Friday, September 17, 2010

Do You Follow Fashion Week?

From Monique Lhullier's Spring 2011 show
So, it's Fashion Week here in New York. The interesting thing about Fashion Week is that it's pretty easy to ignore, don't you think? If Jezebel didn't cover all the shows (see their recaps here), I think I might miss it entirely—especially now that they've moved it up to Lincoln Center and there's no chance of me running into all hubbub on my lunch break.

I was thinking about the degree to which Fashion (with a capital F) inspires different sewists. Some of us keep track of every collection and knock off designer garments at home with our own special flair. Others of us see sewing as a way to happily ignore the fashion industry entirely. I think I probably fall somewhere in the middle: a casual observer. I did, however, spend a little time catching up on the shows from this week, and there is something oddly soothing about clicking through the runway looks online. (Especially if you look on the Style.com iPhone app. It's incredibly mesmerizing to make the pictures go by with the swipe of a finger: Flip. Flip. Flip.) Here are a few favorites:

Betsey Johnson does 40s nautical
A 50s-inspired shelf bust dress with irreverent paint splatters at Betsey Johnson
Nanette Lepore's perfect retro resort look
I love the side pleats on the skirt of this airy Monique Lhullier dress
Hollywood glam from Monique Lhullier

I love the sculptural laciness of this Marchesa gown
So, what's your relationship to Fashion Week, as a sewist? Do you follow it? Or remain blissfully ignorant?

43 comments:

  1. Even though I even pass some of those Fashion Week events when I'm walking the dogs through the neighborhood, I don't give Fashion Week a moment's thought. OK, maybe a moment.

    After it's over and the critiques come out, I'll probably take a peek, but right now it's just too much -- it's overwhelming. And too weird. I want someone to just tell me, hemlines are up/hemlines are down, like the good old days.

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  2. i adore fashion week! it's inspirational and like the woodstock of fashion. and i always look for Betsy, Westwood, and uncle Karl's work! i am also so happy to hear about the plus size runway show they had this year hosted by OneStopPlus.com. I am going to be googling pictures today!

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  3. The Fashion Week itself has never been the big attraction to me (I was just told that it'll be London Fashion Week when I'm going this time, and I just thought "oh no, there'll be too many people around"), but I used to care a lot more than I did. Vivienne Westwood was one of my favourite, and also a lot of the London based designers. But I guess, with the vintage inspiration that has sneaked up on me the last two years, the catwalk fashion isn't all that inspiring anymore.

    However, I love flicking through fashion pictures though, but nowadays I spend more time wiht reading vintage-inspired blogs...

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  4. I will probably miss fashion week in Paris as I don't follow it either. However I have a list of vintage, vente etc boutiques to visit on the search for retro couture. I love to sew and be inspired by the fashion art of today and yesterday! I will be in paris for a few weeks beginning next week. oh happy day!

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  5. I'm only dimly aware of it (mostly when the fug girls talk about it) and find high fashion doesn't really get my creative juices flowing, somehow. I rarely if ever sew for people who look or dress like models, so am more likely to be inspired by the time period that suits their shape or style, or a colour, or a detail they love, or god knows what else. But haute couture is just not me, so fashion weeks come and go somewhere above my head.

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  6. I do follow FW, though not slavishly. It's kind of essential for what I do. I've been to several shows, and I subscribe to WWD, so I check out the pictures and reviews.

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  7. I am somewhere in the middle as well. I live far from the action of fashion week but I still always know when it is going on. I have never looked for it. I think it is just something people are already talking about. I don't run out to see the latest styles, but when it comes time to draw up my next stly, I look to the runways for insperation. I am not a copier, well not a replica copier. I do love to let the new styles inspire me to do my best work.

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  8. I'm in the ignore camp; I don't care for runway fashion. I'd rather be inspired by stuff people are actually wearing.

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  9. I like to see what's going on and will take a look at some of the shows online (thanks for the iPhone app mention - hopefully it'll be less annoying than clicking online!!) Partially for the theater of it, partially to get new ideas, partially to see which way the wind is blowing, design-wise.

    I like to do my own thing, but I also like to know what's out there, so I can give my own twist.

    P.S. Yesterday's Self-Stitched September outfit was a silk/wool tweedy full circle skirt that I wore with black tall boots - once I got home and settled in for the night, I took off the boots and was scuttling around in my black and grey leopard print knee highs that slid down enough to look like the awful ankle-sock-marc-jacob's look. I thought of y'all! socks with full circle skirt!!

    PPS - psycho sue - uncle karl, indeed, full-fur suits aside, I'm a fan, except he is so MEAN!! everyone needs a mean uncle?? I heard chanel was going to put out a plus-size line at sak's. Has that happened? Minneapolis' only Saks is now a 'sak's off fifth' (discount store) boo.

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  10. oops! still can't use blogger very well! I'm like my mom with a remote control!

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  11. I'm an avid follower though I tend not to look at the collections until it's the season to sew them. Otherwise pieces of the new collections end up in my garments!

    BTW, I love that style.com app - I have it on my iTouch and can lose hours flipping through the pics especially because you can make the pictures bigger to see the details! Love, love, love it!

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  12. Hi Gertie! I am an ex-pat American living in Bath, UK. It is also Fashion Week here in London. I tend to just take a peek at my favorites from time to time.

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  14. I'm more in the middle like you, a casual observer. I love these pictures you posted, though, love the retro inspired looks very much. And I'm really lovin' that blue play suit. Wouldn't that be fun to hoop in?

    I have done a mention of you in two different places on my blog post for today. I'm going to copy and paste here because you might not have known to look in the two different places. The post is about me receiving a beautiful blogger award, telling ten things about myself and then naming other blogs to pass this on to:

    First mention:

    "About Me:

    1. My new passion is hula hooping - you heard me correctly - HULA HOOPING!!! My blogger friend Gertie is hooping now too. It is so much fun. I'm learning to dance and do tricks with my hoop. I'll post a video for you one of these days."

    Second mention:

    "I also would like to mention that I would like to award this to Gertie of a Blog for Better Sewing and Trina of the Slapdash Sewist, but I don't think they post awards on their blog. Of course, they are welcome to mention that they received this in a post or post it in their sidebar if they would like, but there is no obligation. I'm okay either way. I just wanted to mention them because I love their blogs so much, and they are a daily must-read. I'm sure you will agree. You probably already visit them, too. Who doesn't? They have the most amazing blogs and are such amazing dressmakers."

    Anyway, just thought I would save you the trouble of having to read that long post. I know you are extremely busy, but I also wanted you to know how much I love and appreciate all that you do.

    Trudy
    www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

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  15. I adore fashion week but admire from afar. Mainly I follow the fug girls and their coverage on NY Magazine's website. All of their coverage links to the images to the shows they cover so I can see everything I have time for.

    And, not having an unlimited cash flow, I let some of the truly inspring looks influence what I can pull out of my closet and hope that some of the designs (that Nanette Lempore resort baithing suit is a look my wardrobe NEEDS) trickle down to the masses.

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  16. Like you, personally I am in the middle. It seems like things have gotten more wearable lately in a "hey, I could make that" sort of way.

    As a vintage seller though, I need to know what was shown. My vintage shoppers DO shop the trends. As much as vintage wearers may be 'fashion forward', a whole lot of them are 'followers' too!
    (bring on the longer skirts!)

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  17. It's definitely an afterthought, but nothing gets me in my sewing chair like a "omg I must make that" moment. Admittedly, that can happen anywhere, but more frequently when/if you follow fashion shows!

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  18. As my body is nothing like the people they design for, I am firmly in the ignore it side of the spectrum. Over the years I have developed a personal style that pleases and suits me, and that is what I sew. As far as "fashionable" goes, it is irrelevant to my life. Not to say that I do not admire the sewing folks who do find ways to create beautiful garments inspired by what is "au courant"

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  19. When you look at vintage/retro fashions, you are getting a "best of" look of previous fashion weeks long past. T dismiss it completely would slightly hypocritical. That said, so many runway looks are ridiculous. I love your selection, though.

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  20. I usually have click through the style.com slideshows of designers I like (Monique Lhullier is one, DvF, Michael Kors, a few others). If a style blog I like posts pictures from a designer that look inspiring, I'll go check out the rest of their show as well. For the most part, though, what's in fashion so rarely intersects with the look that I prefer that it's not worth it to spend a lot of time clicking through.
    -Marianne
    http://dancingwithpoodles.wordpress.com/

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  21. I follow it because I work in the industry so I sort of "have to" but I do enjoy it! The funny thing is I almost NEVER read fashion magazines, because I don't really care by the point it comes off the runway & finally hits the stores...I work almost a year ahead so by the time it's in a magazine I've seen it a million times & I'm over it.
    The designers I love to follow always tend to be the outsiders---Galliano/Dior, McQueen (R.I.P.), Vivianne Westwood, Anna Sui, and Marc Jacobs (and a few others). And I find a lot of inspiration in usually the details for myself!

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  22. i defo follow.... and look in awe.... hoping one day to have the time to try replicate one or to for me!! x

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  23. Well, I enjoy seeing trends after they are sorted out from the wildness. I look for style that can translate to my life, not an abstract arty concept. I do appreciate the major work that designing a show requires and really respect fine craftsmanship. However, FW is mostly a news blip to me.

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  24. Well, I enjoy seeing trends after they are sorted out from the wildness. I look for style that can translate to my life, not an abstract arty concept. I do appreciate the major work that designing a show requires and really respect fine craftsmanship. However, FW is mostly a news blip to me.

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  25. I like to see what filters through to the magazines so I can interpret it all in a more realistic way.

    I think the days of the fashion runway show are slowly coming to an end anyway. More and more designers are looking to fashion films to show their collections~

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  26. Love, love, love Fashion Week!!

    I am all over the Carolina Herrera spring collection. There are actual wearable clothes in it. And Monique Lhullier is fantastic, but I really don't see myself wearing any of those lovely gowns to walk the dog or shuttle my kid to and from school. :-)

    The vast majority of what I see in the collections would look hideous on my body (a large chunk of it is hideous on its own, actually), but I'm always getting ideas and lifting various elements (colors, fabrics, details, etc.) and incorporating them in my sewing repetoire.

    But would I go to NY to see it in person? Heck, no. That's what the internet is for, right?

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  27. The only reason why I pay any attention to Fashion Week at all is because I'm a fan of Project Runway. So I pay just enough attention to check out the PR collections and call it a day. Since my sewing time is so limited and most of mine is for the kids, it just doesn't affect me. Now if they did kids' lines....

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  28. The only reason fashion could ever be considered important for me is when it is art (which is differentiated from craft but not separate or exclusive; it also has a different meaning for each person). I look at the shows and the reviews to try to figure out what the fashion industry is saying, but most of it is SOOO boring. I revisit the style.com photos of my favorite artists repeatedly because they make me feel happy.

    This decision to feel happy is a deep one. For a long time I struggled to see importance in aesthetics. Ultimately I decided there is no importance to any human creation (including thoughts)--may as well have a good time and indulge my aesthetic desires.

    Wow, that was sharing. Enjoy. ;)

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  29. in the middle! i follow the synopsis that the fashion bloggers and magazines post. i currently don't have the desire to sift thru all the pics of all the collections and find my fave pieces (it seems so overwhelming!). but for the most part, the haute couture is styled so out there that i am not able to translate it most of it into everyday wear. also, my sense of style is shaped more by what i love than what's on the runway, but i do admit that i LOVE when something i've been dreaming about/wearing finds its way into the collections or mainstream :)

    maybe in the coming years?

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  30. Much like other, Project Runway is the only way I even know about Fashion Week. I make artwear, so I prefer to look at the extremes in the week, paying attention to techniques and materials and shapes. Distilling the shows into trends or determining market impact is irrelevant to me--I just like the pretty pictures!

    So much of Fashion Week--and the industry at large--seems to be (looking in from the outside) Hype Hype Hype, and that's exhausting... I check in on the pictures to see if there's actually anything that seems so original it's actually "authentic" and "feels real". Gotta dig deep sometimes.

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  31. Like several of your posters...I also follow "Fashion Week" due to its' connection with Project Runway and the Rachel Zoe Project. I'm not a heavy duty follower but enjoy clicking on the various photos from the shows of different designers. At times I am amazed at what one calls "fashion" which to me is completely subjective. Some of these fashions revealed at these shows are so "hideous" and "out there" that one is left scratching their head as to who would honestly wear that! But then in each collection you will find the hidden "Gem" that will be the inspiration for knock-offs industry wide and will show up in stores six months later. All in all I do enjoy it but filter it according to my specific tastes.

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  32. I do look at the shows eventually, but I don't think there is fashion with an F anymore. If at all it is Fashion-Aspects such as:
    Glamour babe/50ies sex bomb
    Minimalism
    ethno/boho schmoho
    androgyny

    These aspects have been cropping up for years and it is the task of fashion journalism to find a new name for these aspects. Each season has a its' very own vintage decade and there you are.

    So I look for colours, wonder whether I'll be able to shop my closet and generally glory in the inspirational nuggets which are always there to discover in the river of predictability.

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  33. OK, so, not a sewing person here, but I am an admirer of the craft. Also I'm new here, don't remember whether or not I've commented yet, but hello!

    Anyway-- if it weren't all over Jezebel and Go Fug Yourself, I wouldn't have noticed Fashion Week at all. I do like flipping through the pictures because some of the ideas really ARE pretty or unusual or pretty/unusual, but overall it isn't something I sincerely care about.

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  34. As someone who used to work at a fashion magazine I can't exactly ignore it but it's not the be-all and end-all for me. It's more on my radar through other bloggers, and I am about to start clicking through NY now, but it's not necessarily something I die for each year. I tend to see a lot more inspiration on blogs and on the street than I do at the shows, although there are always some standout moments and Tommy Ton's photos always make me wish I was there!

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  35. If I had more talent for sewing clothing instead of costumes I would absolutely fall in the category of making the latest clothing I can't afford. With burlesque costumes I can fake knowledge with the help of E6000 but I can't do that with ready to wear.

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  36. I do and I don't pay attention to FW. I think in some instances I like to see what designers are finding inspiring (and taking mental notes on interesting color combinations and details). But on the flip side, it's really overwhelming and I always feel like it's a bit silly to be wasting so much energy over something that changes twice a year! :p Plus, since my wardrobe really isn't based on what is trendy (or even fashionable in this decade ;) lol.), it really doesn't hold a vital interest for me. I think looking at the pictures and reading about the fuss over FW has become more of something along the lines of gawking at the spectacle for me. ;)

    ♥ Casey
    blog | elegantmusings.com

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  37. i have a love/hate relationship with Fashion. On the one hand, i love that people come up with ideas, the multitudes of designs, the preparation and skill involved and the fact that it DOES take skill to create many of the things we see in Fashion. i enjoy it as i would enjoy an arts fair or gallery- the sheer pleasure of seeing the energy and heart put into something someone created.

    on the other hand, i am not a fan of the sheer amount of materials and labor waste involved, the snotty attitudes of the many of the "designers" or people involved (and of the industry in general), and i really cannot stand the fact that year after year, i see stick thin models wearing clothes that can't even look good on *them* because of how ridiculous the sizing is for the fashion industry. i'm not a size, 2, don't really care if other women are (and some are), but it's a little hard to be excited or care about an industry that ultimately deems women shaped like me as below some sort of imagined standard.
    when the day comes that a high-end Designer starts designing for people like my mom, i'll start paying attention.

    thankfully, learning to sew means i don't ever have to buy their clothes anyways.

    so yeah, a love/hate thing going.

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  38. Thanks for the inspiration! I usually play catch up after the fact, to be honest. Right now I'm all over the photos and trying to ignore the sniping. Love some of the runways this year!

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  39. All the posts are very interesting. Thanks. I will surely follow your blog from now on. Do post some more please. Your post also was a huge help in my research. Thanks much!

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  40. OMG I love last pic.That dress look so great. WOW Thanks.

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  41. Fashion week is best thing ever to happen in this world.Designers are able to show case they work at a cheaper cost and can obtain consumer complains and feedback quickly.I appreciate this show and emphasize that this trend be practiced across the world.

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  42. I follow Fashion Week but am not obsess on it. Also, I like FW as I got and learn so many great ways and ideas how to dress fashionably.

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Thanks for your comments; I read each and every one! xo Gertie

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