Lectura de sambata dimineata

„Fashion does not do moderation. You have nice round-toed low-heeled shoes, and you must wear them with skirts that reach halfway up your thighs. You have ankle-grazing evening gowns, but they will be cut on the bias to reveal a fabric impression of every ripple and bump pf your cellulite. And on and on. There is nothing easy or compassionate about style.

Pain and distress and discomfort are part of fashion. Fashion assaults our bodies and our emotions. Give me shoes I can walk in!, I cry. And they offer me the revival of the loafer; in other words, how to make yourself look short and fat. […] I want beautiful fashionable shoes which I can nonetheless walk in, and there is a permanent flaw in this unrequieted wish. Of freedom and enchainment.

There is a symbolic telling of this contradiction that has lived in my mind for many years, the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the mermaid who falls in love with a mortal prince. On her 15th birthday, her grandmother admits her into merwomanhood, with advice which will reverberate throughout her short life:

„Well, now you are grown up”, said the old dowager, her grandmother; „so you must let me adorn you like your other sisters„; and she placed a wreath of white lilies in her hair, and every flower leaf was half a pearl. Then the old lady ordered 8 great oysters to attach themselves to the tail of the princess to show her high rank. „But they hurt me so”, said the little mermaid. „Pride must suffer pain”, replied the old lady.

Sa nu ne intristam pentru mica sirena, in weekend stam in balerini sau in sosete groase, si citim, citim, citim…

How Zara grew into the world’s largest fashion retailer – “Inditex is a pioneer among ‘fast fashion’ companies, which essentially imitate the latest fashions and speed their cheaper versions into stores. Every one of Inditex’s brands — Zara, Zara Home, Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Stradivarius, Pull & Bear and Uterqüe — follow the Zara template…” In NY Times.

Donna Karan: working woman – “Born in New York in 1948, the daughter of a model and a suit designer, Karan was working as associate designer at Anne Klein by 1971, two years after taking a summer job working for the designer. When Anne Klein died in 1974, Karan quickly assumed the mantle of chief designer. Ten years later, she left to create Donna Karan New York.” In Wall Street Journal.

David Collins on McQueen’s return to Saville Row – “Alexander McQueen has moved in at 9 Savile Row, the world’s most hardcore tailoring address, with a menswear flagship…  Realising the McQ store which opened a few blocks away on Dover Street earlier this season, David Collins also designed this menswear space. We caught up with the interior designer and architect to discuss heritage and transgression.” In Dazed Digital.

Jean genies – In “While the comparatively refined fabric we know as denim today is a world away from the rough utilitarian cloth of 60 years ago, some things never change and our dependence on jeans continues to grow as retailers report a seemingly insatiable appetite for premium jeans with a premium price tag to match.” In The Independent.

Frida Giannini: Gucci’s Shanghai Express – “Gucci’s first two shops on the Chinese mainland opened in Beijing and Shanghai in 1997, three years after Tom Ford started to transform the brand. Today there are 53 stores across 33 cities, and counting. So it is not surprising that Giannini has decided to spend some time getting to know Shanghai before continuing on to Seoul in South Korea for a store opening there.” In The Telegraph.

Always in fashion – “Of course, Ms. Coddington’s frankness and profanity, as well as her differences from her boss, are precisely what first endeared her to a mass audience three years ago, when she emerged as the unexpected breakout star of R. J. Cutler’s documentary about Vogue, ‘The September Issue.’” In NY Times.

Tory Burch’s Ex Factor – “In a brief eight years, Tory Burch has become one of fashion’s biggest names, the golden girl with the golden brand. Is it thanks to, or in spite of, her former husband Chris Burch, who has launched his own, Tory-esque line of shops, C. Wonder, while still sitting on her company’s board?” In Vanity Fair.

Fashion weights a deeper investment in Africa – “Designers from Vivienne Westwood to Jean Paul Gaultier have long drawn on the vibrancy of African culture in their clothing lines. But now the industry is taking a tentative look at whether it makes sense to put down larger stakes as the African economy begins to take its place alongside the world’s other promising emerging markets.” In International Herald Tribune.

Parsons heads to Paris – “It’s bred some of the world’s greatest designers – Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford are just a few of its famous alumni – and now Parsons, New York’s renowned art and design college, is hoping to nurture some of Europe’s future fashion talents with a foothold in Paris.” In The Telegraph.

* The Thoughtful Dresser, Linda Grant.