Lectura de sambata dimineata

Imi place enorm Malcolm Gladwell. Ma incanta peste masura articolele lui din New Yorker, iar The Tipping Point si Outliers sunt intre cartile mele preferate. De curand am cumparat si „Ce a vazut cainele”, colectia de eseuri/ articole scrise intrr ’96 – 2008. Va recomand cartea din suflet: talentul de povestitor al lui Gladwell vi se va lipi de suflet si va promit ca, in timp ce cititi cartea, veti avea mici momente de revelatie. Ca sa nu mai spun cat bine veti face culturii voastre generale!

Printre articole despre ketchup, tenis la Wimbledon, fotbal american, Beastie Boys si secrete despre Enron, s-a strecurat si unul despre vopsele de par, copywriting si schimbarea unor mentalitati din America anilor ’50. Mi s-a parut most suitable sa va ofer un citat – poate nu cel mai relevant! – dar care va ofera un sneak preview in felul in care scrie Gladwell (daca nu l-ati citit pana acum) si despre carte (daca va ganditi ce sa va mai adaugati in biblioteca).

„Acasa, in Brooklyn, incepand de la varsta de 15 ani, frecventase in mod regulat salonul de frumusete al domnului Nicholas, […] unde parul ii era decolorat pana ce dispareau si ultimele suvite castanii. In opinia ei, trebuia sa fie blonda sau, ca sa fim mai precisi, era de parere ca decizia de a fi sau nu blonda ii apartinea ei, nu lui Dumnezeu. Shirley se imbraca in nuante puternice de portocaliu si rosu, in bejuri catifelate si culori regale. Purta haine din piele intoarsa si matase si era genul de persoana care cumpara taioare de firma, le duce acasa si mai brodeaza cateva detalii pe ele.

Era o personalitate exuberanta, geniala si vanitoasa, dar intr-un mod irezistibil, si credea cu tarie ca niciuna dintre aceste calitati nu se asorteaza cu parul brunet. […]

In 1956, pe cand Shirley Polykoff abia se angajase copywriter la Foote Cone & Belding, i s-a dat brieful Clairol. Produsul pe care compania se pregatea sa-l lanseze se numea Miss Clairol, prima vopsea care iti permitea sa iti decolorezi parul, sa-l nuantezi, sa aplici balsam si sa-l samponezi la domiciliu, totul intr-un singur pas. […] Din anii 1950 pana in anii 1970, cand Polykoff a renuntat la contul Clairol, numarul femeilor americane care-si vopseau parul a crescut de la 7% la peste 40%. Examinand campaniile pentru vopsele de par din aceasta perioada, vedem in mod surprinzator cum toate aceste aspecte – intrarea femeilor pe piata muncii, aparitia pilulei contraceptive, emanciparea sociala – sunt legate unele de altele, de la cele mai profunde la cele mai triviale. In scrierea istoriei femeilor din era postbelica, nu am uitat oare ceva? Nu cumva am uitat chiar de par?”

Inainte sa va las cu recomandarile acestei saptamani, doua remindere: mai sunt 3 locuri libere la cursul meu de stil de la final de noiembrie (23-24 ale lunii), iar pe 16 noiembrie urmeaza (in sfarsit!) o editie de Style Conversations, cu tema „Garderoba pentru 4 sezoane”. Stiti unde si cum va inscrieti, detaliile le voi posta diseara pe facebook 🙂

The Olsens on scents, branding and fashion – “Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are at the helm of a megamultimillion-dollar licensing and manufacturing company, Dualstar Entertainment Group — which they’re now adding to with fragrances and next year with a first Los Angeles flagship for their The Row brand.” In WWD.

McKinsey Natalie Remy talks retail trends – “‘The question today is whether fashion stores are at risk of becoming completely out of fashion one day,’ she said. She believes that the winning fashion players will be those that are capable of reinventing their physical stores and can transform them into competitive weapons.” In WWD.

Missoni, more than a zigzag – “Nearly 20 years have passed since Rosita and Tai Missoni passed control of the company to their three children, Vittorio, Luca and Angela. Angela Missoni, as the creative director and the designer of the women’s wear collections, has been its most visible face, the one anointed by the family to transform Missoni from a company known for zigzag sweaters into a global fashion brand. “ In NY Times.

Fashion transfer window : who will go where? – “Diverting as purchasing clothes can be, shopping for designers is even more fun. But if you care about the future of the industry and fancy yourself as a perceptive judge of character, a sound judge of creativity and a tempered adjudicator of staying power, then it’s even more interesting to take the musical chairs scenario currently being enacted in fashion seriously. ” In The Telegraph.

China’s fashion matchmaker – “As luxury brands try to crack the exploding Chinese market and the Chinese seek to export their own fashion stars to the West, Melvin Chua — bon vivant, image maker and cross-cultural connector — is the man in the middle.” In T Magazine

Jeremy Scott chats about his new gig – “Jeremy Scott is the new creative director at Moschino, the brand founded in 1983 by the late Franco Moschino, who was known for his tongue-in-cheek approach to fashion.” In LA Times.

Ferragamo through the ages – “The word ‘genius’ is very fashionable in the fashion galaxy. In Salvatore Ferragamo’s case though, it’s entirely justified.” In The Telegraph.

Interview with Vanessa Friedmann – “Fashion is a continuum. It began when people started putting an adornment on their body and it is ongoing. Watching it change over time is a way to understand, again, questions of identity in the past and present, and how they have evolved.” In Another.

The Investment dresser: A-line skirts – „Is there a woman who doesn’t look all right in a gently flaring A-line? Big skirts may be bigger news and pencil skirts more vampy, but the risk factor with both is immense. An A-line flatters us all, as does anything with a hem considerably wider than your waist or thighs. Simple geometry.” In The Telegraph.