken up by American president Barack Obama, who in his State of the Union address back in January asserted that the “blueprint for an economy that’s built to last…begins with American manufacturing.”

A report by BCG, a consulting firm, adds that “a combination of economic forces is fast eroding China’s cost advantage as an export platform for the North American market. Meanwhile, the U.S., with an increasingly flexible workforce and a resilient corporate sector, is becoming more attractive as a place to manufacture many goods consumed on this continent.”

Easier said than done. Indeed a couple of days before Obama’s address, an extensive report in The New York Times examining Apple’s supply chain suggested that “‘Made in the U.S.A.’ is no longer a viable option” for many companies competing in today’s globalised market. One Apple executive said “the speed and flexibility is breathtaking,” in China.

And yet, American Giant, a new apparel brand that manufactures men’s cotton sweatshirts, cardigans, and sweaters just outside San Francisco is doing just that because operating in America offers the very same benefits.

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Jenna Lyons at New York Fashion Week | Source: J Crew

NEW YORK, United States — “You have to make quick decisions,” Jenna Lyons, the president and creative director of J.Crew, told BoF. “Ultimately, fashion is all about gut anyway — there’s no science to what this should look like or that should look like or how many times you can redraw that or resketch that or redo that catalogue cover. The fact of the matter is, either it grabs you or it doesn’t.”

Indeed, it’s trust in instinct, perhaps more than anything else, that has enabled Lyons, in close partnership with fast-charging CEO Millard “Mickey” Drexler, to transform New York-based J.Crew from a stale catalogue company, once mentioned in the same breath as L.L. Bean and Lands’ End, into a creatively credible and highly desirable brand that’s stocked alongside Alexander McQueen at Net-a-Porter, counts numerous Vogue editors and Michelle Obama as loyal fans, and, on April 19, will launch hotly anticipated capsule collections designed by 2011 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner Joseph Altuzarra and runners-up Creatures of the Wind and Pamela Love.

The impact has been felt on the bottom line, as well. Revenue for J.Crew Group Inc. — which also includes Crewcuts for children, younger-leaning casual brand Madewell, and weekend-only online outlet J.Crew Factory — has more than doubled in the past eight years, while EBITDA, a measure of profit, has increased from $75 million in 2004 to $260 million in 2011, despite the challenging economic environment. J.Crew is also planning further international expansion, including a brick-and-mortar flagship in London’s Regent Street.

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São Paulo | Source: Skyscrapercity.com

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — For many, Brazil’s body culture, eternal summer, and supermodels — not to mention its successful bids to host both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games — make it the sexiest of all the BRIC countries.

But data released in February by Brazil’s official statistics bureau revealed that the country’s GDP grew by just 2.7 percent in 2011, a dramatic reversal compared to the 7.5 percent surge registered in 2010. Economists attributed the slowdown to the dramatic appreciation of the Brazilian real, which has increased in value by about 40 percent since the depths of the financial crisis in 2009.

This, combined with soaring business costs and a byzantine system of import duties make Brazil a difficult market to navigate for international luxury fashion brands. But still, Prada, Gucci, Bottega Veneta, DVF and Chanel have all recently launched stores in the country. Today, we go behind the headlines and speak with three powerful women with intimate knowledge of Brazil’s fast-changing fashion terrain.

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