The breakthrough came last week from the checked British behemoth’s Christopher Bailey– the all-round Burberry lad- CEO and Chief Creative. All this was not supposed to be a tiptoe manoeuvre as not to wake the entire fashion reign, contrary, it was a bitch slap. Bailey’s mutiny is actually compelling the fashion system to rethink its policy and plan how to get by in today’s do-or-die critical climate- the second thing is disclosed subtly-. Burberry has announced a change to its runway and retail calendar and will show its womenswear and menswear conjointly twice a year- February and September, during London Fashion Week- and collections will be immediately available for sale. With the gender issue in an uproar these days, Burberry’s top dog combines business with a cultural (r)evolution. “The change we are making will allow us to build a closer connection between the experience we create with our runway shows and the moment when people can physically explore the collection themselves” says Bailey. Well, it sounds as a safe assumption more than a convincing one.
Money outweigh everything else- sorry, I did not find any other way to blurt out what lies beneath in my opinion!- In the last months of 2015 the brand-name has recorded the worst downward trend since 2012 with a loss of 12% and this comes as a financial expedient, mainly, not- as stated- to deliver a more genuine customer engagement- customers have already the stimulus and attention they deserve!-. Live streaming, tweets, comment-posting, hashtags are all tools that empower people- not pros in this specific case- to have an active involvement in the fashion industry. Even Tom Ford– who did decide to present his AW16 in September- is going to follow suit. “In a world that has become increasingly immediate, the current way of showing a collection four months before it is available to customers, is an antiquated idea and one that no longer makes sense. We have been living with a fashion calendar and system that is from another era” Ford himself revealed- I think we will survive- hey hey!- the four-month wait, Tom! But we appreciate the effort.
To delete two of the four runway shows means not only a sizeable saving- coordination and management of the events- but, combining it with a faster availability of the merchandise- producers immediately give the dummy to the mass market’s babies-, boosts a depressing way to envisage fashion emotionally. The Buy It Now trend- or trick?- is able to wipe out the peculiar features of fashion design: the emotional response to products, firstly. To make something accessible in a short while is like creating a product already debased, the wait gets emotions stronger. It’s a too rational fashion, shorn of its magic and incalculability but, these are the- new- rules of the game. Long live the disenchantment of the world! Who can blame it? This is capitalism after all.
For the men’s Summer 2020 collection, Dior’s iconic “newspaper” print – first created for the Spring/Summer 2000 haute couture show – has been reworked by Kim Jones in collaboration with the contemporary artist Daniel Arsham.
This season, Orelsan and Sébastian Strappazzon drew their inspiration from “The Marathon des Sables”, a 160-mile race through the Sahara dubbed “The Toughest Footrace on Earth”, where participating athletes endure a six-day trek.
London’s University of Westminster hosted its third BA show during London Fashion Week, under the leadership of Professor Andrew Groves who radically rethinks the purposefulness of fashion education, delivering a collective catwalk show aligned with the fashion calendar.
Derived from the constant tension between Western imposition and traditional African idols explored in Chinua Achebe’s writings, “Underground Spiritual” keys on the clash between traditional and non-traditional culture that reached a crescendo during the 1960s and 70s.
For FW20, the 3.1 Phillip Lim essential wardrobe is streamlined and strengthened, with styling elements that casually disrupt the modern wardrobe, revisiting the brand’s core New York heritage.
As photographer Pasquale Autorino toys with perspective and composition, he captures the dichotomy between balance and equilibrium of the collective in this Fucking Young!’s group editorial.
