Business of fashion

Did blogs change the fashion industry?



blogs in Vogue

Sad but true, blogging is considered something of a retro curiosity. Now that everything 2000s is trending, we’re seeing quite a few nostalgic deep dives into the early days of fashion blogs, aka the grass roots movement that upended the publishing industry.

Vogue US has a podcast here, which uncovers the anonymous online identity years, the democratisation of fashion shows and early Fashion Week street style (throw back to that time Tommy Ton’s team mobbed my friend at LFW for a photo of a hole in his sleeve!). (more…)



Death to minimalism?



The Row SS22

I’ve finished digesting all the SS22 collections and I think we can safely say we’re over the 2010s obsession with #oldceline-style ‘minimalism’.

I say ‘we’, but I don’t mean me.

Personally, I’m still here for what I call gentlewoman style; aka timeless pieces that straddle what we like to consider ‘masculine’ (tailoring, functionality) and ‘feminine’ (decoration, softness) dressing. I will never get bored of my baggy chinos and boyfriend 501s, Dries snakeskin boots, Equipment shirts and merino crew necks.

Professionally, yes it’s more exciting to write about the elaborate, hedonistic and whimsical and I’m tempted to bust out my Prada lip-print mules and Sergio Rossi raspberry moiré-silk heels. Schiaparelli was undeniably a Fashion Month highlight, as was Dries van Noten’s kaleidoscopic colour-fest. But it’s also fine by me if people (read: under 30s) would rather switch the Arket blazers and Acne knits for first wave reality TV garb à la The Simple Life-era low-rise jeans and triangle bandeau tops. (Uggs on the other hand? Not even Telfar* can tempt me to go there.) (more…)



Shang Xia SS22 delivers super-luxe fashion for a future generation



Shang Xia SS22 PFW

An invigorating, palate-cleansing debut from Yang Li at Shang Xia SS22 yesterday.

The Beijing-born, Australia-raised designer showed his futuristic luxury vision for gen-2050 in a quest to put Chinese design centre stage. “It’s like imagining an empty chair at a round table of luxury fashion brands that should be for a Chinese representative. What a great mission to embark on. We’re going to give it our best go,” Li told Vogue.

As a breather from the maximalist showbiz of Fashion Month so far, we saw 90s-flavoured unlined leather coats and flat-front pants with signature Yang Li cape-detail dresses in fabrics that look deceptively simple from afar but I’m sure are ravishing when seen – and felt – in the flesh. Offsetting the sleek black separates were pops of neon orange and yellow on waistbands, box bags and surprisingly wearable trousers. The cool-girl casting and minimalist styling added to the appeal for me, not least as Joe McKenna was styling the show. (more…)



SS22 trend report: Bodycon, but make it body positive



Acielle street style SS22

To get a real sense of next season trends, I like to look at Acielle’s (Aka Style Du Monde) Fashion Month street style photography. Not so much the super-peacock types, but the ones wearing denim with interesting tops and choice accessories. That’s the best way to see a more ‘everyperson’ way of wearing fashion.

My big takeaway for SS22 is the almost universal appetite for barely-there, bodycon and cutaway clothing. It was first evident to me at Collina Strada and Eckhaus Latta at New York Fashion Week. What was interesting about those designers’ treatments was the body positivity expression. Eckhaus Latta especially took a 1990s influence and added a decidedly inclusive 2020s interpretation (below). (more…)