Lectura de sambata dimineata

S-a intamplat, ati observat? A venit primavara. Ieri. E absolut fantastic sa poti incercui in calendar, cu certitudine, ziua in care a inceput primavara 2011 – asa cum ai incercui ziua de nastere a iubitului, ziua marelui examen, ziua unei mutari etc. Lucrurile care urmeaza par, dupa ziua incercuita, sa capete alta perspectiva. Lucrurile au un inceput, pot fi masurate, cuantificate, urmarite.

Daca ma intrebati pe mine, e un moment care merita sarbatorit, adica sambata asta ar trebui sa fie putin altfel decat sambetele de pana acum, sambetele de ne-primavara. Testati un parfum nou (pe mine ma tenteaza Herba Fresca, cu miros atat de proaspat si real de iarba verde de zici ca te rostogolesti intr-o gradina). Mergeti intr-un parc si cititi o carte (sau macar o revista), dar cu o esarfa la gat. Scoateti o fusta la purtare si prindeti-va o floare in piept. Iesiti in oras la V for Vintage, ochii va vor fi incantati si cred cava veti intoarce acasa cu ceva lucruri frumoase (Atelier Aiurea, La Mode Toujours, Chotronette, Rue des Trucs, Diana Antohi, Gabi Urda, Dada, La Chatterie, Cristina Zegrea sunt doar cateva dintre participante, lista e mai lunga).  Concurenta ii face Fashion Fair, maine la Margo Lounge, incepand cu ora 12, si filmele de la MTR – va recomand „Oameni si zei”, filmul premiat la Cannes anul trecut.

In alta ordine de idei, nu pot sa nu imi fac si mie putina reclama… La inceputul lui aprilie, pe 9 si 10 ale lunii, va invit sa invatati impreuna cu mine totul despre stil: siluete si proportii, croieli si iluzii optice, cromatica si reguli de asortare, personalitati vestimentare si roluri de stil, retete pentru garderoba optima si evaluari de tinute, cum sa te privesti in oglinda si cum sa vezi o haina. Si multe multe altele, pentru ca este un curs intensiv de 8 ore (dar impartit in cate 2 jumatati de zi). Puteti afla mai multe detalii aici, iar daca aveti intrebari sau vreti sa va inscrieti, astept un email la office [at] imagematters [dot] ro.

Bun, iar acum sa trecem la citit.

It’s hard to be sexy – “Of course, all this is a big fat cliché; women, including Ms. McCartney, are much more complex than that. But it was interesting for Ms. McCartney, who isn’t known for straying far from her brand comfort zone, to take these sexual identities to such extremes. As a trying three-week run of shows winds down, you realize how difficult it is for designers to make new statements with sexy clothes.” In NY Times.

Creative destruction – “[Tom Ford relaunched] with only two collections a year shown to small groups… ‘I had got so caught up in being successful and making money…  I had become so isolated.’… [Similarly Hussein Chalayan] keeps his presentations small. ‘Being in those houses is like running on a diamond-plated hamster wheel: you have to go faster and faster and faster, and chances are still very high you will fall off.’” In Financial Times.

Chanel provides the fire, McQueen the ice – “The mood in fashion is changing. The sight of a waif-like female stepping out in a heavily embellished, barely-there cocktail dress now seems dated. Lagerfeld’s status as the last of the great, traditionally trained couturiers is undisputed. He is also enough of a modernist, however, to respond to the zeitgeist and his reaction made for impressive viewing.” In The Independent.

Dolce to fold D&G brand into main label – „The D&G label will disappear, but the Dolce & Gabbana line will extend its price range to carry lower-priced clothing in addition to its more expensive, tailored collection.” In Wall Street Journal.

‘Fashion has to change’: Julia Reiston-Roitfeld interview – “At 30, Roitfeld is almost ancient in modelling years and blessed with the sort of womanly curves that too rarely make it on to the catwalk. Her demeanour is soft, almost demure, but when she talks about fashion and diversity she steps up a gear into stridency. ‘Fashion hasn’t changed enough yet. There’s too much a stereotype of beauty.’” In The Telegraph.

A good time to be a realist – “Plain tops and slim skirts turned out in wood-grain prints at Céline seemed a bid by Phoebe Philo to take fashion further into the woodwork. Make it disappear. There are probably a lot of people who think it’s high time that it did.”  In NY Times.

How luxury brands can benefit from musical partnerships – “These arrangements… can offer significant mutual benefit. For marketers, it provides an opportunity to create an overall brand lifestyle experience for their target audience that captures their attention, cuts through the clutter and garners an emotional connection that permeates the consumer psyche beyond the ‘buy now’ response.” In Adrants.

Bernard Henry Levy on style and why people hate him – „I have always dressed the same way. No eccentricity. No surprise. Somebody who cares about fashion changes; somebody who cares makes an event of his own style. I have worn the same white shirts, the same person has made my jackets, for 30 years. I get older, but I have the same size hair. I am a man of habits.” In Wall Street Journal.

Nuturing by a style ‘angel‘- “One woman in particular was overwhelmed with emotion at the Ackermann show: Anne Chapelle, the Belgian investor who believed in the designer and supported him, just as she has Ann Demeulemeester and has brought the Josephus Thimister brand back to life. Ms. Chapelle’s approach to designers is different from the big-bucks, big-brand style…. ‘My designers have to have their feet on the ground.’” In International Herald Tribune.

How the luxury industry is using the iPad – “Brands began developing applications to showcase collections and product ranges, and to communicate brand values and heritage. Gucci and Stella McCartney took the next step and released applications full of bespoke content: interviews with designers, creative directors, city guides, music recommendations… designed to fully engage the new digitally-driven consumer.” In Luxury Society.

Off the catwalk, the battle for Hermes – ‘Mr. Arnault says he will not interfere with Hermès’s management or traditions. ‘We are a totally peaceful investor,’ he said in the interview last week. ‘But as a leader in the best quality products in the world, we believe we can bring a certain savoir-faire to improve the functioning of their business.’” In NY Times.

Fashion and fascism: a love story – „Images, disturbing in themselves, are a particular problem for fashion because of its entanglement with the Nazis during the Second World War. Germany did not conquer France to get its hands on Fashion Central, but it was a not insignificant extra. Fashion had economic weight: one exported couture dress would pay for a ton of imported coal, and a litre of exported perfume brought in the financial equivalent of two tons of imported fuel oil.” In The Independent.

Cut from a different cloth – “There are, at most, just 300 Intha people who know how to harvest the wild lotus flower stems… About 200 others know how to extract the filaments and process these to skeins, which must be done within 24 hours of picking to prevent deterioration. When Loro Piana first came to Burma… he guaranteed to purchase all the fabric.” In Financial Times.

Dior in England – „Christian Dior, that quintessentially French couturier, was an ardent anglophile. Justine Picardie reveals the great designer’s passion for tweed, stiff upper lips and porridge.” In The Telegraph.

Balanced on fashion’s wobbly pedestal – “In total, Mr. Pilati has been a designer for nearly 30 years, during which time he has had highs and lows, wrestled with drug abuse, and constantly questioned his place in fashion and whether the pressures are worth it.’I have worked and worked and worked hard again… I have been a monk here.’” In NY Times.

Consumers: we want Gucci or Target. Forget the Gap – “‘They are more high and low in the way that they are spending… High-end brands are holding ground among consumers, while spending at value oriented stores has also been pretty stable. It’s a tough place for mid-tier right now,’… referring to retailers like the Gap, Chico’s and Ann Taylor.” Pe CNN Money.After the pressure, the smoke – “Each day in the Tuileries hundreds of people wait along a carpeted path to see the fashion people arrive for a show… The carpet begins at the Place de la Concorde, so it’s an extremely long walk of shame. There are more people waiting than ever, about 500 or 600, with cameras and microphones, and you can’t believe what they ask.” In NY Times.

Making great strides – „When hemlines began hovering from calf to ankle the last time, which was around 1972, the upshot was that flares and Oxford bags jumped, as it were, into the breach. And the other is that designers, though not all, by a long chalk, are finally applying themselves to showing some decent pairs of trousers – some of which appear to have stepped out of 1972.” In The Telegraph.

It’s in the bag – „A few years ago, columnist Tina Gaudoin overambitiously predicted the death of the „It Bag.” In fact, a fate far more constructive has befallen what is the most meaningful and practical of women’s fashion items.” In Wall Street Journal.

The americanization of Rue St. Honore – “Muffy and Binky are advancing on Paris. Their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hilfiger, are in the Woodie bringing up the rear. To the list of unmistakably American brands that in recent years have established beachheads on the Rue St.-Honoré, the main drag of Parisian chic, Michael Kors has now added his name.” In NY Times.