11 June, 2024

On “Mid” creativity, wild sincerity and the curse of the algorithm

Eric - Benedict Cumberbatch
I’m halfway through watching Eric on Netflix thanks to a few gushing Facebook recommendations.

I don’t watch many streamed series. A combination of shattered attention span and a default anti-hype setting means I prefer to wait till the fuss dies down and then I… don’t get round to it.

Anyway, I’m liking Eric (above), the 80s crime drama about a dysfunctional puppeteer whose son goes missing and the various sub-plots woven within. I’m particularly enjoying the early-80s New York setting, cultural references, cinematic colour grading and ace music score, along with the suspenseful pace of the storytelling.

Is it blowing my mind? Not quite. But it’s good enough. The New York Times has a coincidental opinion piece pondering the “mid”-ness of current TV. (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 1 Comment Art, Business of fashion, Design, Designers, News Business of Fashion, Craig Green, culture, design, designers, Eric, John Galliano, Maison Margiela, Netflix, Substack, Ted Gioia, W. David Marx

29 September, 2023

The wrong shoe

Gucci SS24 show

What’s the deal with fugly shoes? I thought they were a post-ironic anomaly, but no, the aesthetically displeasing Uggs, Crocs and Bottega-style Puddle boots are clearly sticking around.

Back in the day, a Margiela Tabi boot was seriously avant-garde and the perfect foil to your minimalist Lang/Demeulemeester/Sander little black suit. Now it’s a whole sub-franchise netting hefty sales for loyal retailers.

The #NewGucci SS24 show led by Sabato De Sarno garnered mixed reactions (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 0 Comments Brands, Business of fashion, Design, Designers, News, Trends Alessandro Michele, Allison Bornstein, books, Gucci, Maison Margiela, Sabato De Sarno, shoes, Tom Ford, trends

12 September, 2023

Trend report: what to wear for AW23

Johnny Dufort for T Magazine

AW23 is emphatically female-focussed, kicking off with supermodel mania – that Vogue cover, the Apple series and a Linda Evangelista book – and continuing with a slew of women-championing exhibitions. We’ve also got the big Phoebe Philo reveal to come, as well as a focus on revivalist classic fashion (aka gentlewoman style). For this you can easily shop your closet, or consider buying pre-loved – the quality may be better and so may the price. “The connection between instability in the economy and consumers’ desire for classic, quality pieces that retain value is certainly at play, as is the cultural zeitgeist,” Kelly McSweeney, senior merchandising manager at The RealReal, told WWD. (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 1 Comment Books, Brands, Business of fashion, Design, Designers, Events, Fashion shows, Films, Magazines, Online shopping, Shopping, Trends Alaïa, AW23, Banana Republic, books, Bottega Veneta, Chanel, exhibitions, films, Gucci, L'Etiquette, Loewe, Maison Margiela, Metropolitan Museum Of Art, Officine Générale, Peter Do, photography, Prada, Sacai, shopping, Sofia Coppola, Steven Meisel, Taylor Lorenz, Uniqlo, vintage, Wales Bonner, Zara

13 October, 2022

On Joopiter, style storytelling and investment dressing for the hype set

Joopiter by Pharrell Williams

Hot retail news of the month so far comes from Pharrell Williams’ new online auction platform, Joopiter. “Pioneering a modern collecting economy”, it’s a way to sell off his extensive (11-storage units worth) archive of cultural artefacts, while the site simultaneously serves as an online archive of the archive, complete with content to add cultural clout to the pieces.

The first sale goes live next week (but previews from today here) and will consist of one-off items such as an 18k gold Jacob & Co BlackBerry (est sale price $15k-$25k) and blinged-out Swarovski-ed Stan Smiths (est sale price $2,500-$3,500).

Why should we care? (more…)