The Future of Fashion Careers

In April, the fashion industry suddenly halted as did everything else.  What will a fulfilling career in the fashion industry look like when graduating during a global pandemic? 

Most people in this programme will graduate within the next 4 to 10 months, I will be one of them. The majority hope to land either an associate buying position, fashion marketing internship, personal stylist position or store manager at a glamourous downtown office space or high-end clothing store. The reality is finding your dream job in fashion has become even more difficult at the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.  Although, it is a part of our human nature to learn how to adapt to new environments, which we've already done. There's an imminent fear in the back of every senior university student's mind, that there just won't be a place for us in our field after graduation.  At the start of the pandemic thousands of positions were cut due to firms no longer being able to afford so many salaries. Since then, many people have been unable to be reemployed sadly due to firms realising that their positions are no longer necessary. 

The fashion industry was one of the hardest hit industries and it's still quite vulnerable. If anything, this pandemic has shown how important each moving part in the supply chain is. As factories shut down and new restrictions on shipping and travel emerged, stock importation and apparel manufacturing took a hit, which sparked the debate, whether having fashion seasons are necessary at all, or have they always been a capitalist ploy to allure people into spending more money? 

Back in March, many clothing stores had backorders for SS ‘20, therefore there simply wasn't enough inventory to sell to make up for the amount of salaries that needed to be compensated for. Due to this, thousands of people in retail we're laid off. Eventually clothing stores closed worldwide for almost an entire quarter. At that point, fashion brands came to the realisation that it just simply wasn't possible to manufacture the clothing for AW’20 in time, hence why they pushed many of their designs to future ‘seasons’ or have decided to go seasonless altogether, following in the footsteps of Gucci.

 I wish I could recall the events of earlier this year in Covid-free present day.

Every day that goes by makes me almost certain that coronavirus is just something we have to live with in our daily lives in the same way that we adapted to the common cold. No one can put a definite end date on the coronavirus timeline, so let's just assume by the time second year fashion management students graduate and enter the workforce, we will most likely struggle finding employment in the field.  

So, what does the workforce look like now that we have begun adapting? What better way to figure out what the world outside of our academia fishbowl truly like than to ask someone experiencing the ‘new normal’ who is currently working in the industry.

Elle Edwards is a personal stylist/shopper at Harry Rosen during his 9-5, however, spends the rest of his hours in the week juggling an impressive number of job titles.  He is a freelance fashion photographer, creative director fashion consultant and also recently delved into scouting, conducting mentorships and branding.

He says that the new everyday workday is pretty much the same.

“Connecting with model agencies connecting with models, connecting with production, make-up artists, hair stylists, wardrobe stylists. Lots of planning and brainstorming.”

“it's a lot of getting in contact with client’s commercial clients and doing a lot of negotiating doing a lot of agreement contract review things like that have to prepare for, a lot of back at forth on logistics” 

The only thing that has changed is it has become more digitized, more emails, more phone calls and zoom conference calls!” 

When asked if any unexpected opportunities came his way due to the pandemic he said,

“The greatest thing for me is it comes to branding or fashion photography. I have jobs or potential jobs because everyone needs me to make content whether it is to market online or they need branding done to stand out from their competitors, so there's always a demand there for the services I provide which is great!”

“[Additionally] since the Black Lives Matter movements in June that encouraged people to put more energy into black businesses and black creatives in the industry and have become more aware of black talent.” 

“I am now getting more recognition and support for my craft.”

Elle is actually not worried about the future of the fashion industry in Toronto. He believes that everything happens for a reason.

 “It's just business and you just have to adjust to everything that's happening in the marketplace.” 

“It's the survival of the fittest and I feel like if you want to grow or stay in business at least you have to be willing to adjust to everything that's happening in the industry and persevere.”

One of the biggest pieces of advice he has for anyone entering the industry is invest in yourself, do some soul searching and  figure out what you’d find most joy in doing for the next 5-10 years and the research in that market to figure out your strengths and weaknesses and what you can bring to that sector. 

“Build your network, the fashion industry is a relationship-based industry.” 

“It’s not about what you know and it’s only so much about who you know, it’s more so about who knows YOU!” 

“Brand yourself very well in this industry.”

To Learn or To Unlearn: Renegotiating the Values of Gender in Fashion and in Society

“there is no gender identity behind the expression of gender…identity is performatively constituted by the very ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results.” -Judith Butler

 

Style, often mistaken by the masses as merely trends within the fashion industry, actually plays a bigger role in our lives than dictating which outfit will be on the cover .We use clothing as a creative outlet to portray ourselves, and for many of us, who we are and how we feel within our bodies changes from day-to-day. Our individual style is both an expression and performance of who we are. With that in mind, should we not be constantly renegotiating this expression since we, as people, are constantly evolving? Any discussions surrounding style can be seen as shaped by social gender norms as well as constructing these norms themselves.  As gender can be described as the social constructions of masculinity and femininity, we perform our gender every day through the styles we adhere to.  The two go hand in hand whether you know it, like it, or chose to be defined by it or not.

Over the years, femininity in particular has challenged what these rules mean. Often looking beyond, them to create a space within the blurred margins where normalcy is reimagined, and self-expression happens to be the driving force. Coco Chanel protested against these social constructs with an arsenal consisting of materials and silhouettes previously deemed to be for men. In 1916 she began using jersey to make comfortable clothing for women that freed them from the suffocating grip of corsets. Mary J Blige showed us that a woman’s femininity is not contingent on a ballgown but can be just as strong and powerful in a sport jersey and Timbs. The New York ball scene taught us that even when the masses refuse to acknowledge one’s place in the world, clothing and what YOU chose to do with it can be both liberating and empowering.

 

Now, in more recent times we’ve had the pleasure and privilege to see men like ASAP Rocky, Young Thug, and Harry Styles choosing to embrace style and beauty norms typically only deemed appropriate for those who identify as feminine. Society has also taken steps towards creating space for those who do not Identify with the mainstream idea of gender as a whole.

 

Progress is being made and our eyes are being opened, but we still have a long way to go before we reach a point in which the performance of gender no longer creates such rigid limitations in how we express ourselves in our day-to-day lives. In order to do this, we, as a society, must begin the process of deconstructing and therefore unlearning what we believe it means to be feminine or masculine, and as individuals we must resist these limitations and reconstruct what it means to express yourself, especially when it comes to style. 

 

To widen my perspective on the topic I sat down (virtually) with Mimi Osa a prominent up-and-coming Drag Queen  to discuss their experiences, making connections between clothing and the performance aspect of gender in both his everyday life as Andres Caravantes and her professional life as Mimi Osa.

One of the first discussions we had during this interview was on how Andres feels while shopping for his everyday wear. "I don't identify as gender nonconforming.  I still identify as man, so for me even though it's such an arbitrary idea to stick gender labels onto clothing I’m still very much conditioned to shopping in the men’s section and dressing my body to the societal expectations of what a man’s body should look like"  He began to explain the importance and understanding of spaces within society that dictate what is deemed appropriate. He stated "It's important to acknowledge that certain pieces of clothing already had an inherent understanding within society".  Continuing on the same note, he began to share examples " Women have long hair, men have short hair; these are cues that we pick up in order to help us identify what we are looking at. When you start to mess with those, there is an unlearning that needs to happen." Explaining that even though he takes so much pride in his queerness, because of society’s conditioning, he himself experiences instances of internalized homophobia such as not feeling comfortable pulling women’s pieces and adding them into his everyday fashion. 

Now, when it came to Mimi, there was a lot to learn about who the character is, the power in her interpretation of the performance of gender, and the performance in and of itself. She explained that when it comes to being a drag queen,, they are still trying to figure out what exactly they are trying to say with their art and what the purpose of it is. Explaining that Drag itself can be in fact be misogynist, as it is taking aspects of usually white femininity that are already incredibly harmful to women growing up and then heightening it. “I don't want to be seen as a man performing as a woman. I want to be seen as Mimi Osa, a character who is blurring the line between femininity and masculinity”  she then went into the notion that drag isn’t something that has to be defined by what gender and individual identity you associate with but more with the transformation, and the heightening of gender play as a performance. Giving explains like Uma Thurman in her role of cat woman or Freddie Mercury. "I'm not trying to Rainforest the pervasive idea of acceptable femininity through my drag…yes, I love doing my hair and wearing my makeup and I like having  a female body, but I also love the genderfuck aspect to it like I have a piece by “Bcalla” which is like a mesh tube dress and it’s baggy and it’s bulky and it doesn’t give any particular shape and then I’ll have my male nipples exposed." While Mimi is performing, she is in a space where she can live both truths; yes Mimi is a character played by Andres but, there is a crossroad as Mimi said in the interview “The feminine obviously bleeds into the masculine…Like it is Andre’s but its an Andres who is comfortable enough to exude my more feminine energy"

As my time with Mimi was coming to an end, we talked about the gatekeepers for society. We discussed how the foundation of our society was built on these social constructs that they put in place as a way to ensure that certain people and ideas were and remained in power. Mimi and I also took the time to speak on more positive topics such as the silver lining that is the hope that we have. Younger generations are pushing back on these boundaries, learning to take what their predecessors gave them and updating those outdated ideas. We see the effect of outdatedness in our everyday lives, through the help technology. It makes useful things, such as our smartphones, slow and frustrating, and after a certain point, renders them impossible to use. If this can be said about our smartphones, traffic lights, medical practices, why can’t this concept be applied to the realms of style, gender and expression. 

With that Mimi left me with her final words on the importance of self education surrounding these topics and how in order to create a world where there is space for all gender identification in fashion we must tackle the issue at its root and replant it in new soil, soil that is fertile for all. This means fighting and rooting for the unlearning of social constructs.

“I am a drag queen cause it is my chosen form of expression…and as a gender studies major I’m going to say that all people need to be continuously learning and unlearning things that are embedded into us such as racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism.  Also capitalism is bad and the patriarchy can go as well.” -Mimi Osa

Fashion Goes Digital : Through the eyes of J.P. Michaels

Celebrating 65 years of pure creativity with Torontobased stylist, author, creator and curator of beautiful things, J.P. Michaels.

Stepping into J.P’s world As I entered through the green door of his 23rd floor apartment, I was instantly in awe of the contents of his home. As I greeted J.P. and wished him a happy 65th birthday, I could not help but contemplate at all the intricacies that guided my eyes through the flow of his apartment. He welcomed me into his home and directed me to his balcony, which offered spectacular views of downtown.

J.P. Michaels is many things, from having been in the army, to singing in choirs, to directing plays, to being a great stylist, the list is as endless as is varied, which revealed a deep sense of knowledge and creativity. When asked about his career in fashion, he responded, “I have a career in selfimprovement, and I use style rather than a knowledge of fashion to sense what would create a flow”.

As I stepped back into the apartment, I noticed a beautifully framed vintage baptism gown hung up on the wall. I asked J.P. if it happened to be his and he said, “That, my dear, was actually my father’s”. As I looked closely at the frame, I was amazed at how well preserved the fabric was, as it looked immaculate and had not but a single thread sticking out, it could have been an artefact from a museum. “I want the eyes of the wonderer never having to stop looking and feeling a sense of curiosity and flow throughout my apartment.”, I can say with certitude that that was the exact feeling I felt walking around.

Digital Birthday Extravaganza

Upon having a little chat, I find out that J.P. had filled his day with Live Instagram interviews with some of his closest friends and people of influence in the fashion industry in Toronto and beyond. The day was full of promises and activities, which I would be privileged enough to contribute to. As the day unfolded, and the Live’s succeeded one another endlessly, and I could not help but notice the genuine relationships that he had formed over the digital platform, as J.P’s vibrant energy allowed you to really connect with him. The apartment was busy from morning to night, with a few people dropping in with gifts and surprises and the sounds of voices from people calling in at intervals. Considering the times we currently live in, I thought it was such a wonderful way to celebrate one’s birthday.

J.P. is one of those people that have managed to retain an immaculate eye for art and fashion, through the trying times of the pandemic, staying active by going digital and actively contributing to some incredible editorials, while maintaining a safe environment. I was curious to know how he managed to keep up with such trying times, to which he shared,

Talking colours

The colours that decorated his home were so mesmerising, which was when I decided to ask him which colour palette would most describe him. His answer was, “There are no colours that I do not like, only difficult colours to work with. I guess if I had to choose, Yellow, black as an accent and a few sprinkles of periwinkle blue. Yellow is a good choice, but will never be the predominant colour that would define me”.

Talking Style

When asked about his sense of style, he candidly replied, “I like to play games with my style, while still being deliberate. What is most focal to my style is my affinity for colour and texture. To go back to your question, I would describe my sense of style as being studied without being forced.”

Talking Future

Going digital, however, was a task in itself, but with an incredible support system backing him, J.P. is on his way to owning digital platforms, “I was doing a lot of writing during the lockdown and documented most of my writing. I would then proceed to choose outfits [for the videos] that would convey a message, depending on the tone of the content to be filmed on the day”. He then went on to share that, “The idea is if you’re getting the message right within yourself, you are going to get it right with others as well. Style is a visual connector. Covid-19 and isolation caused me to think about how I was feeling and what I was thinking, and was, for me, a blessing in disguise”.

As the birthday extravaganza drew to a close, J.P. seemed to have found the most resounding closing statement, as he shared, “My reinvention into a style icon is a period in my life where I think I got the fit right. The ‘Cinderella Syndrome’ where the glass slipper fits you perfectly, well that’s what it’s like for me as a stylist. It’s distinctive, with an element of whimsy that gives people a sense of curiosity. Fashion will engage and connect people, and that will not change.”

Want to watch the interview unfold? Click on the link below and to follow @jp.michaels on Instagram for more fashion and beyond content!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CG-0kKnAiUM/

Retail Evolution in COVID-19

 

Retailers have certainly been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting many to leverage new tactics to survive. These changes in approach have also influenced the evolution of the retail industry, surfacing new trends with lasting effect.

 With the 2020 spread of Corona virus, the world is facing a new business environment that has never been experienced before. The lifestyle of consumers is represented by 'mask and self-quarantine', and the need and importance of “Contactless” channels are growing in the purchasing stage of products and services. How is the retail scene evolving due to COVID-19? According to the association of accountants called Deloitte, “tens of millions worldwide have been urged or ordered to practice social and physical distancing in a massive collective effort to “flatten the curve,” to slow the transmission of the virus and avoid overwhelming our healthcare sectors.” The press believes “gaining a better understanding of how consumers’ shopping and spending habits are changing in light of this global pandemic could help retailers respond, adapt, and move forward in these incredibly difficult times.”

Solution: How Convenient Is It?

In the opening of the Retail Big Show, the NRF chairman emphasizes "convenience" among the changing elements of the retail environment. According to the NRF survey, the proportion of consumers who chose convenience as important in shopping increased 83 percent from five years ago. So then, how can retailers promote "convenience"? The conclusion the show suggest is “digital innovation”. Two big flows of digital innovation are “digital transformation” and “omni-channel”.

1) Digital transformation

Digital transformation is a process that applies IT technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence (AI) to innovate existing organizational operations and change consumers to experience new services in a digital environment. Simply, ‘digital’ is induced into the process of customers purchasing products and using services. A fashion editor in Vogue Korea Hyeon-ji Nam says, “Fashion brands need to improve the quality of the service of their retailers and upgrade customer service strategy so that consumers satisfy and feel comfortable.”

2) Omni-channel

Electronic commerce has become the ideal ally to make transactions with only one press, without setting foot outside the house, given the impossibility of not leaving home, but with the same needs. Retail companies targeting omni-channel connect online and offline and seek customer convenience or cost savings. Amazon Go, without checkpoints, is a prime example of this target model, and is now bench-marked by the retail and commerce companies from a variety of perspectives. According to Amazon.com, “Amazon Go” utilizes 'Just Walk Out Technology' by accurately recognizing the behavior of a circular camera with a self-driving sensor attached to it, picking up or putting down products on the shelves, and using IT technology to check whether a product is picked up or not.

After the advent of Amazon Go, many retail companies around the world are attempting to develop self-service stores and managerial robots, and various types of the self-service stores are emerging. This is revolutionizing the off-line channels and producing a variety of contents, including discourse on labor structure as robots appear at the forefront of human society. 

3) Pop-up Store

"Pop-up store" is a word derived from a computer window that pops up and disappears, which means an off-line store that is temporarily operated for a short period. It varies from hands-on shops with diverse and different concepts to temporary off-line stores of online-based companies. Editor Hyeon-ji says, “For companies, pop-up store is an opportunity to give experience to customers about their products and services in person, increase brand awareness, and collect customer data through various attempts.”

Pop-up attracts customers' attention through digital mirrors and allows customers to experience more than just looking at it through a variety of links to mobile apps, increasing their interest and desire to buy the product. Hyeon-ji mentions “The key point is that the pop-up store opens on an unspecified day, and that information is only known to the company's community or brand followers. Hence, people who do not know this information often feel like a surprise event, but if it is well-planned, it is a good marketing strategy to spread positive experience or brand-friendly Earned Media.”

How retailers should proceed in the Covid-19 period

What retailers need to investigate is, how will customers continue to look for shopping and how they can ensure scalability in the shopping area for consistent customer inflow. Currently, few customers are coming to off-line stores, and in order to overcome this disruption, channel-to-channel connectivity, and virtual environments are crucial. Also, retailers should plan to provide differentiated experience based on each of the customers’ characteristics in the process of customer purchase. “Digital Retail” which implements these will turn the current retail industry crisis into a new opportunity and become a silver bullet to enhance the sustainability of the enterprise.

The Future of Fashion: Will Fashion Survive a Global Pandemic?

When the global pandemic commenced, fashion businesses became more concerned than ever before. As lockdowns and quarantine restrictions began, retail firms struggled to sell and failed to continue their operations and substantial sales losses have been exacerbated by many clients losing their jobs. For this reason, along with the push of “social distancing” many buyers felt it would be the demise for all businesses including fashion retail. Fashion brands also began to feel the downwards shift in sales as online home orders were on the rise made and consumers had no desire to look “fashionable” well working from home. A thought whether "fashion will still be relevant?" had raised doubts from these organizations and questioned if fashion in today's world would still have considerable significance to their consumers.  But does that mean there will be an end to the future of fashion?

An interview with Professor David Soberman, Canadian National Chair in Strategic Marketing, in the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, shares his thoughts and views on the future of fashion and fashion retail during COVID. “This is certainly a big shock to both fashion and fashion retailing in Canada and worldwide because of the pandemic, people are going out much less and not getting dressed up. They are wearing lots of casual/comfy clothes since they are at home most of the time”. Professor Soberman believes many well-known companies will not make it through the pandemic. As per a recent post on wwd.com, Le Chateau is a fashion company that was seriously affected by the pandemic.

During lockdown, workers were less interested in the latest styles and leaned towards a more casual attire while working from home. Over time, fashion brands and houses started to become more concerned that the fashion industry would be less important and sales would suffer.

It is less relevant for people who work at home Professor Soberman mentions. He says “Society today however enjoys being social and once the pandemic is over, people will want to see each other and clothes since the beginning of time have been a way of communicating with others”. Professor Soberman continues to say, fashion is seen through community membership, such as supports of sporting teams and conformity (very true in religious communities), fashion portrayed in those ways is never going to change.

Back in mid-March as lockdown commenced globally, firms were shut down and therefore an online solution to all sales tactics kept them alive. This meant that consumers wishing to shop at retail locations was no longer accessible. But does this mean that all brands are going to turn to online sales and hence the demise of all stores? Professor Soberman, considers that “Retail stores will regain their relevance because people like to shop and try things on. However, a much greater fraction of people will be happy for many things to order online and just send them back if they don’t fit. Traditional fashion retailing will be important but it will be tougher”. Throughout the past year, apparel retailers have retained a strong sales margin by selling online. Nonetheless, as Professor Soberman states above, it was “tougher” by doing so because firms had to update their marketing tactics as well as provide sale incentives/promotions for their customers. In order to stay relevant, fashion labels had to implement new and innovative campaigns across social media platforms. Mr. Soberman says “Social media and influencers present tremendous opportunities for firms to capitalize on something which is popular and for small firms to act big and reach a huge audience.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has had massive impacts on the economy, many apparel firms had to lower costs throughout this past year however on the flipside others have been able to sustain higher prices on their products. Professor Soberman explains that it must be “unique” and “desirable” for firms to market a product line, and if so, only high costs should be sustained.

He states “However, for standard items lower prices will be needed because it is much easier for shoppers to compare prices online and find the best deal”.

Due to the unprecedented highs and lows experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, fashion retailers have encountered a very difficult year facing many challenges both in the online and in-store sectors. Fashion brands can only hope that the economy can continue to thrive and that the future of fashion retail must rely on the following factors: influencers and celebrities as a marketing tool of continuing trends, affordability, innovation and accessibility as means of survival in this global pandemic.

Spring/Summer 2020: The Season that took the Fashion Industry by Storm: How Covid-19 affected the new generation of fashion students and their projected career plans

Do you remember where you were when the news of emergency lockdown in the city of Toronto was first announced? How about the announcement from George Brown College’s President regarding the school’s closure for the rest of the winter semester? I clearly remember reading the email at work. Back then, I thought it was the perfect time because I can avoid all my final class presentations. However, that sense of relief did not last long. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one saddened by the sudden change of career plans. The summer of 2020 was supposed to be the time where we can fully navigate the career paths we chose, but it only ended up hindering most of us.

While the pandemic’s effect on the fashion industry can be considered as a wake-up call to slow down and lean towards a more sustainable approach; it’s no surprise that this reflects the future opportunities for fashion students for an industry that is already considered as ‘cut-throat’ and challenging. The pandemic definitely heightened the uncertainty most students feel.

As a Fashion Techniques and Design student, Selina Wong is worried for her future as a student. Most internships have been cancelled, and her curriculum is now compromised. As a design student, prior to the pandemic most of their classes are practical and hands-on. Currently, their construction classes are condensed to a five-week period workshop compared to the usual fifteen weeks. “Just the fact that they’re trying to condense everything into five weeks is just ridiculous because there’s a lot to learn” said Mark Agulan, who is in the same program. Disappointed and worried, both students did not feel the need to finish school on time. Wong said that since the current layout of the program does not align with what she wants for her education, she is willing to take a year off and see how it would recover. As for Agulan, he has taken the Fall semester off, he feels that he is not getting the quality of education he wishes. When asked about the biggest shift in their plans after graduation, both of them shared the same sentiment of having their plans pushed back and their chance of working for a designer is comparably harder now than before.

Fashion Management students are in the same unfortunate boat. They are required to work an internship the past summer. Students were looking forward to working in the coveted fashion industry—whether it is in production, editorial, marketing, or buying. After the lockdown, the school moved all field internships remotely. Unfortunately, around this time most companies have withdrawn their internship opportunities. This was definitely the icing on the horrifying cake of the plummeting fashion industry. Stephanie Coombs is one of the fortunate ones to acquire an internship last April. She feels happy with her placement and said that though she learned a lot, there is a slight disappointment in not learning all aspects of the company, especially the production side, “I think I could have learned more but I also can’t be pessimistic and say ‘oh, I didn’t learn anything, it was horrible!’ but I definitely did learn a lot.” When asked about the careers in fashion post-Covid, she said “I think now it’s gonna be even harder to find a career, so I think it’s really important to think about fostering your own.” This last summer, Coombs launched her own brand, KYRA&CO in which she creates hand crafted sustainable masks made out of hand-dyed linen. Unfortunately for some students, acquiring an internship was unattainable. Riley Walsh, who is also a Fashion Management student, struggled to find an internship in relation to his field. Initially, he wanted to work in production but that was immediately scrapped because most companies closed their doors to students and are opting for remote work. Just like Coombs, Walsh launched his own apparel brand Everything’s Fine earlier this year. When asked about the future of fashion he said, “seeing companies going more and more online, my physical style of production and work environment makes me more nervous for the future.” He admits that he feels doubtful. However, he feels more optimistic for his business due to “the recent push for supporting local and small businesses.” As for the biggest shift in his graduation plans, he said he is trying to find a new path in the industry and working on his online skills to move forward with the rest of the industry.

What we thought a summer full of opportunities turned into something completely unexpected and disappointing. The struggle of finding employment for recent and future graduates are collectively felt by the industry. Though new skills are acquired by work from home, the new generation of graduates are fostered by remote learning and only time will tell how this will directly affect the industry. A thought-provoking and heartbreaking statement by Selina Wong resonates with me, “is our degree going to be looked at as lesser than compared to the previous graduates?” Will recent graduates be viewed as having received a lower quality of education OR will employers view recent graduates as incompetent due to the lower quality of education provided during the pandemic?

Baudrillard and Bowties: A postmodern look at aesthetics and value in fashion

 In this postmodern era we live in, is it possible to objectively define beauty in terms of fashion? Clothing has been historically thought of as a means to functionally prepare ourselves for daily life, bakers wore aprons and soldiers wore armor. Fashion was reserved for the aristocratic class who enjoyed pampering themselves with strange powder, exotic perfumes and ridiculous, pompous, frilly, clothing. As culture consolidates further and further as we move closer to modernity, we see more and more clothing worn by the average person, with the same intention as the aristocrat. Fashion became increasingly accessible, and more and more people have adopted niche ways of arraying their peacock feathers. Today a garment could be worn for any number of reasons by anyone. The “rules” have been eroded over time. So where does that leave us?

The postmodern condition has taken hold of fashion. The clothing worn by the new aristocracy is, perhaps just as ridiculous to the untrained eye as that of the old. People wear increasingly absurd garments which play with proportion, style and even technology in experimental ways. As the fashion cycle works and fashion trickles down to the average person we see these bizarre designs reach the average person (think fake “Yeezy” shoes on old ladies who just want a cheap comfortable shoe).

The question I pose in light of all these changes is: what is “beautiful” in fashion anymore? We exist in the age where jeans are purchased already distressed, essentially fundamentally broken, reducing function in pursuit of form. This would, if we attempt to use function as an objective qualitative metric of value, seem ridiculous. Yet, plenty of people wear clothes ranging from just ripped jeans to entirely shredded t-shirts. It seems that perhaps with the “average”  job becoming zoom conference excel spreadsheet creator, we have some more room to play with functionality.

So if value is not derived necessarily from the function or quality of a garment what then is the aesthetic value in fashion that is pursued by many of us. This aesthetic value however, appears incredibly subjective. I will use as an example: the simple “Supreme box logo”. Essentially stolen by Supreme from Barbara Kruger’s art, the supreme box logo is not necessarily that aesthetically interesting, especially abstracted from the original context it was made in. Yet it became so sought after that the brand became an egregious parody of some its “anti consumerist” sentiments.

Where was the value derived? I believe it was essentially derived from an acceleration of the same impulse which drove the 18th century french aristocrat to drench his clothes in perfume, the acceleration of  “fashion” drive. This process is accelerated for better or for worse by fashion reaching the common people. .Trends can last barely a month and become kitsch next month and then return to fashion for its kitsch the next month. The cogs which turn the fashion cycle have been ramped up into overdrive. Some trends, like the box logo, have dug so deep into our culture that they flow with this cycle rather than get forgotten by it. One month all you need is a simple white and red box logo tee, the next month you need a jacket which screams supreme at the observer 1,000s of times, the next month you can't be seen with an all-over print and it's back to the simple red and white.

The box logo’s aesthetic qualities essentially amount to not the appearance of the box logo but the fact alone that it is a box logo from Supreme. I’d like to introduce an especially interesting case which speaks to this fact, when Supreme switched manufacturers, K-mart received bulk shipments of authentic supreme t shirts, with tags and everything, but no printed logos or designs. Opportunist resellers saw this as the perfect opportunity to make some quick money. The idea was that you’d go to your local K-mart, stock up on blanks, and print the box logo on, and make a huge profit on your t shirt. This case is interesting because the fakes come closer to being the real thing. In fact they basically are. But if you told the average Supreme consumer he was wearing  a screen printed K-mart t-shirt he’d scoff at you, it’d become worthless. So it seems then that some amount of value can be derived from the brand name, but it must authentically come from the brand.

As a final study in the aesthetics of fashion, and a final attempt to derive some sort of sense in the postmodern aesthetics of fashion, I’d like to explore the work of Demna Gvaslia. His work at Vetements and Balenciaga has absolutely exploded onto the fashion scene in the last 4-5 years.  His work reflects a lot of the themes present in postmodern art. He applies the deconstructionist attitude of postmodern art to fashion in a  way that really speaks to people. And justifiably so, I believe. He makes some very interesting, reflexive, critiques of what is beautiful in fashion. His spring summer 2020 collection at Vetement really speaks to this idea. Prominent fashion journalists and notable celebrities were crowded into a Mcdonald’s restaurant to watch unconventional models wearing such outfits as: a suspiciously red hat paired with what looks like Dilbert’s outfit, dress pants and sockless feet in flip flops. How did we reach this point? This collection shines a mirror on fashion and forces us to ask ourselves, why do we value what we wear? How do we know what we’re wearing is beautiful? Perhaps, the answer is simple that, in postmodernity there is no answer. Everything is both beautiful and not beautiful, it just takes the right influencer taking the right picture at the right time to garner the right amount of likes and anything could be fashionable.

Finding Success During the Pandemic: Meet the Owners of a Successful Fashion Company Started During Covid-19

Eight weeks into the pandemic, and a new clothing company was born. It only took two months for business owners Madeline Kalisz and Isabel Kamin to launch the vintage clothing company of their dreams, Rebalance Vintage. Even during such an unwavering time, with little to no experience in the fashion industry, the owners have established a profitable online and retail selling plan. But wait- it’s easier said than done. With countless challenges, planning, and re-configuring business models, Kalisz and Kamin are finally finding financial success from their company. Being a young creative in the fashion industry, I obviously had to find out who they are and how they did it.

Kalisz and Kamin are both Toronto born and raised and began dating in 2016. The couple found mutual interests in modern design, 80’s music, business, and of course- vintage fashion. They decided to explore their passion for design and creativity this past year when they both graduated during the Pandemic. “The job market was slim to none at the start of Covid and both of us really needed money for rent, as well as a creative outlet to keep us busy” shared Kalisz. From there, the girls started planning how they would make a successful company during a time with so many unanswered questions.

For starters, Kalisz and Kamin stressed the importance of demand. “You have to make sure there is demand for what you are selling. We knew how much people love vintage clothing, so it worked. We have many competitors, but people will still buy from multiple vintage stores” explained Kamin. Once you know there is demand for your product, it is important to figure out who your target market is and how you can tailor your marketing to resonate with them.

Secondly, planning is essential. It is so easy to lose money during such a financially uncertain time, so Kalisz and Kamin focused on starting small. “We started off by sourcing our clothing from searching through our own old clothes and buying cheap stuff off Kijiji. Once we confirmed that there was definite demand for our styles, we got access to exclusive-use clothing warehouses and started buying items in bulk” Kalisz shares. At this point, the girls started shifting the focus from their sourcing, to selling.

Initially Rebalance Vintage sold clothes just through Instagram which made communication easy, and it was absolutely free. Once they started to make more sales, “we invested in a Shopify store. Selling online has low overhead costs. Whereas owning a store front, you have to pay rent every month” stated Kamin. It didn’t stop here though. The owners wanted to find more ways to market and sell their products- but it needed to be low risk and cheap.

This is when the girls got into retail all due to one key selling method- networking. By using networking as an affective tool to gain meaningful relationships, Kalisz and Kamin were able to secure a partnership with the Drake General Store. “A week after we launched our Shopify, we visited the Drake General Store Warehouse in Toronto” says Kalisz. “The President of the Drake General Store, Carlo, overhead us talking about our company and wanted to learn more. Coincidentally, Isabel did an Internship at the Drake Hotel last summer and was able to play on that to help insinuate the conversation. By the end of our talk we had secured Carlo’s business card and had our clothes in store within the next month.”

Landing a retail partnership with such an established retail front is not only impressive, but vital to their financial success. Kalisz and Kamin were able to sell their vintage clothes in a physical, very populated, retail store without having to pay rent for retail space. Knowing that the pandemic is causing many companies to not be able to afford the rent for physical retail space, a partnership is a very profitable way to still sell clothes in a retail store minus the risk.

Now that Rebalance Vintage has established selling channels, what’s next? Well, this is just the start. “We have to run everything from marketing, to product sourcing, to product photography, photo editing, product packaging, accounting, strategizing, learning new software, to making connections and so on. It is difficult to manage everything that gets done” notes Kamin.

In this sense, organization is key towards continuing the growth and success of the company. I learned from Kalisz and Kamin that if you decide to work in a partnership, this is a plus because you can draw on each other’s strengths rather than having to do everything yourself. Kalisz and Kamin use a “divide and conquer strategy”. “Maddie is very good at organization, she pulls from that strength to complete tasks such as packaging, cataloguing items, recording sales, organizing clothes, and uploading to Shopify. I’m good at technology, so I do photo edits, marketing edits, social media, etc. Then we share tasks such as photoshoots and getting clothing from warehouses, laundry, and more” explained Kamin.

With this strategy the girls can get more done in less time, as well as are able to utilize the specific skills they gained from their educations. Kalisz, a creative writing graduate from Ryerson University and with a passion for photography, has significantly helped in producing high-quality photographs and written content for their website and socials. Kamin, a Queen’s Commerce graduate utilized the skills she gained from several marketing courses taken throughout her degree to help build the business side of the company.

So, where does this leave us wannabe entrepreneurs? “Plan, organize, network, and never be afraid to ask for help” is the key to Rebalance Vintage’s success says Kalisz. There are so many people just like you that may offer something that you currently lack. So, what I took away from meeting Kalisz and Kamin is to get out there and don’t be afraid to shoot your shot. The owners of Rebalance Vintage are just another example of who you could become.

Kalisz and Kamin welcome anyone who wishes to learn more about them or their business to send a direct message to their Instagram @Rebalancevintage or through their website, rebalancevintage.com.

Adam Appugliesi believes the clothes you wear are your first introduction before you even open your mouth

The designer behind Toronto based brand Libero spoke to me about the inception of his brand, his ethos when it comes to fashion, and why he thinks you should buy clothes that mean something.

I had the opportunity to talk with Appugliesi over the phone for about 40 minutes and as I hung up I was left with the perception that there was one aspect of his personality that had been so omnipresent it was almost palpable. It was his resolve. And not just in his work, in everything. His friends, his family, his customers. The list goes on.

“I treat Libero already as if it’s a massive fashion brand,” Appugliesi says. “I treat every campaign as if it’s going to be walking down a Paris runway…the streets of New York…you never know who’s going to see it”

One begins to wonder how such strong conviction in a cause could be developed. But it makes sense. Appugliesi is Toronto born and raised, and from a young age he was highly involved in athletics. More specifically, competitive soccer. Over time, he cultivated his soccer skills to the extent that upon graduating high school he made the decision to move to Europe and pursue professional soccer.

“It was the best 5 years of my life, and it had such a huge impact on my growth as a person,” he tells me of his time in Europe. “Discipline became such a huge part of my life. There was no such thing as being late, if practice started at 9:00 you were there at 8:30. No debate.”

This determination and discipline Appugliesi fostered during his soccer career is something that he eventually channelled into his own brand, Libero.

Along with the development of his personal values Appugliesi became enamoured with the relationship Europeans had with clothing and how disparate it was to North Americans’ way of dress. Upon returning home Appugliesi was inspired by the European concept of fashion such that he decided to create a jacket to commemorate a bond between himself and a group of his friends.

He reached out to a photographer who happened to be a close friend of his to shoot the jacket. The photographer loved the concept and suggested he should take it beyond just a concept. After some deliberation, Appugliesi decided to run with it and subsequently sent off cold emails containing the shoot to a variety of publications. He recounted the moment saying, “The next morning, I awoke to a ton of emails asking if I had a showroom…a stock list…do I have this, do I have that."

And thus, Libero was born. Now 2 years in the making, Libero has since developed an incredibly cohesive aesthetic identity. When I inquired into the inspiration behind Libero, Appugliesi paused for a moment “Libero’s aesthetic has really just been an emulation of my own interest. My girlfriend and I, we have a great appreciation for movies, for characters.”

Libero’s aesthetic identity is crafted around the concept of “creating a movie for every collection,” as Appugliesi puts it. Every collection is thematically inspired by a different movie, a different story, and with that he hopes that his customers can also fall in love with the characters they’re seeking to portray through their designs.

“Growing up, I wanted to be the Godfather, Scarface, all of these cool characters, and I want our collections to evoke similar emotions from our customers,” Appugliesi said.

The goal for Libero has always been to create something that means something to the consumer. Over the past years he thinks that’s something that consumer culture has departed from. “I think a lot of times people are just purchasing to purchase….to get that quick serotonin hit from consuming something,” He remarked.

Although Appugliesi believes there are inherent benefits to the current consumer culture, he thinks one of the main negatives is the obsession with instant gratification, and the constant need for more. He feels many people have fallen out of love with fashion, and the clothes they’re buying. “I just want people to buy clothes for what they stand for, the story behind them, where they’re made.”

All of Libero’s clothes are hand made in Toronto by a 75 year old woman, Appugliesi tells me, and although that won’t be able to take place forever as the brand scales and grows, he believes it is aspects of the business like that which are so integral to what Libero stands for.

As our call was wrapping up, I decided to ask one last question. “Do you think there are any particular values or ethics that have been crucial in your personal development, or the development of your brand?” He paused for a moment. “Loyalty and authenticity, that’s what Libero has stood on, our honesty and integrity to our customer, and to ourselves,” Even though this was one of the first times I’d had the opportunity to speak with Adam Appugliesi, the content of his character was already crystal clear, and I knew he meant that.  

Diligent Denim: How Ani Wells of Simply Suzette Started a Conversation About Sustainability

 It takes over 3000 litres of water to produce your standard pair of Levi’s jeans. More than half of that water is from the use of cotton alone. When Ani Wells of Simply Suzette learned this and other shocking realities of Denim production, she knew she had to do something. She wanted to make a difference. Ani, known to her over ten thousand Instagram followers as Simply Suzette, started her Blog #DiligentDenim in 2018 with the goal of informing consumers of the manufacturing process of Denim and its inconsistencies. Today, Simply Suzette is a well-known name in Toronto and the global denim community.

In a pre-COVID 19 world, there was no such thing as a typical 9-5 day for Ani. Jetting off to trade shows in Europe and touring factories in Asia were all a part of her mission to provide information to her followers and denim consumers alike. Ani believes transparency from brands is key in making informed purchases. On simplysuzette.com she lays out the important questions consumers should be asking of their favourite denim brands. Most notably, how did the manufacturing process effect our environment? And where will these jeans end up when you are finished with them?  Her website also provides a curated list of approved denim brands for you to shop that have gotten in right in their production process. As well as a “learn more” tab that outlines the elements of a pair of jeans and how harmful they may be to our planet.

A recent post on the #DiligentDenim Blog explores the sustainable possibilities in the future of Denim and fashion as a whole. She writes of new technologies that turn natural raw materials (such as fungi) into thread, or the methane released from cows into a type of plastic. Another post in collaboration with fellow denim activist Anne Oudard profiles a hot topic in the fashion industry, recycled polyester. How to spot greenwashing, how to care for denim and the biodegradability of denim are just a few examples of the many blogs she has on relevant topics in the fashion industry that brands might be too timid to uncover. The reality is that most popular brands that carry your favourite denim do not pass the test. But that doesn’t mean you can’t step out wearing a killer pair of jeans. The idea is to be more informed about what you purchase, and that’s what Ani wants to do with Simply Suzette.

When she isn’t writing informative blog posts, Ani keeps busy by offering her services to other creators and brands.  She curates and moderates panels, creates content for other industry professionals and collaborates with brands on social media. Her mission is to create a community around sustainable denim. Such a thing is accounted for with her “denim friends” in the industry: Robin Denim, Left Hand Twill and Rocky Clark Clothing, just to name a few. This group of sustainability trail blazers support each other in business and ultimately have the same goal, to save our planet! Ani has featured these creatives and so many more on her blog to gain entirely new perspectives from different people and share those with her followers.

I think we can all agree, the world needs more people like Ani! It takes courage to start a business right out of school and keep up with it while it grows into something successful. Having all been derived from her passion for a sustainable future. The coming years are a pivotal time for our planet. Ani hopes to continue the conversation about transparency in denim and the fashion industry in general. If you are in the business of changing your shopping habits, check out simplysuzette.com and the #DiligentDenim blog and follow @simplysuzette on Instagram! Our generation will be the ones to either take charge and change the world or continue to harm it. Information and education is everything in the fight against climate change and sources like Simply Suzette support that wholeheartedly. Read labels, know where your clothing comes from, shop second hand if you can and, as Ani would say, stay diligent!

From Bricks to Clicks

The people of this world have been barricaded in doors which effectively revolutionized the way we shop. Prior to Covid-19, there were still many companies hanging on to their bricks and mortar locations but due to the pandemic have been forcefully shoved by quarantine to online commerce. Technological advancements in retail will save the fashion industry but, we must embrace change. 

After interviewing Deloitte’s retired senior technology consulting partner Raymond Pineda about what it was like before and now during the pandemic, we are able to definitively see that some companies were reluctant and slow to make the transition to e-commerce but have literally been forced into it. Prior to the pandemic, large corporations wanted to keep that in-person feeling that made customers more likely to come back and see that heart-melting sales person who knew everything about their sophisticated shopping needs. Though an extremely effective method to retain customers, when doors shut and the population became scared of catching one of the deadliest viruses known to man, that in-person contact was set ablaze. Today, companies must be practical on how to retain customers through online stores and other means.

So what can we expect from our discerning, thriving retailers? Well, online of course. Without a doubt, e-commerce solutions have had to upgrade their functionality with virtual sales being the best way to get customers back in-store. Raymond Pineda suggests “The shift to e-commerce already happened but Covid-19 has expedited the shift to e-commerce and omni-channel purchasing (purchases through social media, the phone, news channel, TV, websites, or in-store)”.

Mr. Pineda suggests that what is needed from e-commerce is “trust in privacy and security factors with online stores, getting their act together as far as supply chain is concerned, frictionless returns so when someone returns something it needs to be painless”. He also recommends that when products are sold, to make sure the transaction goes smoothly for the customer. 

Pineda gave an example of his wife’s online purchasing order that occurred this year from a large fashion retailer that effectively stopped her from ever using the retailer again. In his words,   “She purchased a few hundred dollars worth of clothing and was charged twice for taxes and then was sent the wrong size of shoes. She decided that the headache of calling to sort out the mess wasn’t worth her shopping there again. The company did let her keep the shoes but at the same time they were unusable because of the size. They also only refunded part of the taxes so effectively she was still overcharged”. He then boldly stated, “They just lost thousands of dollars of future sales from my wife!”. Though he shouted, he grinned kindly. 

It’s safe to say that Raymond Pineda is at the top of the list for effective technology-based solutions because he was a partner for 24 years at Deloitte. Deloitte is the largest consulting company in Canada and in the world. Raymond Pineda was the head of the information management and analytics practice. When I interviewed Pineda, he sat comfortably in his luxurious home office, situated in the famous Toronto Distillery District, on a leather chair behind a darkly stained wooden desk. 

As for the few bricks and mortar locations that did not shut their doors for good this past year due to the pandemic, Pineda suggests that their entire layouts will have to be altered. The few survivors will have to accommodate the post-pandemic foot traffic by creating spaces that allow for social distancing and modify the amount of human interaction with contactless payment systems. 

He also informed me of a humanoid robot named Pepper. The humanoid is made in Japan and was launched on June 5th, 2014. “This particular robot could potentially replace the in-store human employee completely,” Raymond suggests. Pepper is able to understand facial expressions and basic human emotions which allows it to provide exceptional customer service to in-store customers. Pepper can also stock shelves, pick up merchandise for customers from dressing rooms, process orders and effectively help reduce the spread of the virus by being sanitized. The scary reality of Pepper is that the humanoid only cost $1600.  A minimum-wage retail employee in Canada, as of 2020, makes $14.25. Pepper doesn’t need to be paid hourly and will only require the initial investment, plus electricity.

Another trend we might see more of in the next few years is augmented reality online shopping experiences. Pineda described the idea of shopping virtually with a photo.  Essentially, the customer would take a picture of themselves and upload the image onto the retailer’s website. Then the customer could try on different clothing to see what their body would look like. Personally, I have seen this same type of idea with makeup in different online makeup stores as well as apps that allow you to change hair colour but not with clothing. 

In all, our world will always be evolving and growing with new and more effective ways to shop. Many retailers might not have wanted to switch to online and held on to that ideal of human-to-human contact which effectively lead to them closing their doors for good. Pineda states, “Even prior to the pandemic offline apparel stores were shrinking each year and then sales plummeted in April 2020 due to the pandemic”. Even though so many retail store closures have happened and the change in retail was shoved down our throats due to the global pandemic, we must look forward. Retail will never stop and fashion will exist in different forms regardless if it’s from bricks to clicks.