When Comfort Wins Over Style
As an advocate for well-made clothes and shoes, there are always exceptions to the rules of “the more expensive, the better”. We assume that price should be an indication of quality: the more expensive, generally, the superior the product. But we all know that there are plenty of ready-to-wear designer garments that do not live up to its retail price tag. It’s especially eye-popping when said product is mass-produced in countries like China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
But what happens when it is a question not about style but comfort that comes into play? More specifically with shoes.
I realized that designer footwear are clearly not made for my feet no matter how gorgeous they looked, or how well-crafted they were. I had bought a pair of Christian Louboutin slingbacks and a pair of Stella McCartney pumps. Both pairs are gorgeous, but they are not the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn. In fact the Stella McCarntey ones are incredibly uncomfortable. Both pairs are made in Italy, an assumption that we are purchasing a superior product. Yet amazingly, Nine West, which are mostly made in the third world countries and considered the fast fashion of shoe brands, is able to create stylish shoes with an added bonus that they are also incredibly comfortable to wear. My toes spread out naturally and are not confined to a narrow foot design. I own 3 pairs of Nine West shoes, and I would choose them over my Louboutin simply because they fit my comfort level to a much greater degree. The bonus is that they cost a fraction of the price. I might as well put my Louboutin under a glass case for display instead.
Whoever said that we must suffer for fashion is rubbish.
We should never suffer for fashion.
It’s unfathomable to conceive that we pay several hundred dollars for designer brands that ill-fit the human foot. I expect my product to be superior in comfort, yet they obviously are not. I even tried to dispell that my pair of slingbacks are just a fluke. I tried on another pair at Holt Renfrew, the strappy booties of this fall’s collection. That pair was even more painful to wear! Superior product? I don’t think so. And what about those easily scratched red soles? Well those are just poorly made soles.
Thus, if fashion is really a matter of personal style and taste, why is it that fashion editors continue to shove down our throats of what’s supposed to be cute and not? Shouldn’t we be able to decide for ourselves what that is? And if we go against the grain - not jumping into the same bandwagon as everyone else to acclaim something is beautiful or awful - are we being unfashionable or just plain honest?
I have the right to say that something is ugly. I don’t care how much time the person spent designing the garments, if it doesn’t please me, I don’t buy it. I’m sure people will defend what they love and retaliate with “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” or “You just don’t get it”, which are vague attempts of justifying one’s choice.
My friend over at The No Shopping Experiment brings up a great topic about Makeover shows. How they are trying to conform certain individuals with “poor taste in fashion” to make themselves more presentable to the world. Yet personality wise, there is nothing wrong with them. And Makeover shows such as “What Not To Wear” belittle these good people by objectifying them based on their looks.
It’s funny many people in the fashion world are so in touch with fashion yet have poor personalities. Perhaps we should be focusing on what really leaves a lasting impression: our selves.
Image credits: Style.com, TLC.com
Rise of The Fashion Film
The film industry has been a buzz about the fashion industry ever since The Devil Wears Prada wowed audiences in 2006. Since then, a few more fashion oriented films have attracted fashionistas and world premieres within fashion weeks to give them yet another level of exclusivity.
Among the films shown in the past decade (and that I’m aware of that has made significant impact on myself) are of the following:
Signé Chanel (2004) - Documentary about Chanel’s 2004 Haute Couture show, focusing more on Chanel’s legendary seamstresses under Karl Lagerfeld’s direction
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) - Meryl Streep’s performance as tough as nails Miranda Priestly is allegedly based on Anna Wintour’s character at Vogue.
Sex and the City - The Movie (2008) - Dedicated fashion followers have been waiting for years for a cast reunion of this infamous HBO series.
Valentino: The Last Emperor (2008) - Documentary chronicling the life of Valentino Garavani up until his last show that celebrates his 45th anniversary in the business.
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) - Comedy film that couldn’t come at a worse timing during the recession. Not particularly insightful, but definitely followed in fashion footsteps.
Coco Avant Chanel (2009) - Biopic of Gabrielle Chanel prior to her ascent in becoming one of the most iconic fashion figures in history.
The September Issue (2009) - Documentary chronicling behind the scenes of Vogue’s 2007 September Issue, their biggest ever, tagging along with Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington.
Upcoming Films
Sex and the City 2 (2010) - The sequel to the first movie, the casting of extras for this movie along had generated huge buzz among fans already. We’re not sure if the 40-50+ cast can whip up the magic a second time on the big screen.
Schmatta: From Rags to Riches to Rags (2010) - HBO documentary about the fall of the New York garment district in 40 years. Garments made in America went from 95% to a mere 5%.
Now there is yet other news that Ridley Scott, famed director of Academy Award winning film Gladiator, is set to film about the Gucci Dynasty. Though there is no official script yet, Variety.com reports that the direction plans on following the tumultuous lives of the Gucci family up until Maurizio Gucci’s death.
Of course these are simply the big budget movie films that I’m announcing. For a more artistic approach towards fashion film, you should definitely check out The Business of Fashion’s Top 10 Fashion Film list of some of the most innovative short films that has happened this past year.
Image credit: Valentino film
Fashion Brands Test Radical Ideas
The Future of the Fashion Show
What is Montreal’s Sustainability Factor?
If you haven’t noticed already, the Montreal Fashion Week website has been update and spruced up for it’s Spring Summer 2010 edition. Miraculously, I’ve been given media accreditation as a fashion blogger so I’ll be attending some of the shows.
The Spring edition contains the usual suspects - Marie Saint Pierre, Denis Gagnon, Christian Chenail, etc - and a handful of newcomers to the show: Claude Bouchard, Dimitri Chris, Micalla, and Annie 50.
The highly successful Le Showroom, a sort of trunk show, will be showcasing other local designers’ collections since many are not choosing to run on the catwalk. Curiously, the CIMM is MIA in this edition, where usually the more commercial designers like Simon Chang would showcase the more wearable collections to the public. I would’ve thought they had finally made some sort of business connection with MFW, but I guess that has dissolved?
One has to wonder though how the recession has affected local Canadian fashion industries. More and more companies are outsourcing their workload to Asia, with a very select few companies who still produce in Canada (to my knowledge Tristan and Le Chateau are still hanging in there). The sole and only press conference that could possibly address this issue will be on Tuesday, Oct 15th, the inaugural opening day of Montreal Fashion Week SS10, but I’m afraid it’s nothing more talking fluff to reassure designers.
I do certainly believe that a fashion conference in Montreal is severely lacking in addressing these important business issues. And perhaps it would be to the local designers’ benefit if the industry would stop trying to brush it off by replacing it with more talks about pushing creativity, which frankly is not necessary. Think of all the past talents that have appeared and disappeared under the radar: Yso, Renata Morales, Rush Couture, Nadya Toto, Marisa Minicucci, Philippe Dubuc, and for a time Denis Gagnon. Top tier talents like Dubuc and Minicucci are struggling to keep afloat, or in Minicucci’s case, have to rethink their business strategy altogether. Montreal also has to contend with Toronto, which often has some of our best talents migrating to show such as Rudsak, Andy, Aqua di Lara, Travis Taddeo, and Morales, and our cream of the crops are showcasing in Paris or New York, like Rad Hourani and Mackage. It seems that Montreal is too small for designers who are aiming higher.
If Montreal is supposed to be so axed on promoting local talent and encouraging to buy local, they will certainly need to rethink their strategies to influence shoppers. Because the fast fashion giants down on Ste-Catherine are eating up the local industry’s sales with cheap “chic” like Forever 21, H&M, and Zara. While the talents of the likes of CIMM is totally capable of wowing us with commercial and sometimes innovative garments, yet they are nowhere to be found this season.
Like I’ve said before, Montreal has great potential as a fashion hub, but lacks the direction and support it needs to establish itself as true player among fashion capitals.
Image credits: Jimmy Hamelin, Montreal Fashion Week
