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Fashion

All Gussied Up

At the recent press events I attended, noticing the fashion tribe I wondered.  Why do they wear everything but the frying pan? Many were gussied up wearing all the labels from their shelves popping in and out of offices and showrooms. I wondered if there had been a looting at a luxury department store.   The pride of being kitsch while not understand the meaning of the word scares me.

Chanel’s quote is, “The last thing you put on, take off.” This has been lost on the Kill for TikTok crowd.   When at one time anyone with an eye could see quality and style, in today’s social media driven world standing out as if you were the Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile at a 4th of July Parade means everything. 

It is sad to look dated after only two hours.  A great style is eternal.  Jackie O never wore a brand emblazoned on her chest. Before Covid, around 2018, many fashion houses redesigned logos to take advantage of the camera phone ratio in an attempt to attract younger buyers.  Monogramed mania took over the fashion industry. Every piece had to display a name.

The world had been hit with a name brand sledgehammer. The influencers, TikTokers wear everything all at once.  This embellishment veers to pathological bad taste.  Imagine stuck in a room with a person who has a big Louis Vuitton bag, Chanel glasses, oversized Balenciaga sneakers and a shinning Gucci jacket. I needed a certified CPA degree to track all the names.   How many of these items were fake?  No clue!

The shift to subtle fashion has taken place, however I do not think it has made its way to the younger crowd. “Bling” is still a way of life, showing off for the camera.  Thankfully, kitchen items do not have a YSL monogram on the side. 

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Fashion

Naturally Dazzling

It’s always a privilege to attend the Boucheron presentation in Paris during Couture Week.  The luxury jewel brand’s media gathering in July served up dazzling beats of precious stone designs.  In the Vendome head office, creative head Claire Choisne describe the pieces as influenced from her trip to Iceland.  The island’s wondrous landscape shaped by water, ice, waves and volcanic terrain provided inspiration to the French native. Travel can be a story in different forms.

Boucheron
Inspired by Black Volcanic Sand
Categories
Fashion Feature

The Black Dandy

The theme for MET GALA is Black Dandy. Superfine: Tapping into Black Style will be front and center on the Mega Red Carpet May 5th 2025 in New York City.

These Black Dandies came from our Pitti Uomo collection.

Categories
Fashion Feature

Two More Down,,,

Fashion Week month just ended, but the news from the style capitals keeps coming. First, the shock announcement of Hedi Silmane leaving French House Celine after seven years took the industry by surprise. The Paris born designer revitalised the womenswear label with youthful designs. Parent company LVMH released a statement reading Michael Rider will replace Hedi.

Milan’s Missoni issued a statement that Filippo Grazioli exited. Known for knightwear, Missoni returned to the runway schedule two years where Filippo debut a colorful, well received collection for the family owned label. Alberto Caliri has been named as the replacement.

It is hard to believe there was a time when designer had longevity sitting at the top of the pyramid. Those days have passed the same as shopping at a Sears Department Store in a local mall. There is better job security as an UBER driver than being a fashion creative head.

Categories
Before Tacky Fashion

Yoshiki in Paris

Masion Yoshiki showed at Paris Fashion Week for Spring 2025, going with geometric shapes and many mini hemlines the designer buttressed looks with black, white and pastel colors. According the press release, the Japanese Superstar paid homage to 60’s American Pop Culture with print dresses.

Categories
Fashion

The First Impressions, Paris

For some reason Paris Fashion Week felt a bit desperate for attention this season.  Pandering is never good.   In the crowded landscape designers are under pressure to get that viral moment to stand above the rest. For this reason, some collections looked disjointed, a circle in a square peg.  Creatively, the City of Lights fashion scene has become overly vulnerable to smartphone scrolling.

Paris Fashion Week
Paris Fashion Week Valentino

The big news, Alessandro Michele’s debut at Valentino.  The stage setting fitting for the Rome born designer: dreams and romance. That was the problem.  Valentino was a brand of refined elitism. Jackie O to Joan Collins, the Jet Set Crowd wore the label as an emblem of being in a certain club.  Alessandro’s collection, while lush, comes across as garish compared to the house’s past styles.  While in doubt of the 51-year-old talent, his Gucci era heavily influenced looks on the runway.  It is no secret Kering Group invested in the house, perhaps a way to challenge Louis Vuitton in the uber luxury brand category, however, as soft luxury is trending with shoppers, why did they allow Alessandro to drive the opposite direction?  

Paris Fashion Week
Paris Fashion Week Balenciaga

Demna at Balenciaga continues to challenge what makes fashion, fashion. The French label is popular with young buyers.  The oversized sneakers were a must have for anyone under twenty-five.  The giant logo on shirts worked in the Selfie Age.  In 2024 the Georgian born returned to what he did best.  Oversized jackets that belong on a lifeboat and baggy jeans were runway staples.  Inner wear for the night, perfect for going to the 1920’s KitKat club. Do these looks work with young people looking for the lowest price on an app? Only the book keepers at Balenciaga know the answer.

Stay tuned for more fashion weeks coverage and more episodes of the Before Tacky Podcast.

Categories
Fashion

A Fashion Crisis At Hand

The fashion crisis is at hand. When journalist from major publications start sounding the bell over the lack of creativity on the recent runways, there are big problems. What took them so long to see the trees? For years the head in the sand was the modus operandi in the glamorous circles of Milan, Paris, New York and London. Corporations could squeeze designers dry with as many as eight to ten collections a year. When the creative is dry, on the next one. Corporate heads needed shows to sell everything from over priced hand bags to perfumes. Social media’s inexhaustible need for flashy images contributed to fashion’s current tango on the cliffside. Influencers came cheap, while cheapened the value of once aspirational brands.

The fashion world will have fewer cheek to cheek kisses in the coming months.

Fashion Crisis
Dana Thomas Newsletter Headline
Categories
Fashion Feature

Markdowns Here We Come

Global headlines have spooked consumers.  Shoppers are holding back on purchases, electing to save money instead of splurging on fun buys. Fashion brands and retailers struggle to lure buyers. Stores could are overstocked with unsold pieces. Now, as the holiday season approaches, companies are in early markdown stages trying to move merchandise. 

Relax and wait to get that special item you always wanted and a good price.  After all, “He/she that can have patience can have what he/she will.”

Categories
Fashion Feature Technology

Connected at Digital X

Digital X in Cologne, the digitalization event started by German Telekom hits the mark for technology gatherings.  On September 18th and 19th, brands, experts and press discuss topics concerning: cybersecurity, sustainability, connected business and future of work. 

The fifty thousand attendees moved from one staging area to another talking to individuals and teams concerning the future of digital interaction.

I found it a bit contradictory, the topic of Connected Business as many technology companies are requiring return to offices. Since the Covid Lockdowns, Virtual, Augmented and Immersive Reality devices and gadgets have advance rapidly.  Apple’s Vision Pro, Meta’s Quest and Microsoft’s HoloLens are being promoted as the next generation of tech headsets. 

The Huawei IdeaHub ES2 introduced me to the Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM) term.  The hardware is compatible with Zoom and Microsoft Teams platforms for distanced collaborations.  The smart whiteboard, camera and speaker/voice incorporate Z-Tech technology.  The applications for this technology go beyond corporate office usage.  The educational potential is boundless. Higher learning is about to get disrupted. Schools and universities could use the entire hardware system and platforms digital classes, eliminated the need for physical classes.  Students log in to a session with an instructor and can download the lecture via a QR code.

Digital X
IBM and fashion on display at Digital X

Curiously, giant IBM offered a fashion and tech melody.  The US company works with clothing brands an AI profile matrix for brands to better understand customer needs and purchasing habits.  Given the poor financial health of online sales platforms, maybe this could help, but I have a few doubts.

I would like to write better about start-ups area in Cologne; however, Germany is still a country trying to embrace the business trend while trying to stay in the risk adverse box. Originality requires going out on a limb.  Many of the ideas at the different booths seemed more safe copies of tried concepts.

Schedule Digital X on your tech calendar for 2025, this get together is well worth the time.

Categories
Fashion Technology

Digital X

After attending my first Digital X technology gathering in Cologne, the first impression, German Telekom knows how to put together a great interactive event.

Stay tuned for more coverage on Digital X.