Good evening everybody-
Have decided to not name change and if people want to see me as somehow having disappointed/shown a different side then that is their right and i can do nothing about that. People are complicated and not one or two dimensional. Good and not so good can co exist in us all alongside justified and not so justified anger and annoyance. Thinking somebody was an alright person then seeing another less pleasing aspect of their character doesn't mean they have somehow 'fooled' you as to their true nature.
Goading threads (and some people specialise in these) give me spots behind my eyes and there have been all too many of them on here lately. And disingenuity walks the halls.
Sorry if I drew fire towards the most hospitable non sneery group of Women I have met in a long time. They clearly have not been reading this thread very carefully if they think we are unpleasant to any delurkers on MN. We are delighted to welcome you.
Anyway, back to the real talking.
Has anybody read this month's British Vogue yet? There's an interesting editorial by Sarah Harris (she of the gorgeous silvery hair) about RL runway versus digital media. Half of the audience at the last Chanel (um) S/S 14 are described as being 'fixated on their iPhones' halfway through the show, barely aware that the RL action unfolded in front of them. When you consider the sucked in air expensiveness of these shows one wonders whether this can be sustained when what appears to be the motivation for attending is simply 'I was only there if I was photographed/filmed' and the aftershow schmoozing that goes on (where the real work is done).
What generates cold hard cash for the houses are the Pre Collections. Now these have been growing in popularity and prominence these last two years. So how is the Fash Pack going to cope with even more Paris/Milan/NY/London visits including the shoehorning in of working trips to ShangHai / Tokyo / Dubai / India - all important markets? I can imagine that there will have to be a two tier of staff- those that attend shows and those that work as sittings editors and stylists because how will they do both? I cannot imagine how people like Grace Coddington, Camilla Nickerson, Tonne Goodman manage to scout locations, conceive ideas, choose models, clothing and photographers and execute the shoots whilst attending an ever increasing global carousel of cruise, Pre and minline shows and buyers meetings.
JW Anderson, the young designer produces ten, yes 10! collections a year divided between his own line and Loewe. Companies like Moda Operandi originated to bridge the time lapse between show and store. You can order straight from the collections from Moda Operandi but doesn't this increase the pressure as stores now want their deliveries earlier too? Some stores now build in late delivery penalties into their supply contracts. And magazines and industry powerplayers no longer review only the designers who show.
So is the live catwalk show a spectacle of the past? Are we seeing it rage against the dying of the light with the recent multi million pound shows by Chanel and LV?
Who remembers the McQueen hologram of La Moss? The car paintspray robot disgorging paint over Shalom Harlow on her dress? What a shame if people don't get to see innovation like that. Because does this drive fashion forward as much as the dresses on their backs?