The more romantically-inclined fashion historians have claimed in a variety of books and articles that our current economic woes could have been predicted by the trend of long skirts over this past season. As skirt hems went up so too did economic heights, but now as skirts drop the markets follow.

Of course, this does not always prove true. (more…)

We’ve all seen that woman walking down a busy city sidewalk looking like she just stepped off a fashion shoot for Vogue. As she moves her way down the street, her confidence radiates to the point which could be construed as snobbish. Is it her clothing which gives her such poise? I know for myself, when I’m dressed in a suit rather than sweats, I feel better; but why? Why do clothes make us feel so good? (more…)

In the early 1990s, the Victoria’s Secret catalog was a paean to mature sexuality. Comprised of page after page of silky nightgowns, satin V-strings, sexy push-up teddies and sheer stockings, the Victoria’s Secret merchandise seemed to be the height of sophisticated seduction. But just over a decade later, Victoria’s Secret doesn’t seem to be designed for adults at all. Most of the catalog’s pages are now devoted to cotton print underwear, baggy cotton PJs, and sweats from the “Pink” collection. The grownup sex appeal vanished with the satin and lace, and the once-naughty catalog has turned into the chronicle of a middle school slumber party.

“Poiret dethroned the primacy and destabilized the paradigm of Western fashion,” according to Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton, the curators of the recent exhibition of Poiret designs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Poiret is credited with liberating women from corsets but he also introduced many other trends which are still visible today in prêt-a-porter shows. He was also the first designer to combine perfume and interior design with his couture collections. There is seemingly no end to the influence of the great French designer on modern fashion. (more…)

Teenagers and the Internet are a no-brainer combination, and websites from Facebook to Pitchfork are well aware of this. They know those fickle beasts called “trends” are more than alive and kicking, but they also know that loyalty and honesty can’t be put on the back-burner: they need to be squarely front and center. Martina Fugazzotto, a 25-year-old self-described designer based out of Brooklyn, New York USA, makes sure this happens at gURL.com, a content site and online community aimed at teenage girls, and with her own personal work, which she showcases on her website, MartinaMartina.com. It’s difficult to pin Fugazzotto’s work; some images look like they belong in a lusciously illustrated graphic novel, while others seem to embody a sense of frenzied, rambunctious kitsch. A constant thread found weaving through most of her work, however, is the intricate mix of loud and subtle takes on gender, emotions, and physical development, and the ways in which sexuality, stereotypes and frankness play into those topics. (more…)

Is fashion really design? A good design springs from the dance between form and function. Fashion has form, many forms in fact. But where is the other side of the fashion coin? Well-designed items are ones which look good while serving a purpose — a chair one cannot sit upon is hardly a chair. Yet to analyze the design of a gold-sequined clutch, barely large enough to house a thought, based equally on aesthetics and utility requires a bit more reflection. Do we hold fashion to a different set of standards than other aspects of design? What essential purpose does fashion serve?
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