Marquis Miles sat down for an interview about menswear fashion at Pitti Uomo. The Washington DC resident style consultant gives advice on what to have in the wardrobe for 2024.
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Author: Editor
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Statement Street Fashion
Street fashion is a statement of independence. A mixing of top to bottom pieces to stand out from the crowd. At Pitti Uomo Raf Ryes talks about his streetwear brand VERYRARE. The Paris based designer discusses his influences and inspiration behind the label as well as the designs that are based on artworks.
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At Pitti Uomo, Suave
Pitti Uomo in Florence is the vent to look suave. Everyone dresses to impress for the pageant for the menswear gathering.
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Pitti Uomo 2024
From Pitti Uomo 2024, style consultant Taiwo talks about fashion trends and styles. What should men wear this year? Click below to listen to the Before Tacky Podcast conversation.
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Classic Retail Tale
Shopping in Nuremberg’s big department store Breuninger store gives off the feeling of retailer in the concept boutique arena. Unlike corporate shopping nameplates, the Stuggart based chain does not have a cluttered spaces with wall to wall merchandise or taxing small lanes. Instead, thankfully, there is a sense of spatial tranquillity. The ground floor cafe is worth a visit for the street side people watching.
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Clipper Inspired talks Senegal
Click below for this episode of Clipper Inspired on the African Nation Senegal. We met up with the Minister of Tourism, he gave us a quick view on the travel offerings.
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Trends 2024
2023 closes. Hello 2024. What do I see as fashion trends in this volatile world?
The influencer movement has come under more scrutiny. The Ferragani Scandal in Italy, a loss of trust by followers. Finally, the increasing AI models used by brands and companies mean a reckoning could be on the horizon for this outreach strategy.
As luxury labels struggle attracting stressed buyers, expect a retreat in many areas. The creative head musical chairs will continue as brands move from conspicuous to quiet style.
Fashion magazines, once trendsetting curators, will continue their free fall still unable to adjust in the digital platform age. Has anyone bought Vogue’s Christmas Issue? Certainly there will be layoffs at publishing houses.
The retail scene is not going to escape, expect less physical stores while the online sites recalibrate. Shoppers should expect return and restocking fees for items sent back as online shops are no longer able to absorb shipping costs.
The Chinese apps grabbed the fast fashion baton and are racing around the fashion track. Temu and Shein have adjusted business models for young buyers to lust for a 1.99 t-shirt.
Sustainability gets the feel good headlines, but has yet to make a real industry economic impact. Big companies will continue practicing greenwashing paying lip service with peppered eco-slogans here and there in ads, but I suspect cash strapped consumers are not in the mood for paying more for better or helping the planet.
Always remember this in 2024: Fashion is cheap. One cannot buy style.
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Merry Christmas 2023
Wishing all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
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A Not So Perfect Scam
She was wearing designer clothes, jetting around the globe to one event after another, posting hundreds of images of the perfect family in endless settings. This was the life for the Princess of Instagram, Chiara Ferragani. Her 30 million followers saw every aspect of her social media existence. The former Italian blogger and model had a reality show based around her life with husband Fedez and two children.
Advertisers paid up to 100.000 euros for a posting on her account. Ferragani’s glamorous life hit a brick wall with an apology viewed around the world posted in an IG video. Prime Minister Meloni weighed in on the scandal saying, “The real models to follow are not the influencers who make a lot of money by wearing clothes and showing bags … or even promoting expensive cakes that make people believe they are charitable,.” OUCH!
The Cake
Chiara’s company and Italian cake maker Balacco were fined 1.1 million euros and 480.000 euros respectively for deceiving the public. Authorities in Rome uncovered the Children’s Charity donation was fraudulent. 50.000 euros went to the hospital, while the Chiara pocketed over 1 million euros. Claiming “a communication error”, the influencer sporting a cashmere top vowed to make it right while at the same time crying her unfair treatment.
Billy McFarland and Fyre Festival, Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, Sam Bankman Fried and FTX, now Chaira Ferragani all have many behavioral patterns in common. This group lived larger than life lives in the spotlight, an incredible sense of entitlement with unmatched compartmentalization skills not wanting to understand the consequences of their actions. The Italian IT Girl’s new multi million euro Lake Como Home has been pinned to the top of her Instagram feed.
Fraud pays, was this 36 year old’s first questionable charity project? According to media outlets, there are swirling questions around similar charitable collaborations from 2021.
Having been featured in Forbes and Fortune magazines, the “Girlboss” term applied to Chiara, a business woman in charge. There is a class at Harvard teaching her style of branding. Perhaps these gatekeepers should have looked a bit deeper than beyond a filtered image. Eyewear brand Safilo cancelled her contract due to moral lapses. You think!
For influencers, the lure of the spotlight is too hard to resist. Who imagines Mrs. Ferragani going away quietly?
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Eating in Solerno
I still remember eating in this restaurant while visiting Salerno, Italy. While walking in the old town I saw the sign on the narrow street. The atmospheric inside a 12th century church establishment got my attention because of its unique interior, with the lighting and vault ceilings. I recommend Taverna Santa Maria De Donno (TDSDM). This is the second time I have written about this eatery.
Ristorante Taverna Santa Maria De Domno, Via Masuccio Salernitano, 63, 84121 Salerno