Moda

Fashion, Politics, and Dante Alighieri

/ Leave a Comment
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Why bother the Tuscan poet?


From fashion to politics, Dante Alighieri has become a recurrent name in the news. Sadly, people like to speak out of turn to make an impression. However, their remarks often have the opposite effect, making them appear absurd.

Dante on the Italian scene: sad but true


Not a piece of fake news, so please take a deep breath if you didn’t already know it. Recently, Gennaro Sangiuliano, Italy’s culture minister, claimed that the poet Dante Alighieri was the founder of right-wing thinking. Of course, this statement caused a great stir leaving many people perplexed. However, understanding why contemporary politicians look like caricatures more than real leaders would be really interesting. But that needs a deep reflection we will not tackle here.

Dante Alighieri & the Paris Haute Couture


Yesterday, Daniel Roseberry for Schiapparelli opened the Haute Couture week in Paris. And for the maison, the creative director sent on the runway a show inspired by the Inferno by Dante Alighieri. Specifically, he focused on the three fairs the poet encounters in the forest dark: the leopard, the lion and the she-wolf.

Cultured reference or not, animal trophies embroidered onto evening gowns were a horrible concept. Even more considering that those animals are in danger of extinction. Furthermore, models no longer in their youth had the face skin smooth as a child’s butt.

Bad taste dominated the show. Most of all, it is unclear what kind of women the fashion industry wants to appeal to.

Ignoring the Italian culture minister’s statement made sense—it’s best to avoid highlighting stupidity. But now Dante is back, making headlines again—this time, from Paris Haute Couture week!

Understandably, we are living in an unprecedented time of disruption and change. But why bother Dante? From fashion to politics, they force out-of-context cultural references. The only plausible explanation is that they want to impress but have nothing meaningful to say.

Fashion, Politics, and Dante Alighieri Read More »

Upcycling: The Future Of Fashion

/ Leave a Comment
Reading Time: 3 minutes

A trend or a permanent approach towards sustainable fashion?


Upcycling seems to be the future of fashion. Indeed, this technique is one of the best opportunities to make fashion a more sustainable industry. But is it just a trend? One of the buzzwords brands use to lure attention? Or is it here to stay?

Upcycling – what does it mean?


Upcycling means taking discarded materials, re-designing and reassembling them to create a product of higher value. While recycling transforms materials into something new, which implies more resources, having a higher impact, upcycling starts with existing materials, resulting in a lower impact. Therefore, this practice represents a pattern of circularity, the heart of sustainable fashion.

A personal note: family tradition


For us, daughters of a seamstress so passionate about making clothes that she even finished buttonholes by hand, it’s not a novelty. Since we were children, we’ve had familiarity with collecting buttons, zippers, and fabrics. Pieces from existing garments that mom would reshape to make something else: beautiful clothes for special occasions or garments and accessories for daily life. Our school bags and pencil case made of deadstock denim were fantastic.

upcycling

Upcycling, background notes


A memorable example of upcycling comes from the movie industry. Rossella O’Hara’s dress, made from curtains in “Gone with the wind”, belongs to our collective imagery.

Many blogs attribute the “upcycling discovery” to this or that designer for a promotional purpose. But we cannot avoid mentioning Mr Martin Margiela. Since the beginning, his aesthetic mastered the deconstruction and reinvention of found garments, culminating in 2006 when Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal was born.

On the same line, we mention Marc Le Bihan. A big part of his work consists in searching for vintage garments, deconstructing and reconstructing them. He upcycled military uniforms from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, reshaping them into modern pieces. With Swedish pants, he created a coat; with military pull, a gilet; and with smoking pants, a long skirt. Also, he created pieces with postal bags made of heavy linen for a catwalk.

Among young designers, Marine Serre’s creativity stands out. Indeed she is doing a great job with upcycling.

By exploring fashion history, we can see that upcycling is nothing new. But what brought it to the centre of attention was the pandemic, which spread a do-it-yourself trend among young people. Most importantly, it favoured the diffusion of particular attention towards sustainable fashion.

Nowadays, many famous brands ride the wave to stay popular. Though advisable to become sustainable, a fashion industry that almost entirely revolves around upcycled garments is hard to imagine.

Upcycling: The Future Of Fashion Read More »

The Luxury Inconsistency

/ Leave a Comment
Reading Time: 2 minutes

How the fashion system devalues itself


Straight to the point of the luxury inconsistency: top brands stopped representing luxury. When they adopted the overproduction model, triggering a constant need for discounts, they moved in a different direction. And with the rise of ‘affordable luxury’–a meaningless oxymoron–the fashion industry has been doing its best to devalue what little remains of luxury.

Luxury: from exclusivity to mass products


Overproduction and luxury have nothing in common. But the fashion industry promoted this pattern to make more money in the name of growth and greed. Some top brands represented the last stronghold of an industry that was transforming into financial conglomerates. In this new context, fashion shifted from exclusivity to the masses.

In order to appeal to a wider audience, communication had to develop a different narrative, revolving around three points:
1- extremised concepts, just to give something to talk about
2- socialite or fashion bloggers to promote the products
3- frequent markdowns

As a result, the industry lowered its standards focusing on branding rather than providing creativity and excellent quality. The byproduct was a crass logo dependency. However, associating a logo with specific lifestyle imagery is not the same as creating well-made products. Most importantly, exclusivity and discounts are inherently contradictory.

The luxury short-circuit


Sometimes luxury brands, how they still want to call themselves, release the misguided communication, as seen in the case of Balenciaga. Consequently, fashion bloggers end up selling their products at a discount. But can you imagine who paid full price for those items? They must be thrilled to see them undersold!

Rising prices: the latest strategy for luxury


Now brands increase prices due to pandemic-related issues and inflation, but that does not mean better quality. They’re simply covering their costs. If people accept paying more, they get mass-produced items in return, not exclusivity.

What masses believe is luxury, it is not. It’s the product of an industry that has lost its consistency. A fashion industry that, without serious critique and questioning, reveals its short-circuit and inability to change.

In conclusion, communication missteps show the luxury inconsistency to everyone. And you don’t even need to be a fashion insider to understand it!

The Luxury Inconsistency Read More »

The End of Trend-Based Items

/ Leave a Comment
Reading Time: 2 minutes

From trend-driven to timeless: how contemporary fashion has evolved


Although fashion brands stubbornly introduce transient concepts to maximise their turnover, the end of trend-based items seems quite clear. Lately, the idea of seasonal trends has lost meaning. That is in favour of a clean and timeless style that favours classics with a modern twist, clothes you’ll never get tired of.

Trend-based fashion, status quo and the pandemic


Trendy-driven items reflect the status quo–fashion with a close expiry date, without distinction between luxury and fast fashion. But since the pandemic, our lifestyles have changed, and so have the clothes we want to wear. The climate crisis has also played a key role, influencing consumer behavior and shaping the way we approach style.

Cleaning out our wardrobes of the pieces we no longer wear is the first step. And that, by the way, doesn’t absolutely mean discarding them. In fact, as a consequence of this evolved behaviour, we don’t throw away clothing. We do not throw away anything. We either donate or re-sell, depending on the item.

The reason for this wardrobe cleanout is simple: we realised we don’t need more garments. Less but better is what we need. And also, we need clothes that make us feel good.

The end of trend-drive fashion & new style: timeless, seasonless, comfortable


The new style is about assembling a capsule wardrobe of beautifully designed garments. Special pieces that give a sense of elegance but make you feel comfortable at the same time. Even important clothes that we love to mix nonchalantly.

Therefore, the focus is on the cut and fabrics that provide an elevated touch. Relaxed tailoring assembled in modern separates is the heart of this evolved style. Blazers, trousers and knits do not constrain the body but allow movement. Also, we want to feel the comfort on our skin. So, wearing our favourite clothes becomes a pleasant experience.

In this context, we see the end of trend-based items. Indeed, we filter fashion proposals in search of good design – seasonless and timeless clothing. An evolved and subtle elegance. A clean style that embodies a contemporary understatement that impresses for its beauty but refuses any showiness.

#formodernhumans

The End of Trend-Based Items Read More »

The Growth Obsession

/ Leave a Comment
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Can fashion survive without growth?


While reading the international news, it seems the growth obsession is here to stay despite climate change. Industries don’t see any problem or urgency. So, why should they make a change? They don’t really care because profit comes first. Although panels address sustainability as a crucial matter for the fashion industry, growth still seems to be the main concern.

Sustainability and growth obsession


On December 22, Vanessa Friedman, The New York Times fashion director and chief fashion critic, moderated a task force of fashion industry leaders.

On the surface, sustainability is touted as the fashion industry’s goal. However, industry leaders argue that true sustainability won’t be achieved without a shift in the business model and a greater effort to educate consumers.

Ms. Friedman has highlighted a crucial point:

“At this point, it’s not about the chemicals. It’s about the sheer amount of stuff that we produce, that we buy and that we waste.”

Vanessa Friedman

But then Laurent Claquin, Americas president of the luxury group Kering, declared: “Growth is not a bad word.”
Well, this leaves us a little bit perplexed…

Although the conclusion was that the fashion industry needs to stop focusing on exponential growth, some contradictory positions emerged.

So, where is the fashion system heading? And can fashion survive without growth?

China, Covid and growth


In an interview with “Il sole 24 ore”, Alberto Forchielli, entrepreneur and expert in international business with a focus on Asia, said:

“In China, the Covid situation is truly explosive. Some factories are seeing 80-90% of their employees out sick. Experts estimate 250 million cases and two million deaths within the year. Now everything is blocked and obviously, it will have consequences for the economy. Factories can’t keep up with orders, and containers don’t leave. But this situation will not last long. Forecasts say that growth will return in the third quarter. And when China restarts, it won’t be easy for the West: gas and oil will rise again next winter because Chinese energy demand will explode.”

Growth obsessed industries vs climate change


On the one hand, the current situation in China is a catastrophe facing many deaths. Yet, on the other, the imperative is growth. Growth, growth and more growth!

The big picture is this: extreme heat, rainforest burning, glaciers melting, flooding, ocean life dying, and insect numbers plummeting. And we could go on with the list! Our lifestyle is destroying the planet and the ecosystems, and this destruction will soon revert to us.

Is growth still the only plan we have?

The Growth Obsession Read More »