Lectura de sambata dimineata

Pentru ca e mijlocul lui ianuarie si sezon de reduceri, un citat care povesteste „altfel” despre shopping, atat de „altfel” incat cu toata ninsoarea de afara, lasi totul si te pregatesti sa infrunti gloata din cel mai apropiat mall…

” Shops, like cinemas, are dream factories. They sell glamour and illusions and unfulfillable desires. We see the goods, but most of them we can’t have, yet is is usually enough to be among them, for a few hours.[…]

The point, for me, is to be in proximity to clothes. To see the things that are in magazines. To gain some understanding of fabri, texture and color. To hold a navy coat up against my chest to see if the shade of blue drains me, or brings some warmth to the skin. To try on a Donna Karan jersey dress I have no intention of buying because I want to understand why people rave about the cut of her clothes and how she does draping.

To shop with no intention of buying anything is to immerse yourself, for a few hours, in fashion. We civilians don’t go to the shows, we have no access to the ateliers. We will never own a Hermes Birkin, but we can look, feel, experience. This is an actual Balenciaga dress. You come close to the source, the origin of what fashion is, the mutable mysteries of time and pleasure, the whole crazy changing world of style with all its moods and excesses and sudden surprises. For shopping is not necessarily the point of going to the shops. It’s a meditation, a frame of mind, a therapy, a balm for the troubled soul. ”

Betsey Johnson, back in the pink – “Despite repeated pleas, Betsey Johnson would not sit still. The tiny 70-year-old designer — legendary in the fashion world for ending her runway shows with cartwheels and a split — paced nervously in her small studio on West 37th Street in Manhattan, crammed with hot-pink vintage knickknacks and a rainbow of tulle skirts that hung from the ceiling.” In NY Times.

Lunch with Christopher Bailey – „It is part of his schtick; his point of difference in the fashion world. Bailey is famously nice. Famously normal. Famously un-diva-like in an industry of divas. Indeed, Bailey is so famous for his un-diva-ness that it risks overshadowing his fame as the designer responsible for the anointment of Burberry as Britain’s greatest global brand.” In Financial Times.

Is it time to invest in a little luxury? – “Luxury goods companies were the height of investment fashion in the spring, as their profits soared on demand from brand-hungry Chinese consumers. But investment trends, like fashion fads themselves, can change with the seasons, and some renowned British designer brands have taken the equivalent of a catwalk tumble.” In The Guardian.

Dream Memes: fashion gets funny – “Perry Ellis once said that “fashion dies when it is taken too seriously,” but if the social commentary the industry has gotten this year is any indication, there’s no danger of that happening anytime soon. In fact, if the memes spawned in 2012 say anything, it’s that the public’s interest in fashion has never been so high.”In Fashionologie.

Luxury goods firms lustre may fade, not vanish, in 2013 – “Luxury goods manufacturers won’t retain the immunity from tough global economic conditions they’ve enjoyed for the past two years in 2013, but they’ll still grow and hang on to their decent credit metrics, said Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services today.” In Reuters.

MBA graduates put their best foot forward – “While the fashion world is abuzz with the impending launch of Victoria Beckham’s e-commerce fashion site, MBA graduates are also scaling up their involvement in this type of online venture. In some cases, they consider themselves to be among the first there.” In Financial Times.

The investment dresser: feathery jackets – „”Sometimes, the most frivolous purchases turn out to be the most useful. But that depends how you measure usefulness. If it’s by how often you wear something, you’ve probably held out against buying one of those feathery jackets that were so fashionable a few years ago.” In The Telegraph.

Modern, before the world was – “The Paris jeweler Suzanne Belperron began working in 1919 at age 19, and continued without stopping for the next 56 years. She died in 1983. Her life and career spanned the modern movement in the arts, feminism and the emergence of fashion as a big business. Yet anyone looking at the work of this remarkable woman can’t help but feel she was interested only in her own ideas.” In NY Times.

Scion puts fashion firm in the lap of luxury – „Trussardi’s forebears, especially his father, Nicola Trussardi, turned a small glove-making business established in 1911 in Bergamo into a brand appreciated by British royalty and European fashionistas… The company is now writing a new chapter in its history in Shanghai.” In China Daily.

Made in where? Those lies, damned lies and labels – „Made in Italy” doesn’t always give the full picture. In the past decade, things have become increasingly complicated.” In The Telegraph.