Lectura de dimineata de weekend

Ieri dimineata m-am trezit cum nu se poate mai prost. Imi fusese spart blogul. Dupa nervi, indignare, suparare, acceptarea situatiei, telefoane catre „my personal mighty mouse”aka Alex, imposibilitatea de a-mi bea cafeaua, la un moment mi-am dat seama: „bine, dar ce fac cu concursul? cum le anunt pe fetele care au participat? Il reiau?”

Momentul-minune a fost cand, dupa repararea blogului, mi-am dat seama ca nu se pierduse absolut nimic! Asadar, ma tin de cuvant si anunt – cu surle si trambite, cu aplauze si confetti! – castigatoarea cartii „100 unforgettable dresses”, oferita de Books Express. Inainte de asta, trimit 65 de multumesc-uri si fac 65 de reverente catre cele 65 de participante la concurs, mi-a mers la suflet entuziasmul vostru si reactiile fata de cartile astea frumoase ! In urmatoarele doua luni vom mai avea doua concursuri, tot cu carti despre moda si stil, asa ca stati pe-aproape.

Cat pentru astazi, cu ajutorul siteului random.org, castigatoarea este… Madalina Dragos! Madalina, felicitari, este o carte fermecatoare, iti promit ca o vei rasfoi de multe multe ori si iti va deschide apetitul si pentru alte carti si albume de moda 🙂 (verifica-ti emailul, iti voi trimite in cursul zilei de astazi un mesaj cu detaliile)

Si pentru ca nu pot sa trec la recomandarile de lectura fara un citat, here it goes:

„Taking pride in being badly dressed, not caring how you look, dressing to „feel comfortable” – these defiant fingers-up to civilisation are usually a pose. As Miuccia Prada noted, „Ï’ve become impatient when people claim they don’t care about clothes. They still dress every morning, and if they are going to reject fashion, they still need clothes to show it.”‘  […] Then there are those who take a utilitarian approach to what they wear, for whom clothing is about following a set of basic social rules so you can free your mind to think about someting else. They have no philosophy about fashion. At a wedding they will wear a suit. At a barbecue, jeans. At the beach, shorts.  They appear to wear, broadly speaking, what is in fashion simply because that’s what there is to buy in the shops.

Those who take no particular interest in clothes will, by accident or passivity, go with the fashion flow. Appearing never to update their wardrobe, they nonetheless alter their dress over the decades, changes not necessarily observable to the naked eye. We cannot watch a person aging, but come back twenty years later and you will see the difference. Photographs taken over time will show subtle fashion alterations.

Then, of course, there are those who only appear to take no interest in their clothing but who just have awful taste, with no idea whatsoever how to put an outfit together with some reference to fit and proportion and the colour palette. They do care about what they wear, but haven’t a clue what they are doing. as Andy Warhol observed: „”When I see people dressed in hideous clothes that look all wrong on them, I try to imagine the moment when they were buying them and thought: ‘”this is great. I like it. I’ll take it.””

Battle of the champions – “The fight between Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent — or, more accurately, the clash of two new titanic designers — is the story of this fashion season… The fact that the two maisons are owned by rival luxury conglomerates — LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton for Dior and PPR for YSL — only adds to the sense that this in an epic contest.” In NY Times.

25 Years of what they need to know -“When Peter Pilotto began working with the Center for Fashion Enterprise in London, the fashion incubator gave him a weekly cash flow analysis of his fledgling label. ‘We never even heard about cash flow in design school,’ the designer said. But that is why over the last 25 years, centers offering training and advice on how to turn a creative effort into a successful business have spread from Milan to Dunedin, New Zealand.” In NY Times.

Let there be light – “Wispy organza, reflective satin, transparent white fabrics and clothes with a shine sum up the closing days of the Milan summer 2013 season. While on the red carpet at the Emmys, stars played catchup with fashion, wearing the vivid colors that have become fashionable this year, forward-looking designers are tripping the light fantastic.” In International Herald Tribune.

India gets upfront in designers’mind – “Dries Van Noten, the Belgian designer for whom embroidery is a part of his signature, has been working with the same family-owned business in Calcutta for the past 25 years. ‘A lot of people assume that if you are going to do embroidery in India, it’s ipso facto ethnic,’ says Patrick Scallon, a spokesman for the designer. ‘But it’s a very respectful creative process. He has his designs, they have their views, and they both inform each other.’” In Financial Times.

New stars of India – “In the September edition of Vogue India, sandwiched between features on bridal couture, facial yoga and the Bollywood newcomer Alia Bhatt, is something that has given hope to the country’s young designers. It is a shortlist of six finalists for India’s first Fashion Fund, launched in May by Vogue and the Fashion Design Council of India to promote the country’s next generation of designers.” In Financial Times.

An intellectual fashion: Germano Celant – “Since the 1960s, Germano Celant has played a crucial role in defining and shaping the nature of contemporary creativity… , he has played a significant part in connecting the fields of art and fashion: since 1993, he has served as Director of the Prada Foundation, in Milan, and now Venice, and in 1996, he curated the first Biennale della Moda in Florence.” In AnOther Magazine.

How much celebrities get paid to sit in the front row – “Some of the celebrities with their crossed Louboutined legs in the front row who are hitting the Paris fashion shows and already have shown up in Milan and New York actually might be fans of the brands, but spoiler alert: Few stars are attending just for the love of it anymore.” In Hollywood Reporter.

The staples at the height of style are so last century – „If the past four weeks of shows have proved anything, it’s that mid-20th-century clothes are enjoying an extended moment. According to a survey for myhighst.co.uk, 57 is the age at which the majority of the 2,000 women they polled said they finally got their shopping act together.” In The Telegraph.

Louis Vuitton risks logo fatigue as Chinese taste mature – “Luxury-goods makers early into China have long counted on consumers there to snap up $1,000 handbags and other pricey — and profitable — wares. Now, Chinese tastes are changing in ways that may hurt the brands that expanded most aggressively in the country.” Pe Bloomberg.

China’s new consumers become more emotional – “China’s emerging consumer class is more emotional than previous generations of shoppers and firms must shift their marketing strategies to keep pace with the nation’s new standard setters… More self-indulgent, individualistic and brand loyal than before, China’s mainstream consumer class will comprise 400 million people with incomes above 106,000 yuan ($16,800) by 2020.” Pe Reuters.

Mencyclopedia: Moncler – “Over the past 10 years, French-founded, Italian-run Moncler has found an answer so persuasive that a 45 per cent private equity buy-out last June valued the company at one billion euros. Still relatively immature, it has only 80 or so stores worldwide, compared to the 600-1,000 norm of long-established luxury companies like Louis Vuitton or Gucci.” In The Telegraph.

Sense and sesibility -“A new generation has grown up in Paris, without the bright, white light turned on those who are promoted — and then often deflated — by the big brands. Sense and sensibility are the key words for these creative souls who prefer to offer the wearable and affordable collections that resonate with women. They are for a world where wardrobes and lifestyles demand a reality check.”  In International Herald Tribune.

Generation genius! – “All the 40-something designers at the Paris summer 2013 collections have reached a delicious, mature ripeness. And with even younger creators breaking bud, there is a real sense in this city of a generational change.” In International Herald Tribune.

Art filled with fashion – „”Impressionism and Fashion” at the Musée d’Orsay is a lush look at la mode, circa 1860–80, as captured in paintings by Impressionists and a few contemporaries: Manet, Monet, Morisot, Renoir, James Tissot and Alfred Stevens are in the forefront, joined by Bazille, Caillebotte, Carolus-Duran, Degas, Fantin-Latour and Jean Béraud.”In Wall Street Journal.