If you’ve been following FWO regularly, you already know we’re not just about cutting-edge news (although — in the expression “cutting edge” — what exactly, is cutting what? The whole figure of speech is a bit confusing. We just see one of those jagged haircuts that implies the wearer is living “on the edge!” Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Anyway, please don’t ask to see our yearbook photos).
No, we’re also known for over-reaching editorials where we talk about stuff we have no business talking about. And on that note ….
But, what if we could take these ideas further in 2016?
So in 2016, we’re calling for the “Age of Us.”
But this is a special kind of “us.” “Us” usually appears in the context of “us vs. them.” But what is there is no “them,” and never has been?
But what is there is no “them,” and never has been?
What if we were all just here, supporting each other, regardless of differences in sexual orientation, body type, country of origin, or religion? What if the very same “race” invented classical music, country, jazz, and hip-hop, built the pyramids, put a rocket into space, and invented crêpes, tandoori, and sushi? What if, instead of saying “the Chinese culture” or “the Russian culture,” we said our African culture, or our Polynesian culture? What if all cultures on earth belong to all of us? What if, on the 2020 census, we crossed out all the racial options and wrote in “human.” Is that corny, or is that more accurate?
What if we were all just here, supporting each other?
What if money wasn’t as important as being happy? And what if happiness could come from biting into an apple, or simply walking down the street?
How would the world change? And how would a small investment in these new ways of thinking create a new world where we look out for one another? How many problems would simply disappear?
Remember Google Glass? Yeah, me neither. Apple watches on the other hand? Well they’ve sold 3.6m in Q2 alone. So what’s the diff? Does our dislike of Google Glass harken back to the days of being called four-eyes? Bandaging broken frames with athletic tape? (Unfortunately I’ve experienced both first-hand.)
Even with the Warby Parker empire growing daily, it seems the fashion world isn’t ready to render themselves “geeks” for the sake of hands-free Instagramming. But tech’s role in fashion hasn’t let up: in fact, it has grown. Just in subtler ways.
It’s no secret that tech has seeped into every facet of our lives, and so fashion has been forced to integrate tech into its fabric. Take Apple Music for example. After Apple acquired Beats, the leading audio lifestyle brand, they rolled out an entire marketing strategy to target the fashion set with music’s leading style icons: FKA Twigs, Sam Smith, Pharrell, among others. Though these ads do not showcase product, they do showcase the omnipresent power tech has in our cultured, stylish lives. Through association with these style icons and a slick user interface, Apple Music became the chicest streaming accessory of the season.
Fashion has been forced to integrate tech into its fabric.
Brands have also incorporated tech in other ways. Take Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel SS16 show, where models wore LED sneakers down the runway. While maybe not immediately recognizable as “tech” per se, these Tumblr-like aesthetics demonstrated how tech has creeped into the sartorial vocabulary.
CuteCircuit, a London-based brand, is another such example. Since 2004, Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz have been crafting clothing and accessories made of smart textiles and micro-electronics. From LED handbags that display tweets to USB powered dresses, Katy Perry’s endorsement of their growing label makes it clear fashion and tech are growing closer by the day.
Katy Perry’s endorsement of their growing label makes it clear fashion and tech are growing closer by the day.
So how do you make “geek” chic? Sound off in the comment section, or tell us on our social channels!
Normcore is a term founded in 2014 by K-Hole, a group of trend forecasters in New York, meaning to “move away from a coolness that relies on difference, to a post-authenticity coolness that opts into sameness.”
In other words, if differentiation is no longer possible, find happiness in being like the people around you.
Normcore — often mistakenly associated with wearing plain clothes — actually means to suit yourself based on your current state, or to adapt. For example, mom/dad jeans is Normcore if you’re a mom/dad wearing jeans. Mom/dad jeans are not Normcore if you’re a hot young person looking to stand out in a sea of trendy skinny jeans. (Skinny jeans would be Normcore in that case.)
Lady Gaga Rocks the Meat Dress at the 2010 MTV VMAs
In terms of dressing for the red carpet, this mindset would motivate a star to blend in with a glamorous but easily digestible outfit, and to move on without a legacy (or one based in clothing, anyway). Camouflage yourself depending on your environment. Anticipate that your style may be forgotten, but that’s OK.
In a Man Repeller article from February of this year, writers Leandra Medine and Amelia Diamond posit, “normcore is a by-product of memes.” Their point is that celebrities may choose a neutral ensemble over a bright floral print with a big accessory in order to avoid becoming immortalized in an Internet meme. K-Hole says itself that the Internet and globalization are responsible for the lack of capacity for individuality that led to the Normcore revolution.
I’m going to try to add to the conversation by addressing the thought processes behind both red carpet choices and their effects. Let’s say a starlet is choosing her dress for the VMAs with her stylist. She can choose to wear a dress covered in meat (initial reaction: gross), or she can wear a rose Balenciaga gown (initial reaction: pretty). Say she opts for the meat dress. From the moment she makes this choice, she anticipates that she will get a lot of attention at the show. This prediction comes true.
An Internet artist may depict in a graphic the meat-clad starlet getting chased by a dog. This common association (meat and dogs) commemorates the outfit and the starlet, and she receives so much attention that she obtains a legacy in the American psyche. In fact, Lady Gaga has achieved her own Normcore to the point where people are surprised when she dresses “normal.”
This propulsion of a star’s name and face is easy and free publicity, so low status celebrities may dress for the sole purpose of standing out in order to gain momentum in the press. If nothing else, this red-carpet-to-meme conveyor belt expedites achieving fame.
What about the people who want to dress for the sole purpose of expressing themselves? Not only has the fear of Internet memes complicated the situation, but perhaps the fear of being a low status celebrity who needs the publicity from Internet memes has turned people with genuine fashion identities away from expressing them. Has the free speech of the Internet censored celebrities? Not exactly — the Internet has just become quite a loud voice in a previously tabloid-driven conversation. Like a big drunk brother at the holiday party, the Internet will continue to chime in with what it thinks necessary, and usually that means making fun of people (and sometimes, it’s funny!).
With this, we have a message for award show attendees on the fence re: expressing themselves this season: Your alcoholic Internet brother will most definitely say something to amuse himself, at your expense. Other people may also very well laugh. Don’t go sulk in your room! Go on, and make your own Normcore!
Don’t go sulk in your room! Go on, and make your own Normcore!
We’re not saying you won’t be made fun of; just understand that the Internet’s drunk and doesn’t mean it.
OK, it does mean it … but just try to ignore it.
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(Photo collage from items on Lyst. Lady Gaga by John Robert Charlton.)
Oh boy! Chronicling the changes of New York Fashion Week’s evolution every season might be considered a full-time job in and of itself.
Competing logos? Multiple producers? Brands, sponsors, and bears, oh my! (Okay, no bears. Yet.) Here at Fashion Week Online, we try to keep things simple.
Because when all is said and done, it is pretty simple. There are shows. Some stream live. And afterward, there are replays.
Mainly, there are clothes.
Okay, and some stuff that’s not just clothes. We don’t make any bones about loving the social element. That’s why we post NYFW Instagrams. Interviews. And obsessive news about our favorite NYFW personalities.
If this seems like an endless plug (which it should at this point, cough), we apologize. If you want “news news,” we could give you some about NYFW becoming more consumer-focused. Which sounds like a great thing to us.
But here’s the thing. We think New York Fashion Week should be fun. Not complicated.
So sit back and relax, as we gear up for a new season, with shows, live streams, and replays.
2015 was a year of some pretty wonderful revolutions: more rights for more people. More inclusivity both on and off the runway.
2015 was a year of some pretty wonderful revolutions.
And although it may seem small in the grand scheme of things, one of our favorite debuts of 2015 was Klossy — Karlie Kloss’ new YouTube channel produced by Casey Neistat, edited by a few great folks and helmed by associate producers Annalora von Pentz and Ruby Honerkamp.
It’s a channel where you may learn less about a life of international travel than the importance of using freshly ground peanut butter in gluten-free, vegan cookies. And that’s what makes the channel so refreshing.
You may learn less about international travel than the importance of freshly ground peanut butter.
One of the great, not-so-secret secrets of the entertainment business is that, behind the glitz and glamour, are — too-often — a lot of lost souls. For its apparently lightweight patina, Klossy shoulders a hefty load: functioning as a beacon for anyone — who may aspire to glamour, or feel shut out of glamour — to the things that really make us happy.*
And if Klossy has one persistent message, it’s that happiness comes not from clubbing ’til dawn, driving a luxury car, or appearing in print. It’s the same stuff that’s accessible to everyone.
Happiness comes from the same stuff that’s accessible to everyone.
It’s family. It’s friends. It’s taking the time to nurture others.
It’s the precious, underrated, present moment: as simple and tactile — and as real — as cookie dough.
Have a wonderful 2016!
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(p.s. We almost forgot! We’ll be showing one Klossy video per day between now and the new year. It should add up to 12, sort of. Either way, enjoy!)
In our consumer-facing society, it almost seems like an odd question. Why wouldn’t the consumer be first? But it’s also the question that needs asking in the often insular and confusing world of fashion week.
Today, WWDreports that the Council of Fashion Designers of America is asking some tough questions about NYFW’s structure, as part of a bold plan to potentially rethink fashion week from the ground up. They’ve retained Boston Consulting Group to “conduct a study to define the future of fashion shows.”
It’s no secret — as we’ve been reporting since 2012 — that fashion week has become a form of entertainment. And although many have resisted the change, it’s only one part of a system that the CFDA describes as “broken.”
The seasonal aspect itself is confusing, to say the least. (“Wait, September is Spring?”) But just as importantly, showing collections 6 months in advance has an ugly way of coming back to bite designers in the form of “fast fashion” retailers, who have ample time to copy designers’ styles and get them to market at a lower price point … and often before the designers themselves.
Some of the new ideas include “smaller showroom presentations and appointments with retailers and press to show the collection six months out and to place orders. They then would have a runway show with all the bells and whistles for a consumer audience showing in-season merchandise — and getting all the positive benefits from the social media phenomenon.”
Here at FWO, we think these are exciting ideas, and will serve designers in several key ways, while simplifying things for the public, and — most importantly — addressing the real need of consumers to buy the things they love today … not in 6 months.
If the CFDA has its way, these changes may soon be coming to NYFW … and possibly the other “Big 3,” as well.
Cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass. Blasé bob-haired ladies, arms crossed in the front row. Impossibly long-legged models, like flamingos holding pose after pose. And then the clothes: floaty, diaphanous gowns, stitched from chiffon. Big gleaming buttons affixed to bouclé blazers. Such is the fantasy of fashion week, as filtered through the media: a series of jump cuts, high-octane colors and whirring noise. But the truth is that beyond this delirious fever dream, the fashion industry is a business like any other (give or take some glamour, of course).
And this week, when the big four events kick off in New York City, casual observers looking for a way to penetrate the shiny surface should consider this: In each of the historic fashion capitals (NYC, London, Milan and Paris) there’s a hive of nine-to-fivers living, working and sashaying down the streets. These people form their city’s style identity, giving it a distinctive personality on the global stage. To that end, being able to differentiate between the four fashion weeks in terms of mood, feeling and style is the ideal starting point for understanding how the industry works.
Ready to take a close look at fashion's Fantastic Four?
Each season, this is where it all starts. NYFW may not have the historic legacy brands you’ll find in Paris, but its tradition of clean, sportswear-inspired designs (think Calvin Klein, Halston, Perry Ellis, Michael Kors) has transformed the way the world gets dressed in the morning.
Novelty is the key to NYFW’s charisma. Separated from the rest of its fashion peers by a big blue ocean, New York’s style scene resolutely pushes toward the new.
In fact, when we asked top model Catrinel Marlon — whose deep ties to the Milan fashion circuit recently included a worldwide contract with Giorgio Armani — to name her favorite fashion week city, her answer was simple: "New York City, for sure. [It’s the] one city that combines glamour, excitement, novelty, beauty and art."
What the insiders say
My personal favorite aspect of New York Fashion Week is its ever-growing influx of emerging designers, giving the city a fresh and youthful air. New York welcomes new talent so much so that these up-and-coming designers are given their own spotlight and exclusivity in conjunction with the big-name designers.
— Pujah Shah, U.S. communications manager for Stylight
Designer:Marc Jacobs
Season after season, the crown prince of American fashion fuses commercial appeal and eccentric glamour to unforgettable effect.
Model:Karlie Kloss
With limbs for days, this wholesome Midwestern-born beauty is heir to the legacy of the ’90s supermodels.
Editor:Anna Wintour
A living legend, Vogue’s editor-in-chief has grown New York City’s status as a worldwide fashion capital to unfathomable proportions.
Street Style Star:Leandra Medine
The so-called Man Repeller has earned millions of followers for her offbeat style, distinctive voice and goofball persona.
The British may have a reputation for almost impossibly refined etiquette, but London’s fashion industry revels in the rude.
And no wonder: Fast on the heels of the Swinging Sixties, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren defined the visual vocabulary of punk fashion and brought it into the mainstream. The city’s deep ties to the 20th century’s most influential subcultures have left an indelible mark on the fashion scene. Today, London is welcoming to creative young designers, often disregarding commercial viability in favor of aesthetic vision and innovation.
As the London-based journalist behind Mademoiselle Robot, Laetitia Wajnapel, says, “London, while possibly being the ‘smaller’ event out of the big four fashion weeks, is most certainly the place for designers to experiment with their collections, and there is scope for young and emerging houses to fully express themselves.”
The fact that it’s home to two esteemed fashion schools — Central St Martins and the London College of Fashion — may also play into its risk-taking reputation. And it’s worth noting that many of those bright young things grow up to become fashion royalty: Alexander McQueen and John Galliano are two of the many luminaries who started their careers as fashion students in London.
What the insiders say
If London’s style had a personality it would be an Ab Fab Patsy and Edwina hybrid. Which translates to the runway with the outrageous attitude and hecticness of London Fashion Week.
Designer: Mary Katrantzou
This Athens-born designer’s trippy digital prints and structural frocks are beloved by A-listers, fashion editors and well-heeled shoppers worldwide.
Model: Cara Delevingne
This social media–savvy British It girl embodies the city’s relentless energy, IDGAF attitude and idiosyncratic style.
Editor:Suzy Menkes
The former fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune (now at Vogue International) has a sharp eye, an iconic quiff and an unparalleled authority in the fashion world.
Street Style Star:Susie Bubble
Within certain circles, imitating this trailblazing blogger’s extraordinary and outlandish Technicolor looks is now practically a rite of passage.
Italian fashion. Two words that conjure up old-world elegance and a deep tradition of craftsmanship. But unfortunately, Milan’s fashion output has acquired a bit of a bad reputation in recent years.
As Italian journalist Federico Poletti wrote in Business of Fashion this March, “A recurring narrative being circulated in certain corners of the media would have us believe that there is nothing but negativity on the catwalks of Milan.”
Home to big brands like Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana, Milan Fashion Week is sometimes accused of being overly commercial and excessively glossy, catering to the broadest possible audience instead of pushing fashion forward. But the truth is, every fashion week is home to a handful of highly visible establishment brands that prefer to please the crowds instead of challenging them. Not to mention: Anyone who wants to be challenged might think twice before criticizing the birthplace and longtime home of Prada — arguably the most intellectually rigorous show of the season.
What the insiders say
I love Italy and I will always defend Milan Fashion Week. This fashion week is unfairly disparaged every which way, when it should be roundly praised for its range of designers from Moschino to Prada. Oh, and the coffee is brilliant. Caffè doppio, per favore!
— Damien Neva, director of social media for Next Models
Designer: Miuccia Prada
This PhD-holding former activist is broadly celebrated for her exquisite and thoughtful collections.
Model:Mariacarla Boscono
Named one of the top 30 supermodels of the 2000s by Vogue Paris, Boscono’s otherworldly beauty has been a fashion-week fixture for countless seasons.
Editor:Franca Sozzani
Sozzani’s courageous and controversial Vogue Italia spreads have taken on issues the rest of the fashion world wouldn’t dare touch — like race, weight and violence against women.
Street Style Star: Anna Dello Russo
Surely one of the most photographed fashion figures in the world, this larger-than-life creative consultant builds her unbelievable outfits with the runway’s most memorable looks.
And here’s where it ends. We wouldn’t dare to play favorites with the fashion cities … but we might have to: Paris takes up the distinct strands that define the other three fashion weeks and subsumes them into a glorious cornucopia of visual delight.
Like New York, Paris is electric with energy and vitality; like London, the city is friendly to free-thinkers and iconoclasts; and like Milan, Paris oozes with glamour. But here’s the rub: What most people know of the Paris runways begins and ends with establishment labels. It’s a saturated market, which means that it can be harder for younger designers to get off the ground.
What the insiders say
Odély Teboul, co-founder of the emerging couture label Augustin Teboul, praised the impressive offering — “Paris Fashion Week is just not comparable to any other city, since it presents the collections of all the big brands” — but noted that since “the calendar is full, it’s not the easiest place for new brands or young designers that want to get a start.
And one more:
All the weeks are but time trials for Paris, the granddaddy of them all. Every day serves up a handful of shows from top houses that are simply unmissable. The mind boggles. All told, the ready-to-wear season is a marathon in which the stars of tomorrow are born.
— Damien Neva, director of social media for Next Models
Designer:Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel
The man, the myth, the legend. Lagerfeld also shows his collection for Fendi at Milan Fashion Week, but his high-concept, attention-grabbing Chanel shows are always one of the month’s main attractions.
Model:Caroline de Maigret
With a touch of rock ’n’ roll swagger, this iconic models nails that whole effortlessly cool Parisian thing almost as if she had personally invented it.
Editor:Carine Roitfeld
Over the course of her career, the former Paris Vogue editor — now the global fashion director of Harper’s Bazaar — has imprinted her dark, raw sensibility onto fashion’s DNA.
Street Style Star:Garance Doré
This French fashion blogger and photographer essentially kicked off our contemporary street style mania together with her ex-boyfriend, Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist.
Now “English” can mean a lot of things. When we say “English,” we mean a sort of pan-English Isles fantasy we have, that involves lots of friends who gather for fox-hunting on an English country estate: think Highclere Castle from Downton Abbey, except about 1/15th of the size. (Even in our fantasies we try to keep things realistic.) Except we don’t actually hunt the foxes; we all just try to take a photo. So it’s more like fox-startling. Though maybe that isn’t so nice, either. Apparently there are a lot of layers to this fantasy.
We wake up early in the morning as — one by one — our hale and hearty friends arrive on horseback, through the early morning mists. We gather in the great stone kitchen for a quick, hot breakfast before heading out on the moorland. Everyone’s decked up, and basically we go out riding around and goofing off.
Unfortunately, that’s about as in-depth as our imaginations go. But with that snippet of fantasy in mind, we found some of the stuff below: not all of it English, but most of it — we think — beautiful, adventurous, and fun. Full collection.
In the realm of social consciousness, fashion seems to have pushed to the absolute forefront in 2015.
Most popular music lost its way a long time ago — mired down in themes of cheap hyper-sexuality, status obsession and fantasies of eternal clubbing — and even comedy can’t seem to keep up. Fashion, long considered the ultimate status tool, reserved for a certain class or shape of people, has bitten back.
“Here,” fashion seems to be saying. “This is me. I am different. I am imperfect. And yet, I am fashion. I am BEAUTIFUL.”
“Here,” fashion seems to be saying. “This is me. I am different. I am BEAUTIFUL.”
From the advent of plus-size supermodels to the rise of humanistic blogs like Man Repeller, the revolution is on. And that new clarion call in fashion sounded perfectly — and beautifully — in the events from FTL Moda, in partnership with Art Hearts Fashion. The shows also feature some big name talent, in the form of Adriana Lima, among others.
From the advent of plus-size supermodels to the rise of humanistic blogs like Man Repeller, the revolution is on.
Interview by Julia Zeldin, FWO Associate Editor
Photos by Emy Kane, FWO Social & Fashion Tech Consultant
Photos: Emy KaneAchieving the perfect balance of both luxury and ready-to-wear is a nearly impossible feat. Emerging brand Murray West triumphantly brings extravagance to everyday attire through pristine attention to detail and luxurious fabrics. In advance of a planned showing at fashion week in New York, we sat down with designer, Jerrell West, at the recent Murray West hoodie launch.
Q: Can you tell us about yourself and how the Murray West brand came to be?
The idea for starting my own clothing line began in high school. The Youth Venture organization encouraged students to create a business plan that would benefit the community, to receive $1,000 dollars. And at that time, I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. I wanted to make money and I wanted to touch people. But my principal told me I should pursue a career about which I was passionate. Youth Venture stopped coming to our school, but I already had 10 designs and a business plan, and here we are today.
I already had 10 designs and a business plan, and here we are today.
Q: Why are we here tonight?
Tonight is a private event to give our family and friends a sneak peak of what’s to come from the Murray West brand. We had to showcase this brand in the right way; we knew that the ambience of the AKA Hotel would truly capture the feel of Murray West. The goal of tonight’s event was to emphasize that once you purchase a piece from Murray West, you’re not a buyer–you’re family.
Once you purchase a piece from Murray West, you’re family.
Q: What inspires you?
So much, but most importantly: life, people, architecture. Working at a medical center is my full time job, and being able to experience all sorts of people, colors, and energy is the what truly inspires me.
Q: What are three words to describe the Murray West brand?
Decadence, luxury, and chic.
Q: Is there one message you want us to take away from the brand?
Everyone is trying to do something with their life, and it might not be their full time job, but they have a side project, a passion project. I want to encourage our buyers, our family, to be all that they can be.
Q: What are you most excited for fashion week?
I’m so excited to see how people react to my line, to gravitate to the Murray West brand. Even tonight, it’s incredible to see people with Murray West pins on. I finally get to see a brand, that I’ve been drawing on paper for so long, actually coming to life. It’s so surreal to see people take the Murray West brand home.
I finally get to see my brand come to life.
Q: Any final thoughts?
Murray West is about progress, supporting each other, and togetherness. All I’ve ever wanted is to help others get to the next level, and to make their dreams come true. That’s what encourages me to create this brand.
All I’ve ever wanted is to help others get to the next level.
It’s street, but chic. It’s beautiful. It’s Murray West.
If you’ve been following FWO regularly, you already know we’re not just about cutting-edge news (although — in the expression “cutting edge” — what exactly, is cutting what? The whole figure of speech is a bit confusing. We just see one of those jagged haircuts that implies the wearer is living “on the edge!” Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Anyway, please don’t ask to see our yearbook photos).
