Looking Forward, Looking Back

The beginning of a every new year is marked by celebration because it's a chance to look forward to the all the possibilities of the next year and examine what happened in the one past. This idea of looking to the future while not forgetting the past is central in fashion, with seasonal collections often inspired by trends and designers of days gone by. Thoughts of the relationship between past, present, future and fashion were inspired by this Vogue photograph circa 1951 which made me realize that there is no future fashion that will not have its roots in the past. I found this beautiful image thanks to Ms. Spinach, who recently shared a link to myvintagevogue's photostream on flickr which features hundreds of lovely images from past issues of Vogue magazine. Maybe one of these images will provide you with some inspiration for the new year.

Time to Shine

The holidays means gifts, decorations and lots of parties. Sequins and glitter are the perfect way to spruce up last year's outfit or just give you that extra twinkle. Whether you'd like to add some luster to a little black dress or go for a full on glamour girl gleam, here are some recommendations for adding a little sparkle to your holiday season.

Touch of Tinsel Clockwise from top left: Crushed Glitter Satin Clutch,
jcrew.com; Hair Clip, H&M ; Stone Mesh Bracelet, coach.com;

Kat Von D Lightning Sheer Lip Gloss, sephora.com; Cala Sequin

  Heel, ralphlauren.com;  Yellow Dream Dangle earrings, Sterling

Silver Flower Bud earrings, both available at jewelryartdesigns.com

Clockwise from top left: Amici Accessories Sequin Fedora,

nordstrom.com; Sequin Belt, H&M ; Sephora Brand Glitter Spray, 

amazon.com;  Christian Louboutin Straratata 140 Glitter Sandals,

mytheresa.com ; Make Up Forever Glitter, sephora.com

 Maximum Wattage Left to right: Fast Sequin Dress, frenchconnection.com;
  Gryphon Silver Sequin Short-sleeve Mini Dress, 25park.com


 

What is the Impact of Sustainable Fashion?

The Fashion Summit is taking place in Copenhagen this week along with the Global Climate Change talks and is organized by the Nordic Initiative Clean and Ethical (NICE), an organization dedicated to more sustainable business practices in fashion. The summit features fashion shows from sustainable designers, as well as talks given by fashion industry leaders like Julie Gilhart, Senior VP and Fashion Director of Barneys, Christian Kemp-Griffin, CEO of Edun, Ingrid Schullström, Head of CSR at H&M, and others, about the importance of raising eco-awareness in fashion. It's wonderful to see so many major fashion companies acknowledging that the industry does need to change and adopt more environmentally-friendly business practices. The only thing that is noticeably absent during the summit is that despite the call for companies to embrace sustainability, no speaker has actually addressed what is meant by the phrase "sustainable fashion." Sustainability in the fashion industry is more than just using eco fabrics: the whole process by which apparel is produced contributes a great deal of pollution and waste, from textile dying through to the transportation of a finished garment, and it is the reduction of this waste and pollution that will be at the core of fashion's contribution to the environment.

Sustainable Fashion from Saurabh Sethi on Vimeo.

This video by Saurabh Sethi does an excellent job of illustrating what effects fashion has on the environment and the difference that the application of more sustainable methods can make in each step of the apparel manufacturing process.

“The current interest in the environment is a good thing. The best way to make a contribution in fashion is to promote the idea that a fundamental interest in preserving the environment is itself fashionable.”

Giorgio Armani

Barneys’ Julie Gilhart to Fashion Industry: Do Things Differently to Save Our Planet

by Jasmin Malik Chua, 12/11/09 for Ecouterre

For Julie Gilhart, senior vice president of Barneys New York, fashion has always been a reflection of our times. And in the past 18 years she’s been with the luxury retailer, Gilhart has seen many changes. “The big change now is that we must do things differently in order to save our planet, both from an environmental perspective and a humanitarian one,” she said on Wednesday at the Fashion Summit in Copenhagen, which coincided with Day 3 of the UN Climate Change Conference. “We need to work hard to make the business of fashion consciously cool, yet at the same time, not lose profitability.”

Gilhart admitted that about five years ago, she started feeling disillusioned about her industry. “I felt for the most part it was wasteful and money-driven,” she said, adding that the millions of dollars that went to producing fashion shows could feed a lot of starving people.

“We need to work to make fashion consciously cool, yet not lose profitability”

It took Al Gore’s game-changing documentary and a meeting with the Dalai Lama to present Gilhart with a new fashion mission, but one that had to be grounded in reality. “Barneys was my employer,” she said, “and as a retailer, we needed to create business to sell merchandise and make a profit.”

Discussions with the Barneys CEO led to the store’s “Have a Green Holiday” campaign, and for every tree-shaped, 22-carat gold necklace sold, the store planted 100 trees. “It doesn’t sound like a radical idea now,” Gilhart said, “but in 2007, in the high-end luxury market, it was.”

The story continues at Ecouterre

French Vogue Cover Pokes Fun At Not So Funny Past

"The only reason I got the cover of
French Vogue was because Yves Saint
Laurent called up and told them
he'd pull his ads if they didn't.
So of course I got the cover."

Naomi Campbell, February 2008


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Suno Resort 2010