// Fade to #C5C5C5

Fashionomics

The past three months have been insanely busy, so I haven’t had the opportunity to post much. However, I have been writing a few drafts in this period that I will try to wrap up and post in the coming few days. First one up – Fashionomics!

There’s an economic theory that says that hemlines rise in good economic times and drop in poor times. If one was to judge by the hemlines at some of the fashion show weeks this season, the economy is definitely skyrocketing next year and the recession will finally be over.

Yulia Kharlaponova in Lanvin.

» Read the full post

Tags: anja rubin, Chanel, ginta lapina, lanvin, lisanne de jong, prada, proenza schouler, spring/summer 2010, versace, yulia kharlaponova

Must-see frockumentaries

Maybe it’s because of all the recent hype surrounding The September Issue, Valentino: The Last Emperror and The Day Before, but as of lately I have a new addiction – watching fashion documentaries.  What I love about documentaries like the ones listed below is that you get to see what things are really like behind the scenes. You get an insight into how the designers work and what inspires them. Here’s a few of my favourites from YouTube:

BBC: The Secret World of Haute Couture >> Playlist

Loïc Prigent: Signe Chanel >> Playlist (episode 1 – 5)

Loïc Prigent: Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton >> Part 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09

Masters of style: John Galliano >> Playlist

Vivienne Westwood >> Part 01 | 02

Yves Saint Laurent >> Part 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06

Although I do like to watch fashion reality shows and find them entertaining, I find it kind of sad that a lot of people seem to think that reality shows like Project Runway is what fashion is really all about.  As Loïc Prigent told Maya Singer in a recent interview:

I’ve seen a little bit of these reality shows, and whatever they’re about, they’re not about fashion. Competition, making fun of people, but not fashion. It’s very hard to convince people to do a real fashion show— there’s a prejudice against fashion people in TV, even in France.

I really hope that the recent popularity of the fashion documentary genre will help change this and that people realise that there’s more to fashion than creating dresses out of chocolate wrappers (heads up to Hershey’s for the great PR effort though!).

Photo source: NY Magazine/Christopher Anderson

Tags: Chanel, Haute Couture, John Galliano, Loïc Prigent, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, vivienne westwood, Yves Saint Laurent