All my expertise is focused on making people appear and feel comfortable, sure of themselves, dynamic, and truly modern. I feel very strongly that clothes that fit well make a person feel better. It's maybe half the value of the merchandise. | | | | Jean-Paul Gaultier RTW S/S 1998, Paris, Oct. 14, 1997.
(Daniel Simon/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “All my expertise is focused on making people appear and feel comfortable, sure of themselves, dynamic, and truly modern. I feel very strongly that clothes that fit well make a person feel better. It's maybe half the value of the merchandise.”
|
| |
| | rantnrave:// THE COSTUME INSTITUTE's next major exhibition is getting devout. “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination" has the potential to show how Catholic iconography has spread far beyond the auspices of the church. The pomp, spectacle, and traditions of Catholicism contain deeply resonant symbols of power and self-denial, and they're some of the longest running traditions in Western culture—controversial as they may be. The exhibition theme holds a personal note for me. As a grad student I worked on a project called "Inter Alia: Fashion and the Dress of the Catholic Church," which explored Catholic clothing's place in our cultural imaginary—the crossover between luxury, fashion, vestments, and the habits donned by monks and nuns. The Catholic church patronized luxury industries by commissioning incredibly opulent vestments for centuries, and its clothing traditions have changed and responded to the times, albeit in a slow-moving fashion. Much has been made of POPE FRANCIS's pared-down style, favoring simpler cassocks, choosing silver instead of gold for his piscatory ring, and keeping the same pectoral cross he had when he was a cardinal. There will be many different ways people connect to the show—so many pieces that come to mind from pop culture and fashion's runways. It's the right time for it. And the subject deserves to be explored with all the resources an institution like the Met can summon. Per the NYT, the museum reached out to the VATICAN in 2015 to collaborate on the show (it worked with the Vatican in 1983 on the the exhibition "The Vatican Collections: The Papacy and Art," the third most-visited exhibition in the Met's history). Several designers from JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER to ALEXANDER MCQUEEN have explored Catholic vestments and iconography, but there are other crossovers too. Little known is the fact that while at DIOR, MARC BOHAN designed nuns' habits for the DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. I'm happy that the show is exploring ideas inspired by Catholic dress—there's as much about rebellion and subversion as there is reverence. A book I thoroughly enjoyed in my research was "High Fashion in the Church." Looking forward to the show... Mass market labels and fashion designers are exploring workwear's roots in hard-wearing, utilitarian, and protective clothing. From construction uniforms to denim overalls, what's behind our fascination with workwear? FashionSET: Fruits of Our Labor: Workwear and Fashion... This piece from RACKED looks at soul food in a luxury setting and brings together cuisine, politics, and fashion. It's fantastic... QZ's lifestyle site QUARTZY had a great first day—pleasing design and layout, and too many enjoyable reads to fit into this newsletter. Here's a couple on CHANEL's debut in CHENGDU and DRIES VAN NOTEN at the NEW YORKER FESTIVAL... Meet the president of JD.COM's fashion division. | | | - HK Mindy Meissen, curator |
|
|
 | Racked |
| The curious case of soul food in department stores. | | |
|
 | The New York Times |
| The Metropolitan Museum’s 2018 fashion blockbuster looks at religion’s influence on the designer imagination. The Vatican is on board, but will the viewers agree? | | |
|
 | The Business of Fashion |
| Fendi’s Pietro Beccari will head to Dior as chief executive while outgoing Dior chief executive Sidney Toledano will now lead the LVMH Fashion Group replacing Pierre-Yves Roussel, who is transitioning into a special advisor role. | | |
|
 | SSENSE |
| Ryohei Kawanishi discusses reappropriation in fashion, and what logos can’t do for you. | | |
|
 | WWD |
| Edward Enninful talks models, multiculturalism and his old fashion gang. | | |
|
 | Bloomberg |
| Partnerships with Opening Ceremony and other designer brands have pushed the workwear (and skateboarding) stalwart to the center of America’s fashion conversation--just in time for it to be scooped up by a massive clothing conglomerate. | | |
|
 | Garage Magazine |
| LaBeouf is no conventional style icon--which is why designers, Instagrammers, and at least one hallowed fashion magazine can't stop watching him. | | |
|
 | Wallpaper* Magazine |
| As 'Jil Sander: Present Tense' opens at the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt am Main, Nick Vinson speaks to the legendary German designer about the impetus behind her first solo museum exhibition. | | |
|
| Racked |
| This election really will never end. | | |
|
| Garage Magazine |
| Taking inspiration from religion may sound like a provocative move for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, but a passion for fashion is intrinsic to the Catholic faith. | | |
|
| The Business of Fashion |
| BoF can exclusively reveal that Florio and "Paper’s" Drew Elliott, together with strategic partner XRM Media, plan to invest in video and viral strategies while building off the magazine’s rich cultural history. | | |
|
 | Neu Neu Media |
| Brittany Byrd is feeling herself. Or at least, that's how she describes this very moment of her young adulthood. And rightfully so. Nestled in a small booth in the middle of a downtown NYC Thai restaurant, Brittany is hard to miss. | | |
|
 | Jing Daily |
| We spoke to Jerri Ng, editor-in-chief of China edition of Time Inc.-owned "InStyle" magazine to see how she plans to run the publication in the digital era. | | |
|
 | Harper's Bazaar |
| The 20-year-old is the first Muslim model who chooses to dress modestly while on the job. | | |
|
 | The Atlantic |
| Temporary shops were once emblems of scrappy entrepreneurialism. Today they tend to be marketing efforts from giant corporations. | | |
|
 | The Fashion Law |
| Marc Jacobs’ Resort 2017 collection was “unfortunately … not original,” according to a new lawsuit. The LVMH-owned brand was just slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit, which claims the brand “intentionally and knowingly” copied the original pin and patch designs of a handful of independent artists for the pre-season collection that the New York-based brand released in June 2016. | | |
|
 | Quartzy |
| We have always had a love-hate relationship with luxury. | | |
|
 | Glossy |
| In some ways, Julie Ragolia's career is a rebuttal. As with many successful creatives, it was outside apprehension about her abilities -- a college roommate telling her she'd never make it in fashion -- that led her to pursue a career in the industry. | | |
|
 | The Guardian |
| Money paid for trainers in shops moves in and out of Europe, to Caribbean and even to entities not officially based anywhere. | | |
|
 | Wired |
| We dug into race data to find out if runners wearing Vaporfly shoes posted better times at the New York Marathon. | | |
|
 | YouTube |
| | | | | | | | |
|
|
| © Copyright 2017, The REDEF Group |
|
|
