Fashion news from the capitals of style and beyond is what we cover here. Check out the latest
The fashion industry already under pressure from consumers cutting spending, then came the tariffs. If there is a fire, pouring more gas on does not help. The stakes went higher, Chinese producers launched a social media assault on luxury brands. Posts detailing the how brands manufacture products in the country. Appealing to common sense and wallets, online speaker’s layout the real costs involved in making pricey handbags selling for thousands in Western shops.
The Luxury Culture has taken a hit with recent headlines concerning sweatshop conditions in Italy but the latest posts could start an unraveling. Labels once ensconced in splendor with mood lite stores now come across as trustworthy as a used car lot in a bad section of town.
What will China’s next salvo involve? Flooding the world with fakes and gray brands is a top guest.
June’s London Fashion Week got cancelled. What was once a main stop on the fashion caravan route is now off the itinerary. The British capital had everything going for it, enough to be in the top four fashion weeks with New York, Milan and Paris. But the scene has taken a hit with many brands moving their runway shows to other cities. London will always be a fashion power given its influence, however a bit smaller. The next LFW happens in September.
Designer sneakers have fallen out of favor. A few years ago, everyone bought a pair of trainers from Balenciaga or Dior at $1000. As shoppers fall back to Earth, expensive sneakers no longer have become the “It Pieces” as buyers trade down to more affordable sneakers. Those red Converse at $45 have never looked better.
It is only April. One thing for sure, the next eight months will be interesting.
During Pitti Uomo in Florence, Bologna based Victor Hart explained his denim look. The Ghana born designer is a craftsman when it comes to fabric but especially loves the versatile material.
Check out the Before Tacky Podcast
Milan Fashion Week always involves shoes.
When Anna Piaggi passed away in 2012 at 81, fashion journalism lost an original. The Italian born writer left a mark with her conspicuous runway front row style.
Friends with Lagerfeld, Blahnik and others, Piaggi was a style giant with hats and dyed hair.
During the Lineappelle, the trade fair held an exhibition dedicated to flamboyant Milanese duds chronicler.
These days it is harder and harder keeping up with who is where in the fashion business. The past week has been a checker board of movement.
Stay tuned for our Before Tacky Podcast on what is happening.
Demna takes over at Gucci.
Donatella is out at Versace.
Jonathan quits Loewe.
I was not familiar with Lineapelle, the Milan trade fair for luxury leather. For three days this massive gathering focuses on the real work of fashion, sourcing. Designers come here for the purpose of searching for the materials. The cavernous halls filled with suppliers big and small showing desired skins to clients.
After gathering my thoughts together, I had to hit the ground running. The public sees the fashion shows, the glitz and glamour of the industry. Lineapelle is where the real business starts. So many tanneries, different leathers, ways to stitch, number of pieces, quality of the skin. In one day after speaking to attendees and exhibitors I had the equivalent of a one-year university course from the best fashion university. Experienced professional colleagues explained many details involved in the transforming a skin component to a sought-after product. For not only small items, interior design requires a high degree knowledge and skillset. For instance, upholstery leather gets wrapped in order fit a living room sofa or car seat.
Leathers have different characteristics, various suppleness, grades. The dying techniques used to color skins can range from simple to complex. The process of pattern printing leather intrigued me. A designer used this practice to design a youthful collection shown on the Lineapelle runway.
Farmed animal skins are traced from beginning to finish. The sustainable aspects of using quality leather explained to me in one sentence, “A good leather endures.” Quality controls employed by brands and producers for certain products. I discussed the recent bag scandals. The “masstige” handbags made under questionable circumstances are not produced in the same factories as the more prestigious items. Expensive skin handbags are put together in closely monitor controlled conditions by experienced craftsmen. An alligator skin’s one-piece skin can cost thousand of dollars versus a cow skin which costs far less. As mentioned earlier, the stitching methods used for exotic leathers are more intricate.
After attending my first Lineapelle, I have a new appreciation for well-made leather products. Buy better!
This season from Milan Fashion Week, a different angle, we are covering Lineapelle. The large trade fair on luxury leather production. The event is something, an education on how to produce opulent products.
Stay tuned for more.
Designer Victor Hart from Bologna gave a fast interview about his denim line. Stay tuned for the video story.
The most anticipated runway show on the New York Fashion Week calendar, Calvin Klein. After several years off the schedule the iconic label announced a new collection would be shown from a new creative head. Veronica Leoni, the Italian designer took charge of the famed brand. Calvin Klein transcended fashion, from jeans, slogans, scents, ads and commercials, the New York clothier became a part of the cultural landscape.
Mixing minimalism, athleticism and sensuality a Calvin Klein became one of the top fashion brands in the world.
After selling the company to PVH in 2002, Klein stepped away from the fashion world. Raf Simons briefly took the helm from 2016 to 2018. What looked like a perfect fit on paper, soon became a slow-moving clash between creative vision and corporate reality, the Belgium designer left. After the departure, Calvin Klein stopped presenting runway shows. Instead corporate heads focused on the lucrative under garments, accessories and perfume lines.
Now, Veronica is at bat, the first female to head CK. The former Celine and The Row designer has the task of breathing new life into the iconic fifty-seven year old clothier.
I would like to praise the looks but for one reason or another, the feeling of confusion enters my head. The gender mixed show included shapes and colors that came across as robotic inspired. The lack of fluid sexuality for a brand known for sex appeal got lost in the modern translation. Where were the bodies? The masculinity. The femininity.
The streamlined vertical aesthetic took a turn in Leoni’s interpretation. Taken away to the closet replaced with added addendums fitting the times: slouchy jackets with elongated sleeves.
Was this a great collection from Calvin Klein? I expect to see a more concise line the next time.