Op-Ed: Is Balenciaga Socially Irresponsible?
The recent scandal involving the staff at a Balenciaga corner at Printemps, the Paris department store, in which it allegedly discriminated against a Chinese shopper, is reprehensible in its own right.
Feature and Op-Ed articles
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, the new fashion exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is marketed as the biggest one its Costume Institute has put on to date.
Notes on a (Highsnobiety and Vetements) Scandal
Last week the influential streetwear and youth culture news website Highsnobiety published an article claiming that Vetements has been losing clout with fashion forward consumers. It cited several store buyers, who wished to remain anonymous, about lukewarm customer demand that has led to slashing orders and putting the once hyped brand’s goods on sale, something that Vetements tried to avoid by keeping their production runs small. The buyers blamed the overinflated pricing on Vetements’ part, and consumers’ shifting their taste towards Balenciaga.
Louis Vuitton’s New Appointment Marks an Important Victory for Marketing Hype Over Design
When two and a half years ago Balenciaga hired the unproven but exciting (at the time) Demna Gvasalia, Alex Fury, the respected fashion critic, wrote that Gvasalia’s appointment marked an important victory for design over marketing hype.
Olivier Theyskens: Body of Work
Tomorrow, the Belgian designer Olivier Theyskens will sign copies of his new book, “She Walks In Beauty,” at the Rizzoli store in New York City.
Fashion Week Ramblings – Women’s F/W 18 Paris – Part 2
On Friday Olivier Theyskens presented his most convincing collection since he relaunched his eponymous label two years ago.
Fashion Week Ramblings – Women’s F/W 18 Paris – Part 1
This women’s season, tampered by debilitating cold, held few surprises. Designers by and large stuck to what they do, but they did it so well that those of us who prefer to dig deep were satisfied.
Fashion Week Ramblings – F/W 2018 Men’s – Part 2, Showrooms
My first showroom visit was to Boris Bidjan Saberi, where I got to examine closely those tubelike garments that he put on the runway two days prior.
Fashion Week Ramblings – F/W 2018 Men’s – Part 1, Shows
Paris was its usual gray and cold, a kind of weather for which “discomforting” is the best word. They are still short on comfort in Paris, 21st Century be damned, and maybe there is a kind of purpose in that, lest we humans get too self-satisfied.
What Happened to Youth Culture?
This year amidst the usual barrage of “news” about collaborations, must-cop listicles, and the importance of Dad sneakers, a few articles in the press aimed at fashion and streetwear actually tried to address something worthwhile, namely, what’s happening to today’s youth, specifically in the cultural space, and even more specifically as it relates to style.