The future of our industry is all about information: It’s about databases, it’s about scholarship. It’s not only about the provenance of each individual piece, it’s about the forensic study of the watches. | | | | Andean slopes. Machu Picchu, Vogue 1968.
(John Cowan/Condé Nast Collection/Getty Images) | | | | | | “The future of our industry is all about information: It’s about databases, it’s about scholarship. It’s not only about the provenance of each individual piece, it’s about the forensic study of the watches.”
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| | rantnrave:// HIGHSNOBIETY hosted "The Drop @ Barneys" over the weekend, and I have to give a shoutout to JEFF CARVALHO for moderating a panel on women and streetwear. One of the biggest questions for streetwear today is how to deal with legacy. Streetwear labels have been capitalizing on their history, which can be a slippery slope when set against bleeding-edge cool. Women have always been present in the streetwear scene, and more seem to be entering the space. An early question posed to the panel was whether women want streetwear designed specifically for them, or if they want to participate more fully in the space as it currently exists. As TRACEY MILLS points out, a great example is in sneakers: should a brand like NIKE be making pink JORDANS or just ensuring that existing size runs fit women’s feet? Part of the issue is framing the space as masculine when, as labels like HBA have shown, the black-and-white, high-contrast graphics associated with streetwear can represent inclusivity and a refusal of gender boundaries. Yet functionally and statistically, there are more men designing and writing about streetwear than women. The community is also intergenerational. An audience member asked how many are aware of PARADISE GARAGE in the 1970s—that early streetwear was about demanding recognition, asserting style when mainstream culture was effectively marginalizing minorities (I agree with Barneys' merchandiser JACKIE SKYE KIM. The question/commentary was great: catch it at around 27:24). Younger fans may connect to streetwear through celebrity style or INSTAGRAM. Legacy is the common thread that binds all fans of streetwear, so it's important that cultural stories be told—and that includes women who've been there. It brought to mind a recent experience I had at the book launch of “Expedition: Fashion from the Extremes” (thanks to my friend LIZ WAY) at the EXPLORERS’ CLUB in NYC, where CHRISTINE DENNISON spoke about the gear she wears on expeditions. Dennison is an accomplished technical diver, explorer, and fellow at the Explorers' Club—the first woman to dive the arctic waters of the NORTHWEST PASSAGE as well as the tributaries of the AMAZON RIO NEGRO. She spoke briefly about consulting with brands like RED FOX on making technical gear for women, helping them to understand her experience—details like the cut of an arm opening (armscye) or the length of outerwear can make a huge difference. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions here, but Dennison stressed the importance of women being at the table. And that echoes Jackie Skye Kim's assertion on the Highsnobiety panel: streetwear has risen as a result of community lifting each other up, and as more women participate and support each other, the community evolves. Dennison revealed at the end of her presentation that the silver tunic she was wearing under a blazer was actually chainmail made by SHARKARMOR. Fashion overlaps all of these spaces: technical gear, streetwear, sport. The one thing Dennison carries with her on trips to earth’s icy poles? A vial of CHANEL fragrance. Glamour isn’t dead... Take a trip to the fake YEEZY store in WENZHOU... MODA OPERANDI established an incubator for emerging designers. | | | - HK Mindy Meissen, curator |
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| Fashion journalist Alexander Fury pins an essay on the freedom of fashion designers and where the industry stands. | | |
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| What the Civil Rights Movement has to do with denim. | | |
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| Rosenblatt describes his luxury marketplace company 1stdibs as “eBay meets Sotheby’s.” | | |
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| This weekend, Highsnobiety partnered with Barneys on thedrop@barneys, a two-day shopping event that saw the release of 30 exclusive capsule collections. | | |
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| The fashion industry does not set fashion -- it proposes them. It tries to work out the mood and the zeitgeist and looks for ideas that might express that. The same, increasingly, for Facebook -- it cannot really decide how people use its products or what they see, only propose. | | |
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| The designer speaks to "Vogue" about politics, fashion pop-ups and why he hopes to push couture into a different world. | | |
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| BoF’s Global Fashion School Rankings 2017 shows a handful of top schools are leagues ahead of the rest on graduate employability. | | |
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| “Looking homeless is for the campaign trail.” | | |
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| Established by the partner of Yves Saint Laurent, the Institut Français de la Mode is closely knitted into the French fashion ecosystem like few others. | | |
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| The citizens of the Islamic Republic are no different than their Western counterparts in their taste for brand name luxury goods. | | |
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| Science and fashion may rarely cross paths, but for these 10 industry leaders, both are traveling lightspeed. Here's 10 of the most innovative brands. | | |
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| Symbolic and visceral, smell is a powerful brand language that convincingly conveys identity and differentiation. It creates a direct, tangible connection between a brand and its consumers. | | |
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| Adding even more anticipation. | | |
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| Married to the Mob founder Leah McSweeney shares insight on whether or not streetwear's spotlight in the mainstream will help boost the women's business, what Supreme's success means for other brands and why department stores that shunned streetwear brands in the past are now aboard the bandwagon. | | |
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| In conversation with Katie Eary, it is easy to see that she is just as, if not more, audacious than her riotous collections. Characterised by an unabashed charisma and a snappy wit, Katie Eary ushers in a new kind of menswear -- one that is reinvented through a cheeky mix of bold prints and the perfectly executed silk shirt. | | |
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| Retail villages in China, Europe and the UK are attracting growing numbers, with Chinese shoppers accounting for 40 per cent of visitors, and this number is expected to increase dramatically as more Chinese travel overseas. | | |
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| Contrary to popular belief, wearable tech designer Olya Petrova Jackson believes that touch screens will bring us closer. | | |
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| It’s a fashion nerd’s dream project. | | |
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| The elusive fashion and beauty maestro also previewed his next maverick scent. | | |
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| Maintaining a menswear brand can be difficult. High fashion credibility can turn on a dime. Decades of blue collar branding can wither away if a new generation of workers doesn't see your clothing as reliable or authentic. Mass market retail tastes change with the seasons. | | |
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