Awwwww

Patricia Mears with Carol Lim & Humberto Leon

Ok, it's been a while...and now I'm back.

Recently I have had the opportunity to attend some talks at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) where I now take some classes. First, I saw Garance Doré, world famous blogger (with 80 something thousand unique hits per day) talk about how she got started- and she was just SO nice. Then, I saw Humberto Leon and Carol Lim from Opening Ceremony talk about how they got started (interviewed expertly by the eternally elegant Patricia Mears from the Museum of FIT- one of my favourite NY secrets). They filled the house and everyone eagerly awaited their answers in the Q & A session- I mean, they founded the hottest store in New York then branched out, trailing coolness in their wake. Well, they just came across SO nice too.

I was confused- where was all the pomp and circumstance demanded by these fashion folk? What did they mean- reach out to us, we love to hear from you? We helped other stores, we share resources sometimes, we all help each other. What was this crazy talk?

WHEN DID FASHION GET SO SOFT? Hey, I'm not complaining. I've been working in fashion since high school and I've worked for and seen some of the biggest divas in action- I mean, we secretly called my first boss Evil-lyn instead of her given name, Evelyn, she was such a nightmare to all in her employ. I learned a lot from them (especially in the what not to do department) and lived to move onto bigger and better things, but isn't fashion about stabbings in the backs and bitchiness? No one helping each other so there can only be one queen bee? Apparently not, according to these guys.

While that might not be completely true for all, I have to say it was really refreshing to see some humanity and hearing that people were helping each other. We know this happens but usually only so someone looks good and gets a PR opp (or lots of dosh) out of it.

And then last night I saw Grace Killelea speak. She's not in fashion- she was speaking as a guest of the Advertising & Marketing dept (of which I'm now part of) and she told her story. It was one of fighting her way to the top, helping others and having them help her back. Of working with grace and dignity and refusing to settle when she thought she deserved more. She stressed working hard and KINDNESS- to ourselves and to each other.

OMG, that's it! In these times where everyone is expected to do more for, and with less, a little kindness goes a long way. Isn't there enough for everyone? How much of the pie does one person really need anyway?

These people, who started with a few ideas and a lot of determination have made themselves into something pretty big and are now sharing their stories and telling us that they're just like us- now that's great PR.

What do you think?

Fat is the New Black

photo: Models.com + V magazine


I started a post about this topic a while ago and have been going back and forth about whether or not to even go there. But recently there have been articles that keep bringing it all up. It? You know, the SIZE issue. (Links are live so if you want to read them, knock yourself out!)

This has been gaining strength over the past few months, actually even longer. New York mag showed Christina Hendricks in all her curvaceous glory, V magazine did a "Size" issue in January and even French Elle has reported they "are giving up on skinny" as quoted by the Times UK. In addition, there is the ongoing issue about models with the British Fashion Council along with the US's CFDA attempting to install some health guidelines so the girls don't fall down mid-catwalk because of their malnutrition. Most interesting piece about the 2010 discussion on the 2007 initiative here. Thanks Jezebel for not summarizing an important discussion into a fluff piece!

Everyone has an opinion. Renowned blogger Garance Doré criticized the movement towards well, let's just call it large- i mean, anything over an American size 6 (GB 10, EU 38) is just plain huge isn't it? Even Alber Elbaz (who is not very tiny) says in an interview with Style.com that realistically, if we ask women what they want, they say they want to be skinny and the designers can't be blamed for it.

The latest hoopla has been about Photoshop-ing. I think we all saw the Ralph Lauren ad last year and you'd think we might take a lesson. But just this past week Photoshop has been on our minds. British "Healthy" magazine was made an example of in an article in the Daily Mail and just today the Ann Taylor website got a swipe for over-retouching. Where will it stoppppp?????

So, let's think big:

- are we really ready to be faced with reality? Do we want to see "real" women in magazines that are meant to be aspirational? Or do we like the clothes on the skinny Minney's cause we can't afford the clothes anyhow and everyone knows the skinny chicks make the clothes look better (tongue-in-cheek alert here)

- will there be a backlash and a new market develops? We all know that there have been brands that are aimed at the "Plus Size" market for a long time but they haven't exactly been seen as glamorous. If the media gets on board, will that change?

- what about the health issue- can we look at large without thinking unhealthy? How large is ok? what's the line that "curvaceous" and "fat" ride?
With the whole world getting fatter should we be glamorizing large? i mean, we've been glamorizing anorexic for years...

Discuss.