The Aristocratic Principle in Fashion

Gentle Reader -

Fashion theorists and fashionistas alike are searching for something. Call it exclusivity, luxury or mystique, there is magic in fashion.

Let us call this a search for the 'Aristocratic Principle.' It is a tenet that is opposed to the Big Fashion of today, always in search of new markets.

Nor does it necessarily assume clothes for the wealthy. No, the Aristocratic Principle is quite simple: to be original without being outlandish. The rest somehow - magically - falls into place.

In today's fashion, look to Tokyo, small ateliers in any major Italian city, and (of course) the back streets of Paris and London.

- AP

Alex Streets: Modesty as Fashion?

Cleopatra's city is long gone. Today, the Egyptian city of Alexandria retains memories of its history, but not much else for those in the pursuit of fashion's cutting edge.

The question posed here: can fashion be inherently modest? If you're designing in India or Tunisia, you're wrestling with this question, too.

- AP

Future Fashion: Quantum Couture

Couture at the press of a button: a future with limitless options of dress. This kind of instantaneous fashion may require quantum methods of creation. Are we 700 years in the future? Or will it be tomorrow?

- AP

Future Fashion: Couture Libre

Can you imagine a couture house without a directrice? That indispensable figure: part mother, part doyenne and always a diplomat?

Maybe it's time that the Chambre Syndicale take a strategic look at the role of haute couture and find some relevance not only in today's world, but in the future.

I am not advocating here, but there are indications that perhaps the venerable tradition of made-to-order clothing should undergo a transformation:

- Identify the techniques of haute couture and pass those on to future generations
- Produce limited examples rather than full collections
- Consider restructuring the traditional business model of haute couture

In other words, a "free" couture - without the pressures of selling.

Perhaps we will see the directrice as the real power of a couture libre, hiring couturiers to fit the need of clients.

- AP

The Invisible Hand 2: Philippe Venet

Gentle Reader -

With fashion as Big Business, it is sometimes hard to remember - or imagine - the days of haute couture's heyday. The masses who read the fashion titles know the designer names, but certainly not the names of couturiers (et oui, couturières aussi!).

Philippe Venet. Look him up. Study the images. This is homework.

There is a politeness of silhouette, as if Venet's muse never strayed very far from the exclusive worlds of the aristocratic 7th or grand bourgeois 16th in Paris - particularly after 1968. You might think this could hinder one's talent. In the case of Venet, it allowed for a flowering of a woman in a certain private world.

To put it another way, Venet could be called the Master of Discretion.

Venet's talent has never been underestimated, merely overlooked. This is both a danger and an advantage for those who pursue fashion with an Invisible Hand.

- AP

TPC Trendwatch - November 09

Gentle Reader -

When working with trends, you must not show a bias. Rather, simply record the impression, and look to see if there are corroborations. Some notes from this weekend:

Tea gaining ground over coffee? Coffee may keep us awake, but tea seems to make us aware.

Allergens and perfume? Chanel No. 5 may be billed as the first synthetic perfume, but are we heading toward completely artificial compositions? Aren't we already there?

Probiotic cocktails? Live cultures in one's martini glass? Kombucha and vodka - stirred?

A return to the grand fabrics: the names are almost forgotten - Abraham, Bucol, Rubelli - that once used to appear in the haute couture issues of fashion magazines. These are the names of the suppliers of great fabric (not a complete list). Is a short jacket in emerald silk faille instead of black, ballistic nylon no longer possible?

Mosaics and pietre dure in jewellery: as cuff bracelets?

Cyprus: there are so many reasons why this island should be watched. Location alone makes it an ideal place to launch Eastern Mediterranean couture.