There are, on average, 152 fashion weeks that take place throughout the world every year according to a recent New York Times report.  Showing at each of the fashion weeks are anywhere between twenty to one hundred twenty designers.  It doesn’t take complicated math to calculate that these statistics make the average number of individual fashion shows around the world per year a well over 9,000.  To blow your mind even more, that number doesn’t include any fringe or independent shows that are produced but not associated with an organized “Fashion Week”.

Gabrielle Chanel: working with a private client, at her fashion show, celebrating with her models

There is no doubt that fashion shows are big business.  Customers spend their hard-earned money on clothing and accessories to the tune of $300 billion dollars a year, and designers are constantly competing for their share of the market.  it is a contentious and cutthroat environment that feeds a designer’s fears of being overlooked in a sea of supply that inherently demands for fashion shows to become bigger, better and more memorable with every passing season.  But, it wasn’t always this way.

Designer presentations have been going on in some form since the first designer had a garment to sell.  In the beginning, it was a more proper yet casual affair.  The designer would invite her clients and other friends in the trade to her atelier to view their newest creations. The presentation could consist of just a handful of looks or it could be a wardrobe full of options.  The number of looks wouldn’t really matter.  What mattered was the quality of the garments, not the quality of the show.

Models would casually float around the salon in the specially made frocks while the client admired the designer’s careful craftsmanship and romanticized about the adventures she would have while wearing the garments.  If a client saw something that she fancied, she bought it.  From inception, clothing was designed with an intimate knowledge of the customer, their wants and needs.  The system was elegant, straightforward and it worked.

Those were the couture days.  As ready to wear clothing became more popular in the 1920’s and the majority of people bought their frocks off the rack from retailers, more and more designers were born, all with the goal of fulfilling their own niche within the public’s ever expanding catalog of preferences and tastes.  To make a name for themselves a designer has to stand out from their competition and capture the consumer’s attention, so, naturally, collection presentations became extravagant productions with a touch of healthy narcissism.  Bigger was better.

Today we’ve gone beyond the “show” and have begun presenting full runway spectacles.  Complete with actors slash models, directors, producers, publicists, marketing and sales people, stylists, set designers a sound track and of course – costumes.  Fashion has borrowed from the theater and shares most everything in common.  All but the box office, at least for now.

Until recently, the seats in the Tents were occupied exclusively by buyers from large retailers, magazine editors from the top fashion publications, private clients, celebrity stylists and other industry critics.  The shows were given by the Trade for the Trade.  A runway show was the pinnacle of business in that at a single fashion show a designer could potentially gain several editorial features, sell the collection to major retailers, communicate with their customers through the media, sell one-of-a-kind pieces directly to A-list celebrities, nurture their private clients, and present their brand in their own vision thereby strengthening its chance of lasting success.

This year, Bryant Park will put up its tents for the last time before fashion week moves to Lincoln Center, and it is already being reported that in the once coveted and exclusive seats will be seated child bloggers, today’s hot pop singers, the new generation of young Holywood, and don’t let us forget our favorite reality “stars” including the cast of The Jersey Shore.  The runway is looking more and more like the cover of a tabloid magazine than a respectful showing of an artist’s work.  In fact, the people who will be profiting from all the media attention is no longer the designer but rather the pop-culture icon.

It just leaves me thinking that Seventh on Sixth made a fundamental mistake and they should move fashion week to Broadway or the Kodak Theater in Hollywood instead of Lincoln Center.  After all, in the name of the show the clothing presented on the runway is a dramatized version of their saleable realities anyways which actually makes them costumes.

Modern Chanel Fashion Show: recreating Coco's salon on a stage using huge accessories as the set

Though it isn’t technically Spring yet, for this new Southern California transplant it sure feels like it, which is probably why I got the urge to clean out and reorganize my design studio. So much, um…stuff was uncovered that it has caused me to begin reminiscing on my fashion adventures.  It also makes me realize that a huge sample and moving sale is definitely on the horizon.

Besides half-finished samples, beads and chains of every sort, random decorative charms that chronicle my creative inspiration (and often times off-the-rocker mindset) for each of my past collections, I came across clippings of, what I deem to be hilarious feature placements and some footage of on-air interviews.

None is better than this Showtime Network promo for the capsule collection I designed for them in a licensing deal to promote their hit show, The L Word.

Because it’s Monday and I try to give my readers a little something to pick up their spirits on this “dreary” day of the week, I will share this special piece with you. Please enjoy!

P.S.
If you’re hankering for some of the exclusive collection pieces that come with a collectible The L Word, “L”ements of Style tags, let me know…we just happen to have a few sizes left and I would love for them to find a happy home.

Found in a box - an announcement of the shopping event introducing the Collection

Candella Artificial Flames

Every night at sunset, you can find me flitting around the house dimming sconces, switching one lamp on and others off, and – of course – lighting candles in all corners of the room.  My evening can only begin after the appropriate lighting has been created to suit my mood.

As a designer, and someone who is visually inspired by my surroundings, I’ve always respected lighting and its power to set a tone and create a specific energy.  Perhaps this appreciation for lighting was born in me as a small child during our family’s annual visit to Disneyland, and especially to the Haunted Mansion, where whimsical ghosts dressed in ball gowns and tails are found dancing around a haunted ballroom, chandeliers are covered in wax drippings a hundred years old, and dark and eerie rooms are lit only by quivering candlelight.

Disney's Haunted Mansion

So, it could hardly be more exciting for me to discover the new company, Candella, a visionary start-up that owns the exclusive worldwide rights to the artificial flame technology originally developed for Disney’s Haunted Mansion.  Based in the UK and the US, Candella has successfully commercialized Disney’s inimitable battery-powered flame technology for business and personal use by designing the first realistic faux flame.

Normally, I make it a rule to steer clear of anything artificial (flavors, boobs, plants, people), but Candella’s flame flickers and oscillates as if it were alive, thereby creating the charming and enchanting ambiance that, until now, could only be produced by a real flame.

Beyond being brilliant and elegant, Candella’s artificial flames are low-maintenance (powered by rechargeable batteries), clean (don’t put out dirty smoke) and safe (no open flames to catch on fire).  The applications are plentiful and I expect that interior designers will soon be “burning the midnight oil” decorating all types of spaces with this innovative product.  Think: bars, restaurants, outdoors, hotels, spas, yoga studios, and anywhere else an open flame is too dangerous.

One thing is for sure, you’ll find Candella votives by the dozen in my home as soon as I can get my little hands on them.

Unbelievably, New York Fashion Week is here again and that means the haute topic for the upcoming weeks will be the grand shows, the celebrity sightings and the upcoming fads.  As far as carry-over trends go, you wouldn’t be mistaken if you confidently declared leggings, layers, chunky booties and drapey tunics to be the ultimate surviving trend.  But, you would be overlooking an even more important trend that has the Garment District struggling to hold onto.  Survival.  How does a designer keep creativity alive and put out a press-worthy collection that people will actually buy during an extended shopping slow-down.

Beginning tomorrow, designers will be flooding the tents to reveal the formula for success they’ve chosen during this recession and I thought I would offer up some of my own predictions.

Prediction no. ONE – Acute Arithmetic
Being that designers have had some time now to adjust their businesses to the depressed economy, I forecast that smart designers will send their lanky models down the runway in highly edited, thoughtful collections comprised of rich accent pieces.  I also expect that those pieces will be given a friendlier price-point.  Business math is simple, either make less profit per piece and sell lots of units or, make large margins per piece and sell fewer units.  Rather than taint their designer name with pedestrian prices, some brands will opt to launch a lower-end line in hopes of capturing a broad clientele and, if managed correctly, that business model may add up to huge profits once the economy rebounds and the more expensive label is, once again, attainable.

Prediction no. TWO – Evolved Chatter
Like clock-work, at the start of every season, fashion circles begin waxing poetic about all the same – ever so important – stuff.  Silhouettes are scrutinized, the season’s color is ordained, artistic inspiration is exposed and the evolution of trends and themes are explored.  I know I’m going out on a limb with this prediction, but here it goes.  I forecast that this year, fashion’s conventional chatter will evolve to include a deeper and more educated discussion of brand positioning, marketing, costing and quality.  Of course, girlfriends will still discuss how shoes can make an outfit and how to update your look with the proper accessories, but knowing that they have to edit their purchases more than ever, a brand’s quality, vision and creative use of social media outlets will become an important part of the conversation.

Prediction no. THREE – Genuine Style
I forecast that mere financial survival instincts will accidentally encourage those people who are accustomed to purchasing a brand new seasonal wardrobe to re-assess their current closets and do with what they already own.  And in doing so, this simple act of “suffering” might just help them to finally identify their genuine personal style.  It simply isn’t reality today to adopt a designer’s avant-garde definition of what today’s style is.  As we know, that vision will last a whole three months before seeming entirely ridiculous (and a pure waste of money).  Just watch an old episode of Sex and the City and you’ll see how following trends has an uncanny ability to date you to no end.  Dressing like “you” is always on trend.

Prediction no. FOUR – Responsive Renewal
It may sound silly, but the excitement created when store windows are transformed from season to season communicates that change, everywhere, is in the air.  It’s time to re-new and evolve.  The mere predictability of this metamorphosis stimulates a sense of comfort.  We know that life is moving forward, just as it should.  Everything is on track, and everything is fine.  This season, during a time when it seems there are too many unknowns to manage gracefully, empowering a sense of the status quo is more important than ever.  With the introduction of new frocks hanging on racks that have been cut into the latest silhouettes from seasonally appropriate colors, comes revitalized enthusiasm, a fresh source of inspiration and a feeling of optimism.  Regeneration becomes tangible and our spirits are lifted.  Even if we do more window shopping than actual shopping, we know that our world is on track and we’re moving forward.

Tom Ford, designer slash director

The television commercial actor from Texas who studied interior architecture in New York and eventually turned into a fashion designer is now dabbling in directing.

Tom Ford is hanging up his muslins and turning to film.  The designer who made a success of himself at the House of Gucci is now focusing his creative vision on the big screen with his directorial debut of the movie A Single Man.  I wish I could share a trailer, some clips, or even a few stills from the movie but it seems this film is being kept well under wraps, so a casual photo of the designer (slash director) draped in silk and sipping a single malt scotch will have to do.

Pardon me as I digress…

I suspect that Ford’s reluctance to reveal his cinematic creation in advance comes from his years in the fashion industry where condescending superiority is the norm.  And, where every-one’s work gets locked in a proverbial vault in fear that their cut-throat competition might steal their inspired ideas.  As someone who has worked and played in fashion for a while now, I can say with regrettable disappointment that arrogance, attitude, and a deity complex are widely believed to be the recipe for “success” in the fashion world.

I find it absolutely ridiculous that in order to be a mega star in luxury one must be an elusive and untouchable figurehead who’s duty it is to dictate to the pathetic, plebeians what to wear.  Or more specifically, what we should aspire to wear  (being that most people can’t afford their frocks which are falsely priced to create an illusion of brand value rather than priced for the value of the materials and construction).

After all, these design houses are obliged to create an image of exclusivity so they can price their goods at a profit of 4oo% else they can’t afford the beautifully styled ad campaigns, expensive storefronts, and impressive lifestyles that are a requisite in order to make them desirable in the first place.  It’s really a deceptive circle and we consumers are partly to blame for instigating the industry’s sickness.  After all we’re the ones believing that gilded ostentation equals success and status.

Don’t get me wrong, I certainly own my fair share of luxury goods and, most of the time, you can really feel and see the quality difference that fine materials and couture stitching make.  I’m just putting it out there that many independent designers can deliver equal quality for an honest price.  Leading to my final thought – shop with discriminating taste and choose uniquely special items that suit your individual style.  Don’t let brand names weaken your discretion and empty your wallet.

Aaaah…back to Tom Ford the director…

As a business person, I’ve always admired Tom Ford for his balls-out ambition and his talent for executing a clear vision.  He plays the fashion game well and has created a believable and intriguing designer character of himself.  I’m rooting the for him and hope he can translate his creative prowess to film and his movie is actually good.  Not just good looking.

____________________________

If you’re lucky enough to be in Venice for the Film Festival on September 11th you can catch the designer’s film and then leak all the gossip and goodies straight to me

For the curious, here are some basic details about the movie that couldn’t avoid being revealed before the release.

Cast
Collin Firth, and his sweetly charming smile
Julianne Moore, my fellow red headed NYC neighbor
Nicholas Hoult, the adorable “Marcus” from About a Boy
Giniffer Goodwin, the third wife of my favorite HBO drama series Big Love
Matthew Goode, the dapper English bloke from Matchpoint and Chasing Liberty

Synopsis
A gay man who, after the sudden death of his partner, is determined to persist in his usual routine, which is seen in the span of a single, ordinary day in Southern California.

Firth is the gay man, an Englishman and professor who feels like an outsider in Los Angeles. Goode is the boyfriend who dies in a car accident and appears in flashbacks. Moore plays a friend of the professor.

For the considerably curious, listen to the interview with Goode and Firth courtesy of Hollywood Outbreak where they talk about Ford as a director.

I like to think that I had something to do with the proliferation of the decorated tee trend.  Early in 2003 I was working with a couture evening wear designer, Anne Bowen, when I thought – why not add the same semi-precious stones from a $20,000 dress to a simple tank?  After all, everyone I knew lived in tanks and jeans, so wouldn’t it be fab to make that simple casual uniform a little more chic and snazzy?  Certainly, special elements shouldn’t only be reserved for formal couture pieces.

I went home and hand-beaded small stones on my husbands wife-beater tank.  I wanted it to be pretty but still funky so I would add an occasional safety pin or random top stitch.  I knew I had come up with something different, but wondered if it was too edgy and “out there” to work within a sea of graphic tee regurgitation.

I wore the tank proudly all over NYC’s fashion district.  To designer showrooms and studios, fabric stores, bead stores, sample makers, you name it.  And, without fail, I would get loads of compliments.  It was the perfect trend research.  I encountered professional designers and technicians as well as PR mavens, sales reps, and interning fashionistas.  I figured if all these people could appreciate the idea I may be onto something.  So I beaded five more tanks, and my first brand, Wifebeader, was born.

It turns out, the fashion world was ready for a change, and retail giants Anthropologie and Bloomingdales both picked up my freshman line.  Back then, Wifebeader was one of a handful of brands that offered decoration, but we were the only brand that used semi-precious stones and delicately hand-stitched every bead.

Today, you can find decorated tanks and tees everywhere from H&M and Target to Barney’s and Saks, so cutting edge designers must amp up their gimmicks to get attention.  One designer, LnA, is generating buzz with their Music Tee, a collaboration with the Invisible DJ.  Here’s the low-down, it’s simply another traditional graphic tee printed with the album’s cover on the front and the playlist on the back (I have concert t-shirts from the 80’s in that style).  Their concept does get more interesting though.  Each tee is imprinted with a code that allows you to download the tracks online for free, or rather, after you’ve shelled out the $60 for the tee.

To sum it all up – if you’re in the market for another graphic t-shirt and you happen to love the Invisible DJ’s skills for curating up and coming artists, this is a fun way to spend some cash.  If you’re drawers are stuffed with silk-screened tees and your iPod is flowing with enough techno tunes to keep your heart beating all day, treat yourself to a yummy sushi dinner instead.  Regardless of the fact that I’m personally opting for hamachi sashimi and nigori sake, the marketing person in me gives the team kick-butt kudos for beautifully executing a fun project that has gotten attention and landed them plenty of good press.

To all my creative Dahlight-ers.  If you have any sweet ideas for t-shirt collaborations and/or unique ways to make a basic wardrobe staple interesting and new please send them my way.  With your blessing, we’ll produce the winning designs/concepts and offer them for sale through our retailers.  Who knows?  Maybe you too will land some fashionable press.

For a breezy summer statement – take the styling into your own hands

When the summer comes, I’m often conflicted as to my style.  The trend-setting designer in me wants to maintain a big city look but the carefree wave-lover in me wants to go totally Wahine (Polynesian Goddess).

So, what’s a girl to do? This summer I’ll be expressing my own personality, conflicted as it may be, by wrapping my favorite fabrics around myself for an updated take on the sarong/pareo.

Sarongs are perhaps the best multi-tasking piece of clothing ever conceived of, and those of you who know me know how much I value multi-function fashion.  Very simply, a sarong is a piece of fabric typically measuring 2 yards by 1 yard that is historically decorated with ornate and colorful motifs.

Because of the simplicity of the pattern, a sarong literally begins as a blank slate which leaves the artistry to the fabric printer.  By using dyes and paints in batik or tie-dye style and employing the colorful weaving technique as seen in Ikat, the plain piece of fabric becomes wearable art.  Then through extravagant wrapping and tying, the fabric becomes clothing.

As interesting as the history may be, I want to concentrate on how to urbanize this basic traditional item by making it modern and new.  If you already have a sarong that you love and you can to this post for wrapping and tying techniques fit for any urban fashionista, go straight to the last paragraph, and enjoy!

Let’s start with the fabric itself.  I’m all for the oceanic tie-dye prints and the floral Polynesian prints if you’re looking for an island  look, and for those fabrics patterns you can shop online for a finished product.  Simply Google “sarong”. But, if you’re looking to mix things up and show your trend-setting taste, opt for a more contemporary fabric.  An inspired trip to the fabric store will most certainly reveal your inner designer and turn out something uniquely fabulous.

I personally will be working with some scrap fabrics I have on-hand in the studio to create my urbanized sarong.  That means I will be using anything from Scottish plaid prints to delicate ombre, laser burnouts, and cartoon skeletons.  I’m not kidding when I say let your inspiration lead you.  After all, the very definition of avant garde is ‘the advanced group whose works are characterized chiefly by unorthodox and experimental methods.”  Let’s goal ourselves at creating a statement piece.

A few things to consider when choosing your fabrics

• Lightweight woven fabrics with a soft hand and superior drape are ideal but a light jersey fabric will work if you’re wanting a stretchy drape in your fabric.

• Opt for double sided fabrics, those that are dyed so the color is on both faces of the fabric rather than those that are printed leaving you with one face side and one blank/white side.

• Choose a pattern that works in all directions so that you can use the fabric both vertically and horizontally.

• Choose silks for a city look and choose cotton for travel and beaching.

• Ensure your fabric bolt is wide enough to give you all the endless styling options you’ll want (1 yard wide is ideal).  If the width of the raw fabric is the proper width, you can always cut it to the length you need (2 yards for dress sizes 2 to 8.  Buy a longer piece if you wear a larger dress size).

• Go as bright and bold or as subtle and subdued as you want.  You’re the designer, go with your instincts.

Finishing your fabric

The best way to finish the edges of your fabrics, assuming they are delicate and drape well, is by serging a rolled hem edge.  If this is too much work and you don’t have a serging machine lying around, you can add a trim around the circumference of the fabric (ribbon etc) and use a zigzag stitch to attach it ensuring the main fabrics edge is folded back 1/4″ and the trim is placed on top of the fold covering its raw edge.  You may choose to add a trim totally for design purposes too!

If all this is too much hassle, simply allow your woven cotton fabric to fray evenly and you have no sewing to do at all.  For my upcoming Hawaii trip I’m taking that route myself.

For those of you who are really inspired – channel the traditional artists and hand paint or tie-dye a plain piece of fabric yourself!  Just think what a fun gift this could be too.

Turning your fabric into a garment

There are nearly infinite ways to tie your sarong, and you’ll want to defer to your creativity and take your personal body shape into account to wrap and drape in the most flattering way.

To get your juices flowing, check out Black Pearl Design’s video or photo instruction.  You’ll surely find at least a few styles you’ll want to start with and you can take it from there.

Remember, don’t be embarrassed to brag.  Send me photos of your inspired designs and styling techniques!

"deep" thoughts

Bloggers are making a living too

It’s only my first day writing Dahlight and The Wall Street Journal prints an article reporting that in the US today, there are nearly as many bloggers making a living online as there are lawyers.  Bartenders rank between the two professions.  While I come from a family of attorneys (my grandfather, father, uncle, and several cousins).  And, a few lawyers have found their place in my small circle of close friends.  And, I was a proud member of University of Arizona’s Phi Alpha Delta (the pre-law fraternity).  The little rebel in me can’t help but rejoice at this news.

I love that people are tapping into their entrepreneurial spirit and designing lives that are free, creative, expressive and fulfilling, by sharing their unique perspectives online.  I love that alternative professions are beginning to gain more respect.    Side Note – as a student I thrived on the feeling I had when declaring that I was going to law school.  It felt so grown up, so smart, so impressive.  Of course, the predictably positive reaction I got from the adult I was professing this to was like a drug.  Totally addictive.

Most of all, I love that the development of technology (and our absolute dependence on it) allows people to consider more independent fringe careers and still make their own mark.  Actually, probably make an even bigger mark.

In reality, bloggers and lawyers have a lot in common.  Both must be able to express themselves clearly and accurately.  They must care about the world around them and wonder what makes it work.  They must be somewhat insightful.  And, they both have to have dedicated personalities.  So, is it any surprise that some of the same students who, a few years ago, might have chosen the law (like I did for a while) are now passionately choosing self-publishing?

After recently reading a document I wrote defending my side of a dispute I had with a garment importer/exporter my father, the attorney, said to me.  “You are such a good writer, you should have gone into law.  Or maybe not.  (audible chuckle)”

At that moment, the young college student in me felt that familiar and addictive high from his implied complement that I have what it takes to be a lawyer.  But, the grown entrepreneur in me felt warm and gooey knowing that he has come to appreciate all it takes to pursue my sometimes strange, and almost always colorful, career choices.  At least for my dad’s sake, I never became a bartender.  At least, not yet.