Of course we have not forgotten Fashion Week during Tech Month. Going over the looks is always a pleasure. Look for our reviews and Before Tacky Podcast soon.
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Spring 2025 Fashion Week Reviews
Category: Fashion
Fashion news from the capitals of style and beyond is what we cover here. Check out the latest
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IFA Round Up
IFA 2024 came to an end on Tuesday. The large consumer electronics celebrate its 100th anniversary. The Berlin event is trying to redefine itself after COVID and management changes. Once the domain of radio and television technology where Einstein attended and German leader Willy Brandt kicked off the first color broadcast in Europe, IFA evolved into a giant fair where brands showed off new models and devices. “Innovation For All” was the central theme. Were there innovations on hand in the twenty-seven halls? Small ideas can lead into big innovations. The first smartphone from Nokia was released in 1996 to not so much fanfare. Then came the iPhone in 2007.
The big trend of course, Artificial Intelligence, every big and small company touted integrated features and applications using AI. Mobile phone brand HONOR introduced a foldable smartphone with AI features.
Taiwan’s Acer Computer introduced a PC with an AI editing feature that will cut time in the front of the screen. During my demonstration, the team showed how the user places the video piece in the feature bar, the AI does the adjustments and corrections.
TCL introduced a line of colorful sleek affordable mobile phones titled NXTPAPER. The French company teamed with Microsoft for this generation of devices that are based on AI tech. I loved the Metallic Blue and Gold casing models.
Audio quality made many gains at the exhibition hall. Normally, the stepchild to visual electronics, sound quality has become a priority for tech makers.
At Yaber, the Chinese brand incorporates JBL speakers in its projectors. I was surprised by Japanese consumer brand Sharp with its affordable product line of speakers and subwoofers able to produce excellent quality audio.
Tech Fashion
In the tech and fashion realms, leave it to the Italians of course to have style. Puro combined a skull cap with built in touch speakers in three colors. Essilor Luxottica’s Nuance Audio stylish eyewear for the hearing impaired are optical sophistication. The wearer does not have the stigma of using a hearing aid.
“Silk Audio” is the term that comes to mind for the on-ear headphones from Los Angeles based Audeze. After listening to Stevie Nicks using the company’s magnetic technology, adjusting back to cheap headphones has been difficult.
The smart home evolution continues with companies thinking up new ways to make life easier and connected. Ztove had an interesting product of a connected stove and pot that makes burning food impossible. The cooker has a digital preset mode.
Korean start-up Balcony Farm makes life easier for vertical living city dwellers to grow food and plants with an app, pre-installed lights, small amount of soil and water and a little space.
IFA always has interesting products that may not fit in the “Next Big Thing” category, but deserve attention.
The Mobile Monitor that can float in water from Sylvox takes the top prize, but the Chinese brand’s bathroom mirror monitor gets an honorable mention.
Lucian gets my design award for producing a statement tooth brush made of titanium.
Haier’s Dryer and 10-minute clothing steamer is a great combo for people on the go.
The JMGO Laser projector with a nimble gimble stand and fast focus.
I cannot wait until IFA 2025.
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The Beach From Another Planet
Beaches have their own special properties, unique characteristics. Visiting
St. Peter Ording on the North Sea Coast Germany, a visitor would be hard
pressed to miss what makes this wide coastal landscape distinctive, the feeling
of landing on another planet. In a few moments the weather changes from bright
sun to grey overcast.The sounds of water coming in, the wind pitch in the ear,
Frank Hubert could have been inspired to write a wet version of his sci-fi
classic Dune after visiting Ording. There is an almost unnatural feeling on this part of the world.
In late August, I saw few sun bathers, rather beach trollers taking
advantage of the low tide, reflecting on nature allows us mere mortals to use for a moment.
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Vivid From LA
Streetwear fashion label BruceGlen has an expressive take on streetwear. The Los Angeles based brand goes for vivid looks. I met twin brothers Bruce and Glen Proctor at the Milan Fashion Week Hub while the duo were showing some of the expressive pieces. Are these pieces a person would wear everyday? Who cares! As they said, “It’s about fun.”
The Paris Olympics, a sporting competition with athletes wearing tight lycra highlighting manly body parts. Understandable, fit guys in prime shape are the ultimate eye candy and physical fantasy. However, for those who could not make it to the 2024 Games, but plan on being in the French Capital one day. Forget about those medal ceremonies, for this event, participation is enough, “Let this Game Begin”. I can recommend a tawdry experience that is sort of a spectator sport that is a cheap thrill bordering on pervy.
Parisian parks are the gathering place for a densely packed city. There are activities of all kind, families walking with a stroller, romantic young couples sitting on the grass, teenagers hanging out with friends. Jogging is also a popular ritual. Men run around the parks: single, in pairs and in groups. One common thread, undoubtedly many of these guys want to be an object of sexual variations. These baguettes come in all shapes and sizes.
Grab a Croissant then Enjoy
A runner in a public space on a sunny day is as normal as birds in trees. But what makes Paris different is what the male runners wear. Grab a coffee and croissant, get a viewing spot next to a running trail, sit and view. French men seem to buy fitness wear in the children’s department. The tights look tighter in a certain place. Nothing is left to imagination. A well outlined penis held in place by the most fitted legging stitching. One has to wonder if sweat could come between a body part and material.
The second outfit is the loose look, shorts made of polyester and elastane. For some reasons these mid-rise shorts seem full, almost, overflowing swinging from side to side. A carnal advertisement in live motion. One common thread, many of these guys want to be an object of sexual variations. Certainly, these men look in the mirror before going out the door. It makes one wonder if their partners know the runner wants an affair with half the city, a mass public flirtation. Or maybe there are local hotels charging by the hour.
One does not need the world’s biggest sporty event for enjoying an impressive bulge in Paris, just find a green space on a given sunny day.
How did luxury lose its luster? There are many answers to this question. As the industry reels from lower profits while consumers cut back on aspirational purchases. Some answers require a somewhat deeper analysis.
As masstige became a business model for exclusive brands, they began to lose their allure. Overproducing so called “desired pieces” accomplished the opposite effect, a splash of everyday common tattiness. When once there was admiration mingled with a touch of covetousness for a displayed logo or design, today, this comes across as vacuous consumption for the sake of showing off.
As management drivers took control of the luxury industry, maximising the bottom line became paramount. Corporate control is not about creation, but rather big profits. A fast way to make money is to increase prices for high demand goods. These price hikes did not go unnoticed by pinched shoppers who simply prioritized basics over splendours.
A cautionary tale is taking place. Trying to be everything to everyone can mean nothing to all. As luxury fashion continued casting a wide net, discerning buyers went in the opposite direction. A corporate boss does not desire what a workers have. Teen buyers are shaped by peers, not their parents. Generation Z has become mass labels wary. Young buyers look less willing to chase brands, looking for different, more individualistic clothing.
The most important asset for any brand is reputation. An ongoing sweatshop scandal has at least in the short term made many buyers question the real value of these labels. Factories employing illegal workers in poor conditions while producing high quality expensive goods rattled consumer trust.
The luxury sector is entering a period of uncertainty. With retail in a tailspin, once rock solid markets in Asia in a slowdown, global conflicts, changes at the creative head levels, the Fall 2024 Fashion Week conversations will be more interesting than the runway collections.
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Buying The Alternative Confidence
“Luxury bags make your life more pleasant, make you dream, give you confidence, and show your neighbors you’re doing well.” Largerfeld.
As the luxury handbag bubble pops due to working condition and mark-up scandals and over, there are alternatives to big brands. The labels I listed below are small, not mass produced, but more importantly, unique. A person carrying one of these pieces will get a lot of compliments.
While in Milan, walking by Up You To Anthology on my way to a Fashion Week appointment, I decided to go in. After speaking to the curator, he told me each bag is designed by artists with a limited production run.
During Pitti Uomo I always pass by the Sentiero Florence store. Looking in the window I decided to go in and see. The sales lady told me about the family owned label still producing handbags in Tuscany.
I am recommending this brand because the online review have been good for this Madrid’s La Portegna. Spanish producers are known for quality leather goods.
I met the Bonastre team at Pitti Uomo. As a small luxury brand the designer and staff have close relationship all aspects of the Paris based label from design to the final product.
As Generation Z gets squeezed, facing gaping economic inequality, the expense to show off becomes harder. In 2024 trade down and keep posting model reigns. If the bank account cannot afford the real thing, get the fake one. The rise of the super counterfeit luxury goods means bling, bling without the high price tag. Fakefluencers brag about purchasing fake luxury goods, glamour on a shoestring budget. Even when they are showcasing their false items, perhaps even looking silly, fakefluencers have taken influencing to the next level, Fakefluencing. These style setters are no longer waiting for brands to dm their Instagram accounts asking for a collaboration. Why go to Saks Fifth Avenue? Now, Fakefluencers buy the sort of real thing online or on the street corner.
Excess, no questions asked is the philosophy. That interlocked Double C Chanel handbag under an arm was probably made who knows where, by who knows whom, under what type of conditions.
At least the world’s most expensive logos are being seen with people who count. Next time looking over a lifestyle of the rich and famous social media post just remember “If it looks too good to be true, it is probably fake.”
A snippet from the Before Tacky podcast with filmmaker Kevin Macdonald about fashion designer John Galliano. Rumours have hit the fashion gossip circuit the once former creative head of Dior is set for a return to the famed house. Click below to understand why we think this story feels a bit false.
Author Colin McDowell cynical take on the fashion world in his 1994 book The Designer Scam coined a phrase “Display Artists” for those who show up at events to parade around, get pictures eager being a part of the “best” crowd. Today they are called “Influencers”, people who influence others posting on social media. Others display their recent buys in shopping hauls. How can we not notice the neatly lined bags behind content creators on YouTube. These video Display Artists must show the world they can afford the big brands.
