bloggin for school 😖

Visiting dover street is always fun! With techniques I've been exploring in my studio class in mind, I made sure to spot fun textures and fabric manipulation from brands like Simone Rocha masterful deconstruction from the likes of Margiela. I got to take some great pictures for my process book research and inspect some construction details which are impossible to portray as well online or in a book, I'll miss coming here for sure!

In visiting doneger, it was most interesting to hear about the trend research process, as it applies to balancing traditional vs digital techniques. I am deeply interested in trends on a more micro level than what they specialize in, but this visit was great nonetheless , as we got to hear more about the forecasting industry. Before going, I didn't know that doneger took some of their own photos, which was a surprise to me. I loved seeing the new fabrications of material they had as well.

The exhibition, Paris, Capital of Fashion was a great look at the influencial French designers of the 19th century on, with an interesting emphasis on the history of New York couture replicas. The topics of replicas, bootlegs, inspiration, and recontextualization in fashion interest me, and it was great to read about and see the different aspects of replica pieces from the 20th century. The staging of the show was interesting, often putting the New York replicas in front of the Paris originals when showing the two garments. The curation was wonderful, and I felt fit the spirit of the show to a T!

it's hard to feel you're pulling the weight of a team, and hard to not grow attached to pieces when you're the only one actually pulling things. overall, i think the shots turned out well, and I'm confident in the model's abilities to sell just about anything. this was a frustrating few weeks for me, there was little communication from the styling group members who consistently didn't do their part on the team, and i was made to feel bad for "overstepping" by others who had no regard for the condition of the clothing that was pulled by suggesting we shot outside on a playground. im so glad to be done with these shots.

Textural bliss, which inevitably leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I can appreciate the objective beauty of the pieces and the space curated by Donna Karan, but can't overlook the discomfort this environment creates. Wealthy white New Yorkers, who can afford clothing like this should not feel comfortable consuming black art and culture in a space owned and operated by white multimillionaires. How many Haitians are on this company's board of directors, i have to wonder. Work isn't empowerment, work is exploitation under capitalism, point blanc. And this toxic, consumption driven philanthropy is one of the sickest perversions of the white gaze. Donna Karan's poverty tourism and exploitation is part of a larger system of using the global south as sweatshop labor. The production manager told me herself that the artisans in Haiti are working in conditions she would consider "very very bad" and would not be willing to work under herself, she said urban zen would have no need for external monitoring of their labor practices, and said my question regarding independent monitors was "very corporate " While this relatively small scale brand is no worse than Walmart in its exploitation of migrant field workers or the prison industrial complex to claim products are made in the USA, I have to wonder, are the artisans we've been told are being supported living like Donna?

In visiting CGE international, I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Hearing about Kara's experiences working in both the knitwear and museum curritorial fields, both things which interest me. I am planning to reach out to her so I can hear more of her advice in getting into museum work in the future.

The part of being a fashion editor that interests me the most would have to be styling pieces together. Styling has always been something interesting for me, as my prior experience dressing characters in plays and musicals built my appreciation for style as storytelling. For three years, I’ve done “virtual styling” of a sort as well. On my blog, I’ve curated looks for various friends, concepts, and moods. My favorite aspect of styling has to be finding ‘dupes’ of designer pieces. You can find these anywhere if you can spot patterns in fashion trends, many of my ‘looks for less’ consist of items under $30 on etsy, ebay and other resale sites. In the future, I would like to recreate this format in a more formal format, as unfortunately tumblr isn’t the best look on a resume.

In visiting the Bromley Group fashion PR firm, I learned more about the world of celebrity seeding, event planning, and other fashion PR fields. While this isn’t a field which interests me personally, I liked seeing the artwork Ruben Toledo made for their American Image Award, including the flat design which can be seen over the globe portion of the award above. I would be interested in seeing a more modern perspective on influencers and social media advertising, as this firm seemed more familiar with traditional marketing.

Editorial inspirations for winter 2020

After visiting the realreal i had to check out their online store and see the kind of stock their soho location had... SO many awesome shoes for prices that don’t fully gag me..I’m thinking of sourcing and returning here for my media class photoshoot.

Prada, Margiela, and Alaia showing some of my favorite silhouettes for this coming spring in Bergdorf's

Enamored by this bag by the Row

It's interesting to see these inspirations in high fashion, as the majority of this trend has been expressed through vintage styling and fast fashion boutiques like dollskill with their Delia's revival. With brands like babyphat and Juicy Coture on the verge of a rennaisance and y2k babies becoming the newest generation of fashion influencers, high fashion brands are following their lead. Having never visited a luxury store like Bergdorf's, I now am curious about their curation of styles in the past, and how relevant their store is to today's fashion scene.

Jacket sleeves... As belts? This surprising styling choice was one of my favorites on the Paris catwalk. S/S 2020 was full of functional and futuristic y2k inspired styling details, Haider Ackerman and Each x Other being prime examples. (Prada also did the shirt belt in Milan) this use of jacket sleeves as a "belt" on the runway brings to mind the chunky, pre athleisure sportswear layering of the time. This style, seen as tactical by some and for a long time, frumpy by others, is making a comeback. I'm here for the wraparound-anyone else?

This suit has been shown in various collections from Paul and Joe, to Valentino to Comme des Garcons, all with their designer's own idiosyncratic styling but similar in essence nonetheless. This trend takes the past years maximalist wave and tones it down to something chic and sexy, making tacky tasteful in the best way possible.

JPG logo tote in the garment district ... Something about Gaultier bags always gets me in the mood to go hunting for deals on ebay auctions.