fashion industry

Fashion Weeks and Research

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Critical thinking in the real of fashion #formodernhumans


Fashion weeks used to offer ideas for doing research, highlighting details worth considering to put together and defining a specific selection. So it was in the past.

And so, these days, we keep an eye on the international events, from New York to London and now Milano. Of course, Paris and Tokyo too. But so far, we are perplexed about what we see.

Fashion weeks vs change


Indeed, the discussion on changing the industry, which was so popular during the pandemic, has disappeared from the scene.
It seems that the fashion industry is an enormous system that doesn’t know how to renovate itself. And so, brands keep up with the same thing they used to do.

Even the language feels boring, like an out-of-tune mantra. So you realise that words like sustainability, timeless or genderless are on everyone’s lips. Just empty claims for people who don’t think.

And they all talk about the same things, but nothing ever changes. Furthermore, the world is falling apart, but it looks like brands are only interested in dressing music or movie stars. That’s what you can offer? Really? Celebrities! They have the money to buy whatever they want, but they don’t pay for their clothes.

When it comes to design and style, you may be even more perplexed. Clearly, designers cannot deliver brand-new concepts. But lately, what the industry calls freedom or inclusion seems just bad taste combined with a lack of vision.

Fashion weeks vs research


So, when we need to research unique garments for people like us, the widest part of the work happens through lookbooks we receive via email. And through some specific research that we do online. Then, possibly, showrooms too.

In the end, you’ll get more value from brands that have something to say, and you can see it through their meaningful design rather than those who want to attract herds of replicants who look all the same.

Above all, fashion weeks as a pure waste of money having an impact on the environment, are pointless.

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Niche Fashion: What Does It Mean?

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And can it stand on its own?


Niche fashion is a matter of having a personal identity, refusing mass products and somehow having a certain repulsion for what is extremely popular.

The question is: do you want to look like everyone else? Dress like everyone else? And think like everyone else? If yes, maybe reading this post is a waste of your time. Indeed many people like to be the copy of others. But if your response is no, it’s worth a few minutes of reading. Exploring the concept of niche fashion will help you understand that small universe outside mass trends.

It’s an imagery that finds very little space in our homologated culture. Social media flattened everything privileging a single line of thought.

Created by visionary designers, it finds support from a limited number of selected international retailers who still have a passion for research. And by people like you, who love searching for authentic gems.

Niche fashion
Marc Le Bihan tulle skirt


However, niche has a meaning in marketing but has a slightly different connotation in fashion. In marketing, it refers to a group you identify as your target audience.

Niche fashion meaning


In the fashion field, professionals call niche brands or collections those designs out of the mainstream. Cult pieces of clothing or accessories not for all because of their design, quality and craftsmanship. Which image is so unique that only people with a specific taste will understand them.

In essence, niche fashion is about having a different sensibility towards design and quality. It is for connoisseurs, insiders or everyone having an eye to recognise it, people who escape from mass thinking and find pleasure in the unconventional.

Now, can niche brands stand on their own? The news that Calzedonia group just acquired Antonio Marras, taking a majority stake in the brand, opens the discussion.

Niche fashion will never be trending, never too popular. It wouldn’t be niche. And it has nothing to do with algorithms.
Preserving a culture of diversity is vital for niche brands to survive.

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Dear Sustainable Brands: Are You Consistent?

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Sustainable brands VS consistency


Dear sustainable brands, let’s make a point on consistency.

Consistency is fundamental for building trust, so it should be for sustainable brands. Also because they cover themselves with an ethical patina that makes them appear better than the others. But, on the contrary, it seems that these new ethical brands have a problem with it.

Their purpose is to make a change. But if so, it’s not clear why they still follow outdated systems. Or they try to reach success by partnering with channels that have nothing to do with sustainability.

The point on consistency

Sustainable brands must be consistent with their message.
Do you agree? So, the question is: do they want to make a change for real?
If that is their goal, why do they sell their low-impact ethically-made garments through retailers that collect almost every designer on planet earth?

Isn’t it a matter of consistency?
These retailers sell huge quantities of clothing and accessories. Therefore, their business isn’t sustainable. Even if they proudly show a sustainable section, as most of them do. Which makes you understand the power of marketing and the trick behind sustainability.

If consistency was a fundamental value for them, they would find other ways to sell their products. But they all dream of being sold by the same old big groups. And so, they want to change, but not really.

Sustainability is a promise no one can keep, but still, everyone wants to sell. Ethical marketing, if not supported by proper choices and actions, is just smoke in the eyes. In other words, it is greenwashing.

Dear sustainable brands, you cannot change the world by playing the old game. Forget the status quo if you want to change for real. If you are seriously committed, you need to craft a new strategy. You’ll change the world with new patterns, new rules, and a new language.

So, if you want to be trusted, change the system, not only your marketing!

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How Products Change

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Changing fashion to change our culture


Products change when consumers’ tastes change. In other words, products evolve as consumers’ tastes shift. However, given that consumption is all about cheap and disposable products, we are in big trouble.

The fashion industry appeared to be moving in a new direction, aiming to preserve the environment and improve people’s lives. But reality revealed even more troubling consumption habits, as in the case of ultra-fast fashion, which we discussed in our previous post.

The combination of overproduction and overconsumption is the economic pattern that dominates the fashion industry—a model mirrored across many other sectors. Therefore, this reveals a deeper cultural issue: the growing preference for disposable products, a habit that has also deeply influenced younger generations. In fact, accessible, cheap products give the illusion of richness.

Mass culture is the commercialisation of culture, where products products are created solely for profit. People are so immersed in this overwhelming abundance of options that it feels nearly impossible to escape. Or at least, that’s how it appears.

But climate change is the issue we need to face, and it’s urgent. And so, how do we change consumers’ tastes?

Change products: fashion and culture


Changing fashion means changing culture. Fashion creates products that reflect our culture, revealing society’s tastes. In this way, fashion tells the story of what we consume. In other words, altering what we consume leads to changes in fashion, and ultimately, in our culture.

The change begins by recognising the new needs and incorporating them into the design of meaningful products for people who care.

As a boutique and industry insiders, we contribute by curating only valuable garments with good design. And by offering a different perspective for people like us, those who do not recognise themselves in the mass trends.

Your choice, if you care, is evolving towards a conscious lifestyle aiming to change for the better. Or leave things the way they are, persisting with the blind exploitation of people and the planet.

In the end, you have two options: either you can play the game, or you can change it!

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From Fast To Ultra-Fast: A Cultural Regression

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Is ultra-fast fashion what people learned from the pandemic?


From fast to ultra-fast fashion, we are witnessing a cultural regression in the fashion industry. And so, in our society. Something that makes you question the human ability to learn, especially in the face of such serious events we have lived in lately.

Forget the long-awaited thoughtful consumption habits! Started after the pandemic, this trend represents a sharp and clear setback.

To reduce its impact on the planet, the fashion industry was supposed to evolve, experimenting with new sustainable paths. The pandemic, which worked as a catalyst, highlighted this urgent matter. Therefore, a more balanced structure and timing, shorter production chains, and healthier consumption habits seemed a conscious evolution to pursue. A need to change for the better.

The ultra fast growth


Unfortunately, the industry shifted from fast fashion to ultra-fast fashion! And you know what? Consumers really loved it!
Astonishing–that is the biggest change trending everywhere.

Now with 5€, you can buy a dress. Certainly, this new production trend is more polluting than fast fashion. But does anyone care? Even if it is more polluting, ultra-fast fashion has become very very popular.

Ultra-fast fashion and resale


Apparently, at the same time, the resale of extremely poor-quality items is growing. But what is the point of reselling ultra-fast fashion garments? Reselling garments made with a zero concept of durability is just smoke and mirrors.

Indeed reselling garbage clothing that, if you are lucky, will survive the first wash simply hides a push towards overconsumption. The industry produces more and more cheap garments, and as a consequence, both young and not-so-young consumers continue to buy more and more pieces. And they can even resell those items, but the overconsumption trick behind it is clear.

All of this has nothing to do with sustainability. So, when they say Gen Z prioritises sustainability, what are they talking about? And what do they mean by sustainability?

The wrong answer


After the pandemic, the fashion industry shifted from fast to ultra-fast fashion, generating mountains of garbage clothing with a tragic impact on both people and the planet. However, the problems we are witnessing won’t be solved by producing more and consuming more! Yet, it seems that very few people truly care. Do you care?

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