Intelligence

16 July, 2009 by Guest Contributor

Copycat Culture | The Shape of Things

hermes-kelly-bag-2

Hermès Kelly Bag, courtesy of Hermès

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Sometimes, a mere glimpse of a product’s silhouette is enough to tell which designer or fashion house created it: the Chanel No 5 perfume bottle, the toe of a Berluti shoe, the unique shape of the Fendi baguette. Today, there is renewed interest in these kinds of classic products as shape and design have made a return in making a product desirable, especially now when consumers don’t want their products to scream with logos and bling.

As they look for unbranded products that are recognisable for their design, this also raises the question of whether there is adequate legal protection for these more subtle indications of provenance. This will almost certainly reignite a debate for strong design right protection, but it might also mean that the shape of a product is worthy of trademark protection in and of itself.

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10 July, 2009 by Khaleed Juma

Creative Recreation | Where Suits Meet Sneakers

Creative Recreation Barneys exclusive, spring 09

Creative Recreation Barneys exclusive, spring 09

LOS ANGELES, United States — When the cast of Saturday Night Live flies you across the country to have you design a pair of shoes, you must be doing something right. The specially designed shoes were featured in the finale of the legendary American sketch comedy show’s 34th season.

The Creative Recreation story began in 2005 when Robert Nand and Richard Cofinco set up Creative Recreation in a small office in Orange County, California, benefiting from their shared experience as shoe designers at Vans. Their aim was to go beyond the traditional separation of men’s athletic and dress shoes to focus on the intersection of the two, thereby creating a brand new market segment which has subsequently been targeted by high-end fashion brands including Lanvin, Jil Sander and Pierre Hardy.

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7 July, 2009 by Vikram Alexei Kansara

Future of Fashion Magazines | Part Two – Lots of little experiments

Images from SHOWstudio's "Dress me up, Dress me down"

Images from SHOWstudio's "Dress Me Up, Dress Me Down"

Last time we surveyed the rapidly changing landscape of digital fashion media. Today, in the second part of our series on the future of fashion magazines, we explore the experimental approach that online pioneers like Jefferson Hack and Nick Knight are using to create unique content and experiences that truly bring fashion magazines into the digital age.

LONDON, United Kingdom — The internet’s ability to transmit information immediately, impossible in print and too expensive on television, has changed the way in which we create and consume content perhaps more than anything else. “Print magazines will never be the first to break any news,” said fashion blogger Diane Pernet, whose influential website, A Shaded View on Fashion, has been reporting live from fashion weeks, showrooms and studios around the world, capturing and transmitting the moment almost instantaneously with inexpensive camera phones and laptops.

In response, forward thinking magazines have done two things. Web pioneers like Dazed Digital, a fashion and culture platform launched in November 2006 by the publishers of Dazed & Confused magazine, have begun “live blogging” themselves, posting realtime reports from fashion shows in Paris, London, New York and Milan. But they’ve also learned to focus less on what’s new, a commodity that’s instantly available everywhere, and more on a unique point of view and reader experience that aren’t easily replicated. “It’s got to be more about experiencing the fashion; a stylistic point of view. It’s less and less about information,” said Jefferson Hack, founder and co-publisher at Dazed Group. … Continue Reading

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25 June, 2009 by Robert Cordero

Sophie Theallet | Uniquely Untrendy

Sophie Theallet

Sophie Theallet

NEW YORK, United States — New York fashion is said to strike a balance between commerce and creativity. With few exceptions, New York designers tend to prioritise practical concerns like wearability over more frivolous concerns like the so-called wow factor. On the surface, this seems like a sound business strategy. But when designers focus too much on the practical and are obsessed with being on-trend or with what their peers are doing, everything ends up looking, well, kind of the same.

Sophie Theallet, the French-born American designer based in New York, does not have this problem. Theallet creates clothes with a distinctive mix of sophisticated wearability and refreshingly untrendy luxury. Unlike other designers who look for aesthetic inspiration from visual archetypes or vintage clothes, Theallet, who claims to not have a specific muse, designs with a more soulful, introspective process.

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23 June, 2009 by Imran Amed, Editor

The Antwerp Academy | The Enduring Legacy of the Antwerp Six

Stephanie D'heygeres Humanimalus Collection

Stephanie D'heygeres Humanimalus Collection

ANTWERP, Belgium — It’s been over twenty years, but the Antwerp Six still holds huge historical importance in fashion, which says a lot in today’s fast fashion world. Last season, I popped into the Paris shop of Dries van Noten, and saw Cathy Horyn of The New York Times, Virginie Mouzat of Le Figaro, and Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune all getting a little bit of between-show shopping out of the way before hitting the Haider Ackermann show. For these important editors, Dries is still the go-to designer for elegant clothing and accessories in his colourful signature style.

Van Noten and fellow members of the so-called Antwerp Six (including Ann Demeulemeester and Dirk Bikkembergs) first took the international fashion scene by storm when they rented a truck and set up shop at London Fashion Week in 1987 (or 1986, or 1988, depending on whom you ask and which source you are reading). What is certain is that were recently minted graduates of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and shortly after hitting London developed international cult followings amongst the fashion faithful. Not only did their London appearance put Belgium on the fashion map, it also positioned the Antwerp Academy, as it is known colloquially, as one of the world’s top fashion schools.

I was delighted, therefore, to accept the invitation of Walter Van Beirendonck, another member of the Antwerp Six and head of the fashion department at the Antwerp Academy to sit on a truly distinguished jury to review the thesis collections of the Academy’s 2009 Masters students earlier this month. Over the course of a day and half, we experienced an overload of stimuli that heightened the senses (visual, aural and olfactory) and provoked the mind. Each designer created an installation to present their work, at times with startling and breathtaking effect, like Stephanie D’Heygere’s Humanimalus collection in the Garden of the Plantin & Moretus Museum.

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15 June, 2009 by Imran Amed, Editor

FT Business of Luxury Summit | Debating the Future of the Industry

monte-carlo-monaco1

Monte Carlo, Monaco

MONTE CARLO, Monaco — The global luxury industry has descended on the luxurious and beautiful principality of Monaco to discuss the future of luxury at the Financial Times Business of Luxury Summit at a time when there seem to be far more questions than answers. I am delighted to be representing Luxury Society, which is an official media partner of the conference.

To start off the conference, we heard from Bernard Arnault, Chairman and Chief Executive of LVMH, who sounded an optimistic tone, but acknowledged that the luxury industry will never be the same as it has been in recent boom times. He also touched on the crucial importance of the internet, sustainable development and selective distribution (i.e. the ongoing battle with the EU over distribution of luxury goods online) in the coming years. You can get a taste of Mr. Arnault’s speech from this video on the FT site and this article by the FT’s Vanessa Friedman.

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5 June, 2009 by Imran Amed, Editor

Rumour Mill | Karl Lagerfeld to leave Chanel?

Karl who?

Karl who?

PARIS, France – We don’t actively engage in the rumour mill here on BoF, but when the whispers involve Karl Lagerfeld, Olivier Theyskens and Alber Elbaz in a Lanvin and Chanel merry-go-round, it seems worthwhile to engage in a bit of Friday afternoon fashion speculation.

Today, Diane Pernet has published a bombshell post outlining this scenario:

“This is not a fact until you officially read it somewhere else but rumour has it that Karl Lagerfeld will not renew his contract at Chanel and that Alber Elbaz will take his place and Olivier Theyskens will take Alber’s place at Lanvin…Nothing is engraved in cement, these are still just rumours you will have to wait and see.”

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27 May, 2009 by Imran Amed, Editor

Vienna Calling | 9 Festival for Fashion & Photography

9 Festival for Fashion & Photography, by Jork Weisman

9 Festival for Fashion & Photography, by Jork Weisman

VIENNA, Austria — Every so often we are lucky to hear about wonderful initiatives to cultivate creativity and fashion outside the main fashion capitals. One such event is the 9 Festival for Fashion and Photography held this year between 28 May and 10 June in the Austrian capital, where the spirit of Helmut Lang still lives on and fashion remains a huge passion for the locals.

Each year, the fashion faithful from around Austria and other parts of Europe descend on Vienna to celebrate Austrian fashion designers, discuss emerging industry trends and topics, and otherwise immerse themselves in fashion for ten days when Vienna becomes the epicentre fashion world.

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17 May, 2009 by Guest Contributor

South Africa | Searching for Structures, Systems and Policies

Abigail Betz S/S 09, courtesy of Sanlam Fashion SA Week

Abigail Betz S/S 09, courtesy of Sanlam South Africa Fashion Week by Ivan Naude

In our latest BoF feature on South African fashion, we expose the hurdles that will need to be addressed for the country to take its place on the global fashion circuit. For now, the local scene appears to lack the necessary coordination and structure upon which a sustainable fashion industry can be built.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The past eight years have seen South Africa’s thirst for a culture of fashion quenched by the continuing development of a local fashion industry, accelerated by the arrival of international luxury brands on the doorsteps of the country’s emerging nouveau riche market, also known colloquially as ‘The Black Diamonds.’ It is in this ripe environment that South African Fashion Week (SAFW) and African Fashion International (AFI) have been attempting to develop home-grown South African fashion talent.

In a recent BoF article on the Indian fashion market, the proliferation of indigenous fashion weeks was described as one of the key issues holding the industry back. And, although South Africa is a unique case study of fashion in developing nations, there are some astounding similarities to India’s fashion industry. And, as is the case in India, both the government and the corporate sector are staunch supporters the industry. But, the question remains. Is this uncoordinated effort is helping or hindering the local fashion scene?

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15 May, 2009 by Lauren Goldstein Crowe

Friday Column | Noelle Reno to partner with Zandra Rhodes

Zandra Rhodes for Marks & Spencer

Zandra Rhodes for Marks & Spencer

LONDON, United Kingdom — She may have given up the boyfriend and lost the company, but Noelle Reno, the founder of Degrees of Freedom with ex-boyfriend Matthew Mellon, has retained her love of working in fashion. After a year hiatus in the wake of the separation (during which she filed suit against Mellon in Manhattan Superior Court), she’s back in London and hard at work on her next fashion project—trying to grow Zandra Rhodes into a global lifestyle brand.

“She belongs up there with Vivienne Westwood,” Reno told The Business of Fashion. “She set so many trends.”

Rhodes’ recent successful collaborations with Top Shop and Marks & Spencer convinced Reno that now is an opportune time to seize upon what she sees as the growing public interest in the Zandra Rhodes brand. “Zandra Rhodes is already a luxury, lifestyle brand and we are simply working on expanding product categories that offers quality and value,” Reno said. “Zandra has enjoyed working on the collaborations with major retailers and in focusing again on her core business.”

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