Everything you see from me – whether it’s on the runway, in a look book or part of a campaign – was funded by me. I dare a Balenciaga or Gucci to come and create under my conditions and produce the quality of work I produce. | | Man. Fendi S/S 2018, Milan Men's Fashion Week, June 19, 2017. (Jacopo Raule/Getty Images) | | | | “Everything you see from me – whether it’s on the runway, in a look book or part of a campaign – was funded by me. I dare a Balenciaga or Gucci to come and create under my conditions and produce the quality of work I produce.” |
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| rantnrave:// For all the legacy the fashion industry has—haute couture, licensing, textile innovation—there are some exciting developments to watch outside traditional confines. LAWRENCE LENIHAN's op-ed for BOF, about how creator-led brands can fight back in a business environment that rewards exploiting others' ideas, is a must-read. I almost couldn't believe the synergy it has with this piece about African designers who are operating on their own terms outside the traditional fashion industry. What I love about Lenihan's piece is that it opens a realm of possibility for radical creative ideas to find a (fast) presence in the market and an alternative to ye ole "how things have always been done." Putting value back into the hands of creative talent is more than sound rhetorical reasoning—and this time, there's a business model to back it up. Check it out: RESONANCE... Musician RAURY signed on to walk the DOLCE & GABBANA runway, but the way he and his cadre of millennial models were presented with "boycott" shirts didn't sit well with the singer. His response? Protest the "protest." In this interview with GQ, he speaks truth to power so clearly it's hard to consider the outside context. Do we need to? MARK ANTHONY GREEN keeps a sense of humor and perspective on the situation, writing that "A millennial millennial'd and spoke his mind" at MILAN MEN'S FASHION WEEK. We could all use a sense of idealism from time to time... More from Milan: FENDI and TOM FORD... Some of the best advice I've heard for entrepreneurs and designers: know capital structures and the expectations that come with them, lest a hedge fund tell you to get into real estate. I'm kidding, but this is happening to HUDSON'S BAY... FLIPKART launched a private label... Listen to this fabric... The latest product line to roll off the KARDASHIAN mint... Is BANANA REPUBLIC a dark horse for handbags this season? Something may be afoot. SEAN SANTIAGO offers some incisive thinking (and his mum's cc) on a mass American retailer... These people... Eye-popping creations from BY WALID. | | - HK Mindy Meissen, curator |
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| The status quo spells certain death for design-driven brands unless they tap new technologies and Economies of Small, argues Lawrence Lenihan. | |
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Young designers - even ones with strong ties abroad - are increasingly choosing to launch their labels on the African continent. We ask them why. | |
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The Atlanta musician talks about his shirt-off statement, being detained by security, and millennial politics. | |
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The founder and buying director of London designer indie Machine-A does things his own way. | |
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Taiwanese-American artist James Jean opens up about his prints for Prada Resort 2018 - and his working relationship with Mrs P. | |
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The new words for "luxury": "organic," "sustainable," "fair-trade." | |
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All but the soles of the luxury brand’s footwear are made in Transylvania before being ‘finished’ in Italy and France. | |
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Your “Made in Italy” sunglasses may not be quite as Italian as you think, at least not according to a strongly-worded new lawsuit filed against Kering, the parent company of Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Brioni, and Balenciaga. | |
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Breaking down the potential good, bad and ugly of influencer marketing platforms, some of which anyone can join. | |
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Recently I found myself tootling around the streets that constitute New York’s storied Garment District, a six-block area between West 35th Street and West 41st Street, Broadway and Ninth Avenue. Actually, “tootling around” isn’t quite the right expression. | |
| How chief executive Neal J. Fox took a 165-year-old leather goods brand and turned it into a 21st century street style favourite by not being afraid to pivot - or take a gamble. | |
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Bonobos and Walmart have totally different values. Will Bonobos founder Andy Dunn be able to help change Walmart’s image? He’s not sure. | |
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Urges board to sell real estate and explore a take-private deal. | |
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Walid al Damirji is a Swiss-born, British-Iraqi designer based in London who specializes in patchwork garments, with fabric sourced from vintage clothes. | |
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After the birth of my children, I feel like I live in somebody else’s body. | |
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The Queens-born model Dovima became the template for high fashion in the 1950s, before her American Dream tale turned tragic. | |
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"The connection between hip-hop and shoes has been mined to mediocrity in pursuit of content and, like some cultural fossil fuel, all that seems to be left -- bar those untold stories and archives from those who were there -- is fumes." | |
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The market for fashion blogger-launched clothing collections has grown increasingly crowded in the last few years, and their ubiquity hasn't curbed their success. However, the once-whimsical, largely directionless offerings are on the heels of a makeover. | |
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Kardashian gives WWD the first-ever interview on her new beauty brand, KKW. | |
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"It told its own story," says costume designer and frequent Sofia Coppola collaborator, Stacey Battat. | |
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