I have started an MA in Fashion and Lifestyle Promotion. Today we had a little introductory session where we all spoke about ourselves. Name, age, how we got to be on the course, what was the best thing that we encountered on the way, likes/dislikes, who we admire etc.
During this the head of Fashion Design at the university discussed how she loved her job, she loved trend, it didn't feel like work...but that trend itself is like a product. A product that she doesn't particularly like because if everyone of us brought into it we'd all look the same. However, what it comes down to is that whether you're a designer or a promoter you are trying to influence people to buy into the trends that you have acknowledged.
Trend is a funny thing. Designers can get inspiration from anywhere...history, culture, or a cupcake they see in a bakery or trend forecasters. Trend forecasters scour the land (the whole world!) looking at 'cool' things: a street, a shop, an artist, a subculture that has its own trend within society. Then they sit back and plan what will happen next. In the next 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, 100 years. I love it. And hate it.
Trend is like marmite. I sit here in my tapered trousers (the shape of the season don't you know!) and I wonder why I chose these. I didn't acknowledge they were in trend...I hadn't gazed at them in magazines, I hadn't spotted them on catwalks. I hadn't planned to purchase that particular style, I'd just gone into the shop and there they were but then subconsciously I might have planned to purchase them. After all, the designers for that shop had planned it. They'd researched, developed, seen them on celebrities and cool people at catwalk shows and filtered trend down for the high street where it has been successfully sold to me.
The business of trend is frustrating. Frustating and wonderful. It's rather amusing to think how it all comes about. Especially now, in the last throws of fashion week season with Paris Fashion Week in full swing. I wonder what makes people plan certain items to purchase and what makes others, like me, do it off the cuff with subconscious considerations. After all, Oscar Wilde said "fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months" yet so many people have been dying for autumn to arrive so they can grab their shearling coats, boots, everything...
Showing posts with label Oscar Wilde. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oscar Wilde. Show all posts
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Sunday, 13 September 2009
"As a man sows so let him reap."
Last night I recieved a text from a very good friend of mine. It read: "Am I the only one who wonders whether you'll ever get the feeling of butterflies in your stomach with a new boy? I haven't felt it in so long and honestly I miss it."
In response I assured her that she was not the only one. In fact, my dad had only hours previously told me that I would never meet anyone to rival my ex because I was in love with him. Now I do believe I never said those three little words, even admitted them to myself let alone to anyone else.
Today, for probably the thousandth time, I sat down to read The Importance of Being Earnest. Oscar Wilde writes:
Cecily: I wish Uncle Jack would allow that unfortunate young man, his brother, to come down here sometimes. We might have a good influence over him, Miss Prism. I am sure you certainly would. You know German, and geology, and things of that kind influence a man very much.
Miss Prism: I do not think that even I could produce any effect on a character that according to his own brother's admission is irretreivably weak and vacillating. Indeed I am not sure I would desire to reclaim him. I am not in favour of this modern mania for turning bad people into good people in a moment's notice. As a man sows so let him reap.
With this post I wish to remind my dear friend that butterflies are not always what they are cracked up to be. For in my experience they inevitably are replaced with other feelings along the way...not all of which are good. I recall the ending of her last relationship, and indeed mine, as a prime example of why she should not rush into anything else. As many people in this day and age do she dealt with issues of her own, whilst attempting to nurse those of her partner. I believe the best way forward is to embrace such a challenging time, to be on your own and to enjoy it. For I am not in favour of this modern mania for turning emotionally challenged modern men into open and affectionate characters. We are, after all, only 21.
In response I assured her that she was not the only one. In fact, my dad had only hours previously told me that I would never meet anyone to rival my ex because I was in love with him. Now I do believe I never said those three little words, even admitted them to myself let alone to anyone else.
Today, for probably the thousandth time, I sat down to read The Importance of Being Earnest. Oscar Wilde writes:
Cecily: I wish Uncle Jack would allow that unfortunate young man, his brother, to come down here sometimes. We might have a good influence over him, Miss Prism. I am sure you certainly would. You know German, and geology, and things of that kind influence a man very much.
Miss Prism: I do not think that even I could produce any effect on a character that according to his own brother's admission is irretreivably weak and vacillating. Indeed I am not sure I would desire to reclaim him. I am not in favour of this modern mania for turning bad people into good people in a moment's notice. As a man sows so let him reap.
With this post I wish to remind my dear friend that butterflies are not always what they are cracked up to be. For in my experience they inevitably are replaced with other feelings along the way...not all of which are good. I recall the ending of her last relationship, and indeed mine, as a prime example of why she should not rush into anything else. As many people in this day and age do she dealt with issues of her own, whilst attempting to nurse those of her partner. I believe the best way forward is to embrace such a challenging time, to be on your own and to enjoy it. For I am not in favour of this modern mania for turning emotionally challenged modern men into open and affectionate characters. We are, after all, only 21.
A Gothic Winter
With the impending release of both Dorian Gray and Twilight: New Moon, teamed with the Autumn/Winter 2009/10 offerings on the catwalk a gothic twist on street style seems eminent.
Street style is key in leading fashion at the moment, with blogs such as The Sartorialist highlighting the importance of what real people wear. The Victorian literary genius that is Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray still has the power to ring true centuries later, with people more than ever striving to remain young and beautiful. Similarly, Robert Pattinson has got the heart of every teenage girl beating with his striking looks and broody character. Not to mention the amount of adults I have seen clutching copies of the Twilight books.
From Alexander McQueen's Dickensian mens catwalk, very dark 19th century London, to Bora Asku's womenswear collection, supposedly inspired by "the anonymous muses of many artists in the late 19th Century." A vampiric essence is seeping into our wardrobes...give it a few months and we'll see velvet teamed with ribbed woolen tights and oversized overcoats hanging over mens shoulders. I for one can't wait, everyone loves a bit of drama.
Street style is key in leading fashion at the moment, with blogs such as The Sartorialist highlighting the importance of what real people wear. The Victorian literary genius that is Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray still has the power to ring true centuries later, with people more than ever striving to remain young and beautiful. Similarly, Robert Pattinson has got the heart of every teenage girl beating with his striking looks and broody character. Not to mention the amount of adults I have seen clutching copies of the Twilight books.
All Images taken from Vogue Online
From Alexander McQueen's Dickensian mens catwalk, very dark 19th century London, to Bora Asku's womenswear collection, supposedly inspired by "the anonymous muses of many artists in the late 19th Century." A vampiric essence is seeping into our wardrobes...give it a few months and we'll see velvet teamed with ribbed woolen tights and oversized overcoats hanging over mens shoulders. I for one can't wait, everyone loves a bit of drama.
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