Discussions about the fashion industry thread

[LA Guy]

Anybody else read The Margins' take on digital fashion this morning?

I did. I don't think that it's crazy, but it's also not like we don't have a long history of technologies that have taken much older concepts (like currency) and made them much more abstract. While this has often creates new economies, it also somehow doesn't really seem to have a profound impact on quotidian interactions. When I give the hotdog vendor a $5 bill for my bratwurst, that the dollar is not backed by the gold reserve is irrelevant. There are much more profound effects that technology has had on our relationship with actual, physical, goods, and the transactions around them.

And more on point, it's not as though we haven't been trading in digital items for quite a long time now. It's simply that we have only recently reached the uncanny valley with these digital characters.

Also, "The Devil Wears Prada" is dumb, bad, movie. That scene that the author references is only a revelation to people who believe that there is meaningful debate about "Style vs. Fashion" and probably also believe that their ideas of Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando, Cary Grant, were not planted in their brains well after those human beings had been commoditized several generations over.

Anyway, I found the article boring. So I watched "Fashion Coward" again.

j

 

[NO MERCY]

Boring, sure, or at least only worth reading once if youre already familiar with the concepts and/or tend to think like a skipping stone.
I'd had a passing introduction to the lil-maquela-type digital character, but hadnt seen or heard of the "digital fashion" instagram skin product. The latter being maybe more akin to you giving the hotdog vendor a $5 bill not backed by the gold reserve and they give you a bratwurst edited into your instagram picture that squirts mustard every time that little heart beats.

I think the digital fashion products have some interesting possibilities. From a design point of view, well, it's endless, but just to dredge up some of the discussions that take place in this thread -- imagine renting a digital suit for a skype interview, or something a little less straight-laced for a video-date. Hell, maybe rent a digital scarf. Maybe sinking brands get bought up by digital fashion parent companies the way heritage brands have been snatched up and reinvigorated over the years.

Not that it's not already here for the well-heeled, but the whole thing strikes me as akin to having your own PR team to polish and tweak and when you so desire, completely draw over your (literal) image.

 

[LA Guy]

Boring, sure, or at least only worth reading once if youre already familiar with the concepts and/or tend to think like a skipping stone.
I'd had a passing introduction to the lil-maquela-type digital character, but hadnt seen or heard of the "digital fashion" instagram skin product. The latter being maybe more akin to you giving the hotdog vendor a $5 bill not backed by the gold reserve and they give you a bratwurst edited into your instagram picture that squirts mustard every time that little heart beats.

I think the digital fashion products have some interesting possibilities. From a design point of view, well, it's endless, but just to dredge up some of the discussions that take place in this thread -- imagine renting a digital suit for a skype interview, or something a little less straight-laced for a video-date. Hell, maybe rent a digital scarf. Maybe sinking brands get bought up by digital fashion parent companies the way heritage brands have been snatched up and reinvigorated over the years.

Not that it's not already here for the well-heeled, but the whole thing strikes me as akin to having your own PR team to polish and tweak and when you so desire, completely draw over your (literal) image.

I can see the economic opportunities involved - I guess that as an ontological construct, the ideas either simply doesn't interest me, or I am unable to connect with it in any meaningful way. But I'm regressive. I insist on in person meetings and retreats, can't understand what a digital date is (I mean, how is it substantively different than chatting via text? No need to answer, that's just how it feels to me), and I won't hire anyone with whom I can't can't shake hands and look them in the eyes. I suppose that despite my being very online, I'm in many ways, very much offline and visceral.

 

[bamgrinus]

We live in Paris, but there are a bunch of Gaps here. It's not quite so reviled as in the US.

Is the Gap really reviled outside of SF, though? Just seems like the kind of mall-ish stuff you mention in the same breath as J. Crew. Maybe some residual distaste for them from those of us who associate them with the 90s.

 

[Peter1]

Is the Gap really reviled outside of SF, though? Just seems like the kind of mall-ish stuff you mention in the same breath as J. Crew. Maybe some residual distaste for them from those of us who associate them with the 90s.

I should said "ignored by the style/fashion community." Maybe b/c it's a US brand but it's seen here as a step above a mall brand, or at least at the top of the mall brand food chain.

We've lived in France a long time, but I'm still surprised at how similar French shopping habit are to Americans' -- big box stores, shopping malls, outlets, fast food etc. Sure, in Paris it's a little different, but not much. Even in Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulouse etc. it's pretty much a fashion wasteland and if you need clothing, you go to the mall...

 

[dieworkwear]

demna leaves vetements

Demna Gvasalia is Leaving Vetements to “Pursue New Ventures”

Demna Gvasalia will step down from Vetements, the streetwear label he created in 2014. Find out what the two co-creators said about the decision.

www.highsnobiety.com

 

[bamgrinus]

That seems kind of odd to leave it so soon, when as far as I can tell it's pretty successful.

 

[OccultaVexillum]

I know Vetemens vehemently denied it and the Jian article, by all accounts, was a load of ****. But that whole aesthetic does seem a lot less popular and the Balenciaga stuff he does a fair bit more "normal", with the occasional wacky thing thrown in instead of being entirely based around wacky things. It wouldn't suprise me at all if Vetements is struggling a bit and the Balenciaga job is easier, more stable, and kind of legitimizes him as a designer a bit more.
Either way I can't say i'm not a fan, it's only interesting because that's the label he co-founded.

 

[kjb]

Tender Buttons in NYC has closed. i had a chance to visit once to find new buttons for a sport coat. what a place.

Tender Buttons, a One-of-a-Kind New York Institution, Closes Shop

The Upper East Side institution wasn’t just a shop; it was performance art. It presented a new parsing of common objects, with Wunderkammer charm.

www.newyorker.com

 

[clee1982]

they're not known for being friendly, guess I lost my chance to check them out again, wonder what will happen to their inventories...?

 

[SimonC]

The article (which is a great read) says they are going into storage but potentially to a museum in the long term.

 

[bry2000]

they're not known for being friendly, guess I lost my chance to check them out again, wonder what will happen to their inventories...?

I thought I saw they would have an on-line presence.

 

[clee1982]

online would be good

 

[cb200]

BOF. Has a news of an Amazon / Puma partnership on an affordable athleisure brand. Nothing too surprising. Eveyone and their dog thinks they can take a run at the category... but this part was interesting.

"The new line was created using analysis of reviews and search criteria from Amazon shoppers. Amazon found that shoppers often search for products using terms such as “fit” or “comfort,” rather than brand names. "

Amazon Fashion Teams With Puma on New Athleisure Brand

The accessibly priced collection was created using analysis of shopping habits on Amazon.

www.businessoffashion.com

If you're a brand selling on Amazon or not- they are not your friend.

 

[bamgrinus]

"The new line was created using analysis of reviews and search criteria from Amazon shoppers. Amazon found that shoppers often search for products using terms such as “fit” or “comfort,” rather than brand names. "

One suspects this is probably unique to how people search on Amazon, though. Amazon is usually the place for "give me the cheapest thing that fulfills my need" these days. If you're looking for a specific brand, you're probably going to have a better time somewhere else that has an interface more suited to fashion stuff.