On Friday calling in sick at work to work the Glamour magazine assignment
The Future of Women’s Fashion (discussion held at the 92ndY on 10/21/2009)
With the exchange that went in earnest at the panel moderated by Cindi Leive,
editor-in-chief of GLAMOUR magazine who spearheads a very successful magazine
and one of the marquee titles within the Conde Nast publication; Isaac Mizrahi,
designer maestro; Robin Givhan, the only Pulitzer awarded to a fashion
journalist of the renowned Washington Post; Ashley Olsen, co-founder and partner
with Mary-Kate of their name-sake preteen clothing brand at Wal-Mart; one came
away with a hint of setbacks the industry faces but with a positive note of
optimism.
Anecdotes were peppered throughout the discussion keeping it entertaining yet
informative. One that springs to mind was on the topic if women dressed for the
opposite sex or rather to impress each other. A plunging neckline of a
provocative Dolce and Gabbana dress was definitely not going to win any female
company leave alone empathy remarked Givhan, to which Lieve responded that it
was not the case in her opinion and that her husband could not care less if she
dressed, “ in a tank top and jeans”.
The Fascination of the press of the First Lady
The panel continued on Michelle Obama as an excellent role model of what a woman
s size would represent as the contemporary American ideal standard to whom women
could look up to. In the literal sense, the First Lady was quite literally the
‘first’ offering the world with the ‘First Thighs’ and a coy glimpse of the
‘First’ décolletage. Of course ‘democratization’ of fashion has been the order
of the day when a handful of emerging designers were introduced into the
mainstream almost overnight , as well as lending chain a certain cache for
brands such as J. Crew and White House/Black Market .
Size Matters
The fact that a sizeable population in America is turning larger in girth, the
runway mannequin is shrinking into a sliver of its former self.
An anecdote recounted by Isaac Mizrahi’s recollection on once having regular and
plus sized women walk the runway several years ago was greeted with hostility
especially when editors dropped their pens and crossed their elbows with
absolute disdain and contempt.
This point was driven further when the former Ralph Lauren campaign model,
Filappa Hamilton, was met with much public outcry over the retouched image that
resulted in a emaciated disproportionate figure.
“What has struck me is that for all the complaining and the blogging about how
thin models are….the only thing that has stopped them (consumers) from buying is
the economy, not because they were reacting to the images they were seeing”,
said Givhan.
Successful Branding
With the unemployment rate reaching an almost alarming high of 9.8% and growing
steadily, buyers at all price points have scaled back their orders by 30
percent.
In terms of retail, Isaac attempts to return to the roots of a bygone era when a
beautiful constructed garment was an item that a customer lusted for and now the
present economy is forcing designers to re-examine women’s priorities; the flaw
now is that everything in this trade is all so fleeting and mass produced that
it has lost its allure, “For a long time the fashion industry was coasting on
trendy handbags and trendy shoes and tons of sales,” Robin said
Ashley’s enthusiasm for in the long term in retail seems almost viral in the
best possible sense, “it’s going to be more exciting. And more fun.”
Refraining from pursuing any projects as an actor for Ashley was definitely
ruled out, when asked if returning to it was a possibility. It is only because
of her and Mary-Kate’s devotion to their couture fashion label “The Row”
inspired after the famous Savile Row of London, and now “Elisabeth and James”,
named after their siblings.
It has been a struggle to keep a steady pace of ten deliveries annually for the
licensed latter brand, which is a daunting challenge faced by a staff of about
30, but one that continues to grow. Their designer price point, “The Row”;
financed by the girls themselves and operated by ten, affords the luxury of
domestically carte blanche production that caters to a niche market; a
grassroots movement of attempting to refrain further redundancy from oversea
outsourcing and practiced by the likes of ‘Rag and Bone’ among others. When I
dug a little deeper on their profitable line at Wal-Mart, I was surprised by
their commitment when they signed a pledge that allowed the workers in
Bangladesh full maternity leave.
Among a handful of celebrities who introduced their lines, the Olsens stand
apart for their unrelenting commitment to the business and for their longevity
in a highly competitive market.
But to Isaac, as long as it can be constructed within accepted industry
expectations, it should not be an issue or make any difference from where the
merchandise is made, for that matter.
Smoke and Mirrors
The visual commercial appeal is what Mizrahi has successfully manipulated that
serves as a driving force for his brand, and one that served extremely well
during his tenure at TARGET and until 2008, and then repeating this formula at
LIZ CLAIBORNE where he serves as the creative director. Celebration to his
customer, who is in “her thirties”, will always be the point reference.
His 2008 carried an advertisement of an ensemble of the ‘every day modern
woman’, with the exception of a model who seemed out of place in this stunning
contemporary classic image because; “Fashion advertising is hateful.” Images
with emaciated figures or in rather dubious comprising positions for provocative
situations to stir publicity is still practiced to which Isaac’s conclusion was
that, “they would not do it if it did not work.”
He still has deep admiration for women who exuded an elegant carefree bohemian
chic attitude, and for him Loulou de Falaise personified it ( whose daughter
Lucie de la Falaise went on to become a successful model) and who was a one
time fashion muse and designer associated with Yves Saint Laurent.
For his Spring/Summer 2010 collections, Mizrahi had models parade and enact ‘art
imitating life’ in a soundstage setting; descending a staircase, walking through
the rain and wind with a little support from theatrical implements, emerging
from a golf car or walking on a guided dotted line which was an appropriate
metaphor as the path of destiny of her choosing- that brilliantly captured the
essence of the modern woman.
Lily White Runways
It is more of a question of aesthetics and not a deliberate arrogance against
diversity, even though it might appear otherwise according to Robin Givhan. This
lies partially in fault with a few European designers who wished the focus to be
on the clothes that resulted in disconcerting clone like nondescript girls. But
that entailed only the Caucasian race by default; a grave oversight that
continues to plague the industry’s haughty ignorance. One recent attempt to
overturn this practice was a commendable step taken by the British designer
Matthew Williamson Spring/Summer 2010 who showed in London after a hiatus of
several years when he presented in New York, by having a very diverse casting
ever taken on the runways in recent memory.
“Why do people love to hate fashion?”
Asked by Cindi to the panel, to which Robin explained that,” It’s just really
easy to hate…..In the U.S. we don’t think of fashion in the same category “with
the fine arts. And yet it is viewed as rather frivolous but, “Nobody would
really ever say that spending thousands of dollars a year on football season
tickets is ridiculous!”
Event Attire
When asked on the choice of their attire for the evening, Isaac Mizrahi, was
devoid of all vanity and zoomed in for with an amusing explanation, “because it
was the only thing that fit” ( perhaps from a little indulgence of cheesecakes
on QVC, along with several products, on his preliminary rounds of preparations
slated to air this winter). He even proceeded to remove one foot from his gown
slippers to proudly wriggle his bright pumpkin painted toe nails for Halloween
to everyone’s delight!!
Comfort is what Ashley Olsen seeks when it comes to her choice of dressing and
looked radiant in a white long split maxi framed by a tiny black bolero and
strategically disheveled ‘shattered edge’ shoulder length bob . But one
exception was donning the red mile high platform stilettos just for the event
itself.
Robin Givhan refrained from appearing “as a black lump” and chose a knit dress
of caramel and ebony overtones.
Cindi lieve, whose choice would always have been trousers and blouses, has
lately been seduced by the appeal of the dress. It was a black and white full
skirted cinched version and whilst she daintily tethered in a pair of zebra pony
skin platforms, to which she lamented “that it would indeed be a very sad day”
whenever this trend came to pass.
In conclusion Cindi was quite delighted by the mostly upbeat response from the
panel on role of magazines in context to the print media’s present standing by a
question forwarded from the audience, “It is a celebration to women” according
to Robin Givhan and, “That it points customers to discover ways to indulge
during the recession and celebrate style”; while Mizrahi, would rather see the
return of models rather than celebrities, while in reality it does not appear to
end anytime soon.
AFTER THOUGHT: One Notable Mention
On further research on a blogger, Sheena Matheiken, piqued my interest. Her
website is aptly titled theuniformproject.com, which is a deeply admired cause
by raising funds for uniforms and school expenses for children in the slums of
India.
She has vowed to wear one dress, a uniform, for an entire year.
It was brought up when Cindy recalled it vaguely during the panel discussion,
and for this am trying to spread the word.
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