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Fashion in the News 2004
The Guardian profile: Tamara Mellon: The society princess who spotted a gap in the luxury shoe market has transformed herself into a fashion mogul. On Monday it was announced that Jimmy Choo, the shoe label she has presided over for almost a decade and by whose commendable efforts has been made essential for the fashion-conscious, is considering selling or floating itself on the stock market. This article traces Mellon's career from accessory editor at Vogue through to stiletto moguldom. While her fans coo over how a pair of Jimmy Choos will make them look thinner/sexier/cooler, Mellon recently cited a tellingly different benefit: "I feel so empowered when I put on a pair of heels. I like to be taller, to look a guy in the eye."
The Guardian: Friday 05 November, 2004
London makes an exhibition of itself: Tomorrow, the Museum of London will stage a celebration of London fashion through the ages. "The London Look: from Street to Catwalk" explores all aspects of London style and its influence on fashion worldwide. It also aims to show the industry's influence on the city's character. Edwina Ehrman, the exhibition's curator, believes that putting contemporary fashion in a historical context makes more sense of how influential London has been to fashion, both in the past and now. "Ultimately, fashion is a trade, but it is also the perfect barometer of social trends," she says.
Telegraph/Fashion: 28 October, 2004
Fashion's future is a 6-figure job: Fashion trend forecasting is a very small but lucrative field, with free trips to Paris. Trend forecasters take the pulse of the public's psychology and spot upcoming trends and products that will be hot next spring, next fall or even a few seasons beyond. David Wolfe, creative director of the Donegar Group expects to see a lot of apparel made from newly manufactured natural fibers in what he characterizes as a fear-based quest to get back to nature and downsize our lives. Trend analysts can work for forecasting firms, of which there are only about a dozen worldwide, Wolfe said. Or they can work directly for fashion retailers, design houses and clothing and shoe manufacturers, which often have their own in-house trend teams. A college degree in fashion (such as a bachelor's in fashion design or fabric styling) is a plus. And an internship with a forecasting team is one of the best ways to break into the field.
CNN/Money: 29 September, 2004
Fashion spread irks Spanish feminists: Spain's new Socialist government, which has won praise from women's groups for its support for gender equality, is now drawing their wrath. The government's eight Cabinet women, held up by the Socialists as a symbol of the party's commitment to equality for women, are being criticized for appearing in a fashion shoot on the grounds of the presidential complex for the September issue of Vogue magazine's Spanish edition. The article opens with a two-page photograph of the eight ministers, some reclining on a couch, one leaning against a pillar and all wearing fashionable if conservative clothing. The criticism of the article is the first significant attack on the government's feminist credentials since it came to office in April.
New York Times: 20 August, 2004
WOMAN: Designers cross first hurdle: The Malaysian-International Fashion Awards (MIFA), which was launched last year, has created a platform designed to unfold the talents of young designers. One of the three categories that make up the awards, the Upcoming Fashion Designers award (the other two are for Established Fashion Designers and Special Achievements), is designed to discover, recognise and groom a new generation of fashion designers. Panelist Geoffrey Thomas said that there has been a dramatic increase in fashion interest throughout the years. "There are a lot of talented fashion designers in Malaysia but they seem to concentrate on local influences. I believe that while you have to be proud of your heritage, it is also important to see yourself as a global designer," he added. In the first round of judging, candidates were expected to interpret their designs in a narrative form and they had to convince the judges that their designs carried interpretations of the 1910s.
New Straits Times: 12 July, 2004
Latest fashion is wearing your 'tude on your tee: Quotes on T-shirts that run the gamut from "Note to self: Breathe" to "I don't trust people whose names I can't pronounce" and worse, provide the wearers -- mostly young adults aged 18-22 -- with a venue to broadcast their likes and dislikes, political and sexual preferences, recent heartaches and just plain nonsense. Psychologists claim that wearing your beliefs on your shirt is often much more comfortable than speaking up. It appears that attitude T-shirts can contribute to self-esteem, as well. "The possibility of shock value can draw attention to a person, and that's an aspect of self-esteem," Wade says. "It makes the person feel as if they are someone of worth. It's a strong factor for adolescents who are trying to establish their identity. It's part of self-discovery.".
Contra Costa Times: Thursday 08 July, 2004
Bold Glory: As Independence Day approaches, Americans are buying Old Navy's flag T-shirts like crazy. "We are somehow affirming our identity," said Ruth P. Rubinstein, associate professor of sociology at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. "We wear the appropriate attire for the appropriate occasion. . . . We want to let people know that this is the United States." Old Navy introduced its "Famous Flag T" 10 years ago. This year, the company held a contest for kids to design a shirt, and the grand-prize-winning design already has sold out online.
The Arizona Republic: July 1, 2004
Fashion designer's 'half baked' idea is saved by the British: The fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, whose latest exhibition in Paris displays his famous creations in bread form, was obliged to use British bakers after leading French boulangers dismissed the job as impossible. The baker-exhibits at the Fondation Cartier, which include a dough version of the designer's infamous dress with a conical bra, are all dressed by Mr Gaultier.Yet when he asked French bakers to recreate his most famous garments, they said it could not be done. Moulds and resin were created instead by a team of young British sculptors, engineers and a baker based in Wandsworth.
The Daily Telegraph: Sunday 06 June, 2004
Designing for everyone: Michael Kors's simple but stylish creations draw on the suburbs for inspiration. The Council of Fashion Designers of America nominated Kors as the best womenswear and menswear designer of the year. In the fall women's collection, there's a moss paisley chiffon jersey, sleeveless long dress and fur shrug and a complementary purple paisley silk georgette minidress with fringe from the hip to the knee. Men get a camel cashmere coat that hits just above the knee with flared suede jeans or an olive coated cotton twill mac jacket. Kors says he now favours simple and well-made garments over trendy items, since time is the ultimate arbiter of style.
The London Free Press: Tuesday 01 June, 2004
It is FAB - but is it art?: Fashion and art are no strangers to each other. Elsa Schiaparelli collaborated with surrealist artists including Dali, Cocteau and Giacometti as long ago as 1936; Hussein Chalayan produces catwalk presentations that are more performance art than runway show; museums present much-lauded exhibitions of dress, not just historical but contemporary: Westwood, Versace, Ossie Clarke. A new exhibition, "Fashion at Belsay", held at stately home Belsay Hall in the Northumberland countryside makes a further contribution to debates on the artistic status of fashion. 12 British fashion designers (including Alexander McQueen, Eley Kishimoto, Paul Smith, Hamish Morrow and Stella McCartney) have been asked to make non-garment contributions to the "Fashion At Belsay" (FAB) exhibition. The results include a series of three-sided confessional-style cubicles, a spiralled tendril of unfinished, joined-up shoes reaching from floor to ceiling and a spectacle based on a concept of how fabric would behave in zero gravity.
Financial Times: Tuesday 01 June, 2004
WoMan: Helping designers go global: The Malaysian-International Fashion Awards (Mifa) 2003, a platform to discover, recognise and groom the country's aspiring fashion designers, sees the recent showcases of six of its recognised talented designers. The elite team, part of the renowned "KL Six", was selected through polls by fashion professionals in the run-up to Mifa 2003. The KL Six are Chandran, Daniel Cho, Khoon Hooi, Melinda Looi, Tom Abang Saufi and Villiam Ooi. Their exposure in the foreign fashin scene was made possible with the implementation of Global Fashion Inspiration (GFI), a programme which is part of the Kuala Lumpur Asia Fashion Week, to be held in conjunction with Mifa 2004 this November.
New Straits Times: Monday 31 May, 2004
Fashion designer Nicole Miller putting 'Sesame Street' on kids: Fashion designer Nicole Miller is working with Sesame Workshop on "Sesame Street by Nicole Miller," an apparel line for newborns, infants and toddlers.
Houston Chronicle: 25 May, 2004
Wellington Fashion Designer, Emma Pahl: Emma Pahl is the designer behind new Wellington-based apparel label PAHL. Already catering to a strong base of private clients, the label will be officially launched to the public later this year with PAHL's Distinctive Spring/Summer 2004-05 range. The range will feature PAHL's signature detailing embroidery, beading and unexpected fabric manipulation.
Thread, New Zealand: 25 May, 2004