Fashion is popular because it’s a mystery. It’s the ebb and flow of the subtle things we propose as designers, and that people respond to like flocks of birds turning all of a sudden in the middle of the sky...It’s all about instincts and subtle references that certain people can grasp in a very vague way. It’s a pattern or code that is understood by a group of people at the same time. | | | | | Window shopping along Madison Ave., NYC, 2014. (Thad Zajdowicz/Flickr) | | | | |  | “Fashion is popular because it’s a mystery. It’s the ebb and flow of the subtle things we propose as designers, and that people respond to like flocks of birds turning all of a sudden in the middle of the sky...It’s all about instincts and subtle references that certain people can grasp in a very vague way. It’s a pattern or code that is understood by a group of people at the same time.”
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| | rantnrave:// Maybe the watchword of 2017 should be “made.” Today's stories about how clothes get made were unavoidable. And what is that worth to us? This excellent report published by SLATE gives us an update from BANGLADESH, where nearly 5 million people rely on the garment industry for their livelihoods. Do we honor labor or things? When does it become impossible to honor both? S/o to ANJALI KAMAT for showing us… Moving on to LA, this fantastic radio segment looks at the condition of making clothes in the LA GARMENT DISTRICT... And from the UK, this profile of ethical label BIRDSONG is an excellent read for its nuance in considering the complex issues that come with buying clothes. LAURETTA ROBERTS says: “You can’t chastise people for shopping in PRIMARK when they have four kids and are just getting by”... Here's for moving toward a time when "ethical" is no longer a brand... A lot has been made of the comparison between slow food and slow fashion, so if you’re into food/fashion parity check out this MCKINSEY report on managing end-to-end complexity for packaged food. It’s possible to set up complex systems where people all along a network of relationships are so pressured by unrealistic expectations that no one wins. If the logistics of making clothes are hidden to both customers and those in charge of compliance initiatives, then there's no accountability. You can't fix a problem you don't know about… Another issue is the visibility of people. DAVID GILMORE, editor of SUPPLY CHAIN DIGEST, drops this gem when outlining his hopes for 2017: "I wish we had more recognized supply chain thought leaders"... What do you do to FIFTH AVENUE barricades when they interfere with commerce? #Brand them… ALBER ELBAZ will collaborate with CONVERSE. The last time we saw any merch from him was LANVIN’s spring/summer 2016 collection (shown in October 2015). He could be collaborating with ZIPLOC at this point and we’d be excited… Style columnist CHRISTINA BINKLEY is leaving the WALL STREET JOURNAL after 23 years. She’ll still cover fashion week, and has two books in the making… Thanks to NICOLE PHELPS for highlighting the digitization of pre-2000s fashion shows on VOGUE RUNWAY… Here’s a cool mini zine from ROOKIE... MILES SOCHA is WWD's next editor-in-chief... True #respect for this essay from RICK OWENS. | | | - HK Mindy Meissen, curator |
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 | Slate |
| Three-and-a-half years after a deadly collapse, Bangladesh’s apparel factories have safer structures—and working conditions so oppressive they’re killing people. Reported in partnership with the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute. | | |
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 | Business of Fashion |
| Courtesy of Vestoj, Rick Owens reflects at length on his life and work, masculinity and whether clothes make the man. | | |
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 | The New York Times |
| A look at the developments that shaped the industry, and that will continue to have an impact in 2017. | | |
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 | The Frame |
| As we're out shopping, it's easy to forget where our clothes come from. | | |
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 | Refinery29 UK |
| Your vote might not get you what you want, but how you spend your time and money can make a positive change. | | |
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 | Vogue |
| From Demna Gvasalia’s Balenciaga Debut to Karl Lagerfeld and co. walking on water at Fendi’s Roman haute fourrure show, these are 2016’s fashion highs. | | |
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 | Racked |
| The Sweet Valley High books were not as informative as I once believed. | | |
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| Business of Fashion |
| Publisher Luis Venegas tells Tim Blanks why he enlisted model and actress Hari Nef to guest edit the latest issue of Candy, 'the first transversal style magazine.' | | |
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 | i-D Magazine |
| We hang out with the brilliant Hari Nef in a new short fashion film profiling the model and activist. | | |
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 | Reuters |
| In an unassuming building in the Chicago suburb of Addison, United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) engineers design custom boxes for retailers as part of a joint effort to tackle a vexing issue: the high cost of delivering e-commerce packages. | | |
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 | Supply Chain Digest |
| From more practical supply chain research by academics to hope there are jobs left after the robots, Gilmore offers Santa his list. | | |
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 | The Columbus Dispatch |
| What will fashions be in a few months? Ask Lisa Lowman. She's among the large and growing group of fashion designers who work in Columbus, a city now considered to have the largest concentration of such professionals outside New York or Los Angeles. | | |
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 | Lean Luxe |
| With Jack Erwin, Paul Evans, M.Gemi, and Sons of London already on the scene, where does Founders fit in an increasingly crowded men's luxury footwear space? | | |
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 | WWD |
| In the shadows of Trump Tower, Tiffany cleverly looks to salvage holiday-season sales at its Fifth Avenue flagship. | | |
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 | The Hankyoreh |
| The designer of the outfit speaks out about making six or eight outfits before each of Park’s overseas trips.The interview with K took place at the Hankyoreh office on Dec. 12. K has been facing difficulties because she can be seen in footage of the studio shot by Ko Young-tae, 40, a former fencer and associate of Choi‘s. | | |
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| Vogue |
| Supermodels abound, social media stars have never been more popular, and celebrity children are plentiful, but the biggest development on 2016’s runways came straight from the streets. | | |
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 | Fashionista |
| The revived label will not produce its spring 2017 collection, which debuted during New York Fashion Week in September. | | |
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 | Bloomberg Quint |
| Despite reported earnings that beat analyst estimates in the third quarter, Inditex shares fell 2.7 percent. Investors haven't fully given up their concerns on Inditex's gross margins, something that's dogged the company for the past few years. | | |
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 | The New Yorker |
| The photographer often took her black-and-white photographs in grand but ruined spaces. | | |
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 | Hunger Magazine |
| "Fashion is art for people, not for itself." | | |
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 | via YouTube |
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