Slow fashion one store at a time

As soon as fashion month was over, my fashion month in Miami started: time to connect the dots. 

Macy's

I was selected to participate as a stylist to a nationwide Macy's event. 

Because honesty is what brought me where I am today, I must confess two things and i am doing it beforehand, as an opening act although normally, in a regular opera, they would be left as the finale.

First: it was my first time ever inside a Macy's store (except once a few months back attendeding as a guest at a Q&A with a chef). In 20 years in the US, the closest I had ever gone to a Macy's store were the Christmas windows on 34th Street you know where. Why; you'll figure it out in the book "The Cheat Sheet of Italian Style" coming out in September, for now take it as shocking as it is. 

Second: I have never considered myself a blogger, nor I ever introduced myself as one. There are different types of bloggers and overall I never fit in any of them. I have worn so many hats a scholar, as personal stylist, wholesale, business development, marketing, merchandizing, training, communication, product, model (oh that's before I even finished college)that I know a lot and have a bit of stories for everything. 

That is what drove the readership to the website (and thank you for reading.) I don't show people how to dress like I do, I have always been behind the lens, I don't propose the #ootd because, that's me. I tell stories, empowering ones, I like inspiring women by telling what goes beyond what I wear, the trend of the season, the must haves and what to buy on sale.

There are so many people (talented and not) that do that, and another one is not needed. "I say it with clothes" is what attracted people to me, without me trying to: that's what convinced me I had an audience. Mindblowing. 

With these premises, I accepted, tadaa'.  

I was humbled they chose me as one of four, the only one +40. I attended all the pre-event prep meetings, read the rules and and made it to the day invited all the friends I could, but I was so last minute late, no one could make it. Except, the most rewarding experience, K., a fan, a follower turned acquaintance, turned friend, a pen-pal friend who drove a couple of hours from the Keys to meet me for the first time (God bless her and her husband who patiently drove and assisted on a side to the shenanigans). 1 first goal was accomplished: engaging with my audience. I mean, K. drove miles ... OK, over.

Goal n.2: prepare a closet, my theme was "The Good Life". It was immediately a ladies who brunch, polo, golf, tennis, chilling at Soho House or River Yacht Club. I don't need that much to start thinking, if you give me a theme though, my mind goes fast. 

Goal n.3: sell. We were not given the hard sell speech, but it was understood. Not really sure how were the floor sales of that day, there was a big event in the shoe department at the same time, but I know I walked a couple of ladies to the corresponding corner of the department because of something I was wearing.  Did I mention we were allowed to wear an outfit of our choice that would match our theme? 

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Natalie @osmblogger being my gracious model 

BONUS: we had models assigned to wear an outfit from our selection, but I ended up not having one, and sweet hearted Natalie (@osmblogger on Instagram) volunteered to wear one dress, she twirled around in the closet, pictures were taken and got featured in Times Square. Yes: NYC maga-screen, the heart of the world. 

Little more to say other than: mission accomplished. 

A special thank you goes to @nikkinovo, @southfloridabloggers and my partners in crime for one Saturday @zeinabkristen @blameitonmei @iamnatalialilly 

KIT AND ACE

Read HERE on Trusted Clothes how integrity meets the Italian way via Technical Cashmere. 

Oscars: the best dressed

The 2016 State of Fashion: a Manifesto

What’s Fashion anyways?

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I get the question quite often from people that live what I see as a disconnect from what the runways are and what trickles down to the department stores.

They are outsiders, yes, but what does Fashion look to someone who is not ingrained in the industry and doesn’t speak Prada?

Fashion is a dream, story-telling, is transmitting a feeling, an emotion, an experience meant to a like-minded audience.

Fashion is performance, reminiscence, hint, teasing, a whiff of an aroma, a smell loaded with memories and translated on the collection, runway or presentation.

Fashion is believing in a story and telling it as it is.

Fashion is loving despite the oddities.

Fashion is process, not massive production, it doesn’t have to please everybody.

Fashion is luxury, not fast food nor instant gratification.

Did social media break the system?

Are runways supposed to break the Internet?

Do we still look at Fashion as the dream?

Is New York fashion week finished? Leandra Medine of Man Repeller thinks that it all started when Fashion Week became a trend, and as any good trend, they come and go. What do we do until the cycle comes back? Live in clothes, she suggests.

In a more straight-forward manner, NYT’s critic extraordinaire Cathy Horyn  questions the authenticity of Fashion in the era of social media. She draws almost a graph, the higher the social media bru-ha-ha the higher the level of insanity or absurdity. And honestly, were I a designer, especially a first-timer, I wouldn’t want to be having to hire a bitch of a publicist to help me shrug from my shoulders  the label of “absurd” signed by The New York Times.

The fashion-buying public is aware of where presentation ends and branded content begins.

In New York, more than any other fashion week, we have assisted to an exaggeration of social media content. To capitalize on social media buzz, brands have opted to switch the seasons starting September when the fall collections would be presented and February would go for spring.

We have seen alternative ways of introducing new ranges, like the Studio-54-themed at DFV or bigger louder lavish ones like Kanye’s or Rihanna, but must agree with Mrs. Horyn on one simple point: the spectacle, the mise en scene, the Hollywood draconian production was smoke in the eye to the industry trader, the buyer, the journalist that is not impressed by the show, but by the quality, workmanship, attention to detail, fil rouge that something that grasps all the senses, despite of the wallet.  Voila’, I couldn’t leave it unsaid

There was a general vibe that wasn’t camaraderie, the see-now-order-now-wear-now was the talk of the town, but may have killed that allure and building desire of waiting those 6 months to have something beautifully confectioned.

To say it with Karl Lagerfeld: it’s a mess 

Now, I don’t live under the leaf of a snow-pea, Fashion is a dream, but it's a business with marketing and sales, or it’s a bad dream. We Must Sell and we must cater to the consumer spending public.

So are the brands embracing the instant-buy system promoting a democratization of fashion?

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Luxury comes from passion and inspiration, it’s a state of mind, creative and inspired work that caters to a few. And it’s good that way. Brands like Burberry or Tom Ford are trying to cut the gap between the heat of the catwalk and the in-store purchase.

To say it with the words of Francois-Henri Pinault, the CEO of Kering Group, the see-now buy-now immediacy ‘negates the dream of luxury’. 

Killing the traditional system of 6-month wait after the catwalk, is simply not feasible and would bring the end of the magic of fashion, the world of suspence.

Besides, where do we leave the wait and appreciation for something that needs time to be made?

Grammy's, the Red Carpet Winners

Trends alert:the struggle between dare or go home

Before indulging in the story that seems occupying the mouths of everyone in fashion 'trends to toss and those to adopt', I couldn't stop but thinking, do we even follow trends?

#theItalianway has a series of rules, it doesn’t matter the order, but there’s one snob little one that says: “we don’t follow trends, we set them.” And yes you may roll the eye and activate brow game, because it may sound ‘toff’, to say it with the Brits. Gotta warn you right now, I am upping the ante with the game and go #girlboss on you when it’s time to do the Italian style right.

As a rule of thumb, better known as the 1937's Laver's Law, a trend is daring before it becomes smart after which it becomes ridiculous and before it becomes daring again, fifty year should pass by. With social media the 50-year span becomes an overnight, all the rules are broken and welcome to the selfie generation.

“Don’t be into trends, don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live”

— Gianni Versace

All you got to do in true Italian style, no matter what, is stay daring also known as foolish if you want to say it with the late Steve Job.  Foresee them, sniff them, embrace them, dare to adopt them while nobody does because too busy to follow the Instagram posts of the ‘social influencers’ or buying what fast fashion dinosaurs copied from runway novelty. That’s your best slow fashion moment.

You know what’s the next question I get all the time? ‘Are we not going to buy anything?’

There’s no reason to think that slow fashion is boring, ugly, looking old and smelling like moth balls. The first breath of Italian attitude you may need to take in is a tweak that switches from a compulsive buying mind into a mindful and conscious one.

Remember step n.7 of The Cheat Sheet of Italian Style reads

But first shop your closet

This happens after you have done an assessment, realized what’s YES and NO  and adjusted your wardrobe to a) your lifestyle b) in an Italian way c) got the hang of it. 

“Buy less, choose well, make it last.”

— Dame Vivienne Westwood

There's one movement that we will be focusing on this year and it's called slow fashion 

In this need to label everything, slow fashion is NOT a trend, is NOT about trends, but it's about:

• sustainable and traceable sources
• eco-friendly fabrics
• non toxic dyes
• transparency
• fair labor and safe working conditions
• employing of women and minorities
• quality and made to last 
• craftmanship and traditional techniques
• hand-made
• made in developed countries
• reduction of CO or carbon footprint and general impact on the environment
• connecting with the consumer
• ideally donating to a charity
• buying consciously and less, no mindless consumption
• based on craftsmanship or tecniques passed from generation to generation
• made of superlative materials 
• upcycled, recycled or downcycled

What is it NOT about?

• not knowing where the materials are made
• short life expectancy of a single piece
• incrementation of pollution
• child or women labor
• 'shadow' factories
• violating intellectual properties
• disposable products
• meant to be cheap

When connecting all the dots above you realize that Made in Italy and the Italian way of dressing are conceptually it. 

In other words, the appeal of whatever has been seen on the runway and the rush of wanting to wear it now instead of waiting 6 months and then anyways who can afford it and I don't really care who made it and if 10 trees have been cut down to make it?

No, thank you. And sorry if this is not appealing to you or worst, if you think that sustainable, ethical are synonym with ugly. With any form of craftmanship, there are cycles and the cycles of fashion are like nature to be respected, like you can't  have March in December. 

Now, I'd like to know: are you with me? 

We'll work on a garment's #30wears and we'll try to figure out #whomademyclothes. There's a series of documentaries that will help us get acquainted to a slow time life wearing slow fashion. 

The minimalism game is like Pandora's Box, it keeps producing results

wardrobe staples by ChocolateHeels

How would you feel if the Ghost of Christmas Past would come and tell you ‘this month you’ll get rid of 461 things because it’ll free the mind, bring abundance, energy, happiness that your Santa list will take a whole different spin'?

In the month of November I have participated in a minimalist game, commonly known as minsgame. Rules are clear and simple, would say minimal if the pun weren't poorly executed: in a month you eliminate things from the house in an exponential crescendo, the first of the month 1 thing, the second 2 things and so on until the 30th. Think twice, because you don’t really know if you can do the 20, 21, 22 things a day until you face the dare.

My game was called Minsgame BOSS from the initials of the 4 bloggers, Break the Twitch, One Girl Two Cities, Simply Save and Social Sarah, who took upon, conducted, directed and completed it masterfully, with grace and ease.

The practice of minimalism has percolated through certain circles as the new age, a new way of living. Wasn’t it to be expected? As any recurring historic event, in the years after the latest 2008 recession, mindless consumption is no longer cool. Leaving the mall with tons of shopping bags is considered trivial and crass (unless you are a stylist in search of a last minute change props).  Not to consider the rush to Black Friday’s insanity or to the launch of another designer collaboration with H&M.

Not for the faint at heart, minimalism creates discipline, forms a way of thinking. I haven’t been stung by the bug of the Japanese art of decluttering brought to you by famed author Marie Kondo. Gotta say, I am already enough in love with my shoes that I don’t need to implement a supplemental reverence ritual, they hold the highest spot in the shrine.

Declutter is a thing, and there’s more to the discerning eye than just getting rid of stuff. It begins there and penetrates through the deep cracks of the will of not wanting. All unwanted elements that populate the house, either visible or stored, filed, folded, wrapped and hidden create what I think of as chatter, not healthy coffee shop chatter, but the mean one, like that bad voice that tells you: ‘remember me? I’m that friend that gossiped about your divorce while I was buying you this birthday gift and writing this card that you are saving in this box”. Pouf, of the like of the Ghost of Christmas Past, you really don’t want them. 

“Declutter is a thing, and there’s more to the discerning eye than just getting rid of things”

A KonMari example shared by Buzzfeed

MY TAKE

I found it one of the most liberating experiences. I tend to be very Italian when I least expect it (duh), and that is a Country where we rarely move, we live in the house where we were born until we get married, and there’s always enough attic to keep stuff. The habit of keeping is deeply rooted, we don’t toss, throw, dispose, we use all the leaves of a lettuce,  and we don’t challenge ourselves with the question: why? As I was getting ready to move for the non-Italian 6th time in 20 years, it was the perfect occasion.

WHAT I LEARNED

·         Funny part, through the month, the more things were eliminated, the more people joined the challenge, creating a domino’s effect like one of those chocolate fountains where you dip strawberries.

·         I don’t need to keep all the Christmas cards, bows and wrapping papers from birthdays past, wedding notes all guarded in boxes to keep the memories. The most important word in the above process is memories and those exist whether or not you look at the card. Besides, the above mentioned memorabilia had been guarded in those beautiful decorative boxes and never been looked at.

Preach it girl: how many of you has ever looked at the wedding cards after sending the thank you notes?

·         Clutter absorbs bacteria, dust and ill thoughts. Clutter insinuates itself in the mind and becomes addictive, like junk food, the more you have, the more you want.

·         Finding drawers filled with electronics made me feel like a hoarder, literally. Why would you keep stuff like the first version of a Blackberry (may RIP) or of an iPod? Move on already.

·         It hurts, at times you feel empty, you want to cry, a part of you has been trashed, burned, donated. In truth, it’s only a part of a past you and keeping it alive is counterproductive.

·         Parting is good, find the reason for parting from things, just do it, keep the momentum, don’t stop. Your lifestyle has changed, your body morphed with the years, you moved to a different climate, you divorced, you found the love of your life, all of the above.

·         I became an adamant promoter of ‘save the planet’: can’t possibly think of tossing the unwanted in the trash, not good to the environment nor my conscience. In Miami is not easy to recycle and if you attempt to properly dispose of polluting materials you are looked at a nerdy bohemian from the 70s With this project, I have found out of many new outlets that would make a treasure out of my trash, none or few in South Florida. 

the KonMari shared by Goop 

SOME SPECIAL THOUGHTS ON HOW TO HANDLE THE PRUNING OF THE CLOSET

1.    Clothes that no longer fit are to be tossed, because honestly they will not ever motivate you to lose weight;

2.    Exquisite quality, designer, made-to-measure, evening or occasion pieces belong to a different category that is kept, cherished and passed from one generation to the other. This may be an old continent habit, considering that in this Country mobility and space are of the essence, those ‘heirlooms’ may become an extra volume. Trust me in this, when you open those garment bags your youth comes out bright as a sunray and there’s nothing more energetic.

3.    Wardrobe essentials we know are a must, however because you may recur to wearing them several times during the year, they get worn out easily, you need to give it extra attention and care. Hello, that beautiful white blouse from Dolce & Gabbana, how many times you have received compliments and felt like a million dollar babe? The yellowish stain under the arms will come like the law of gravity for perky breasts and wrinkles, but that’s when it times to move on.

4.    What to do with what you are consciously uncoupling from?

Here is where another part of me gets really adamant: be environmentally conscious. Mother Nature is utterly generous to us, and especially when nobody around me seems to care, it hurts me. I try to lead by example, with all my imperfections, I am no Saint Francis of Assisi.

Unwearable clothing I shred and use for dusting, mopping the floor, fluffy threads of wool I cut and even use as pillow fillers;

Repurpose: consign, sell online like Ebay, donate, gift anyone who will benefit from what you previously loved. Talking fashion, the most coveted sites for the designer’s addicts are The Real Real and The Outnet.  Vestiaire Collective is the latest that collects pre-loved designer clothes from

Recycle, upcycle, and down cycle are different concepts that are cool again, according to Sass Brown who has dedicated the latest years of her career to decode the re-fashioning of fashion. I have met her at The Fashion Project in Bal Harbour, I bought one of her books 'Refashioned' inspirational, fascinating and innovative.

A SIDE NOTE, SIMPLY GLAMOROUS THOUGH: Talking about pre-loved garments, did you know that Margaret Thatcher’s wardrobe will be auctioned off at Christie’s.

November at a glance: prepping for the holidays

·The 5 things to remember about November         

•      Karl Lagerfeld has contracts for life, no renewal and he is free to come and go. I know it's random and you may (or not) have known of it, but on the aftermath of the unexpected departures of Raf Simons and Alber Elbaz from Christian Dior and Lanvin, how appropriate is it? 

•         Man of the moment Alessandro Michele is the recipient of the International Designer Award by the British Fashion Council. Tim Blanks defined him as “the new punk” and somehow it’s the most brilliant description. I considered him more as the Lorenzo de’ Medici of Gucci’s Renaissance. It may sound very nerdy and damn Italian, but punks were the revolutionaries as well as the Medici, just on the other side of the spectrum.

Congratulations with a hefty dose of pride are in order. And, do we want to talk about the gilded bee accessorizing the famous red-green-red Web? By the way, pre-spring show is moving to London, swell move. 

• ·          November is made to prepare for the holidays … yes, and if you live in Miami they begin with infamous Art Basel Miami Beach frenzy. Forget about Thanksgiving, lately I have noticed more subdued outfits for the most celebrated holiday of the year and I suspect  it's because efforts are reserved for 'art baseling'. 

Events, openings, presentations, cocktails kick off the season the first week of December and from there it’s all an escalation. In true Miami Beach style, the tradition of go big or go home has never been taken more seriously. When we were kids, I remember some dates through the year when people would spruce up their best assets: the opening of La Scala opera season was the fur coat, Palm Sunday and Easter were for the first white and pastel outfits from the spring collections, New Year’s Eve for buying red underwear for the night under the auspices of good luck for the year. The kermesse that Art Basel and the satellite fairs bring to town serve for catalysts of shopping, splurging and showing (off) in a healthy (most of the times) competition. 

Some take it as seriously as a debutante ball and for a reason: it's the only chance in this city to be noticed by international press, bloggers, magazine editors, designers, PR mavens, TV honchos and the likes. 

•      Mary Kate Olsen got married to Olivier Sarkozy it was all a secret, all we know is that she is the sister-in-law of Carla Bruni. Life's circles.  

•      Kate Moss and Grace Coddingtons cogitations on Instagram: one only does what she wants when she wants (nothing new) in incognito and the other one thinks it's the most stupid social network ...

 

IN CONCLUSION

November came and went, I moved to a wonderful, spacious new apartment that looks suspended on a secluded Miami historic bay and faces three small natural islands that were wrapped by artist Christo in the late 80s. I have started a new phase of Miami living that it's truest than true. 

The process of honing, decluttering, cleansing you go through before and while packing is deep and intense and it may be helpful to anyone, come along with me to It's a Fashion Life  and join the convo. Have you ever played a minimalism game? 

October at a glance: in which creativity and money clash

Photo by Juergen Teller for System magazine 

In October we usually suffer post-Fashion Month depression, we can’t wait to wear what we have chosen to buy for the current season, alas, deep inside, we would want to wear already what we have seen walking down the runways that will only be available in months from now.

DISCLAIMER: far it be from me mocking the actual psychological condition that afflicts women after delivery or comparing babies with clothing.

These are the most salient happenings in the world of fashion, in which time and creativity struggle with power and money.  

FASHION SCENARIO N.1 Is the system really falling apart?

Raf Simons left his post as a creative director of Christian Dior, one of the most powerful maisons in the world [of fashion]. He announced it with a heartfelt statement, media went berserk, we were all shocked, spent a period of denial that varied from 10 seconds to couple of days, and then we all dove into theories. Boy, how much do we love digging into people’s personal lives and making up stories?

The most striking of all the articles was his exclusive interview with revered journalist Cathy Horyn for System magazine. 2 days after what became his last Christian Dior majestic show, he knew he was going to quit and gave us smoke signs.

“I have no problem with the continuous creative process, because it’s the reason I’m in this world” Simon confessed Ms. Horyn, what he’s not agreeing with is the absence of time, incubation and eventually rejection.

Creative ideas come, pass by you like thunders, the moment you love them and you get excited by them it’s also when you realize they may be ose’, risky, innovative, outrageous, but they are damn good, so you decide to sleep on them. During the night, some other maybe even more outrageous idea might pass by, like a fairy, and in the morning you decide to reject the first and embrace the latter.

Raf Simons didn’t appreciate that

“… there’s no more thinking time. I don’t want to do collections when I am not thinking”.

By the way, digressing here, this theory about ideas coming at you and you accepting or refusing them, comes from a best seller book I bought at the airport on my way to Boston when I realized I had forgotten all my reading material on the table while booking Uber. The book is The Big Magic by big magic sister Elizabeth Gilbert. Without any monetary interest in what I am about to say, I think this book should be read, now and continuously re-read in moments of vivid production, by everybody as a form of companionship, that shoulder to lean on.

More so, it should be read to children, who are the virgin recipients, the vessels of the biggest creative ideas and often compressed to fit in a standardized school system or confined as the black sheep nerdy ones in short sighted families instead of encouraged to experiment and produce breakthrough results.

Thought n.1

I admire Raf as a designer and cherish that little time I have worked in the Milan’s showroom during his tenure at Jil Sander. I gather inspiration from his stand. He knows he is a performer, a hard worker, one that brings results, a perfectionist if you will. Loving and owning the results of your creative (hard) work means passion. He had no more time to savor the fruits of his creative process, as if he were an estranged father to children that would fleet away.

Though n.2

Imagine what he could have delighted us with had he had time on his side?

FASHION SCENARIO N.2 or when do you say, enough is enough?

Photo: Indigital from The Business of Fashion

Alber Elbaz was ousted.

For those of you who are not familiar, he is the tender, talented, timid and triumphant creative director of the house of Lanvin. He resuscitated the fashion house after decades of being dormant, like the Phoenix.

What do you do when your best friend get expelled from school?

This was another unexpected happening, after 14 years of continuous and relentless performance. The situation got sticky, le owner of the empire, madame Wang, seem to be the culprit of the disagreement, considering that not only the entire world (er … all of us outraged by the event) but all Lanvin employees stood up asking for his reinstatement.

Thought n.1

Without comments but just Elbaz’s statement on hand, the scenario here is different: creativity, sensibility, genius have been punished, shut down, with no gratitude or sense of grace.

Bad.

Thought n.2

Time will tell and now the question that lingers in the corridors of showrooms, newspapers, media empires and my little studio is, will he be hired at Dior?

FASHION SCENARIO N.3 or ‘meanwhile, back at the villa’

Photo from The Business of Fashion

Who Is On Next, a designer competition organized by Franca Sozzani EIC of Vogue Italia, in October was held in Dubai where “there’s a lot of energy” according to Sozzani.

Apparently population is composed in majority by Millennials who are eager to accomplish, own, create, produce and show they can. The contest has a purpose, besides just the money that the winner receives in a form of a grant. Talent is rewarded with connections, people that will help them be recognized, investors that will believe in them and trust them with a store or funding for e-commerce.

Thought n.1 

Is Dubai the new land of opportunities like America was for generation X?

Thought n.2

If the system of Fashion is burnt out, will this one give the new generation of creatives the means to grow?

FINAL SCENARIO or ‘are we heading at a congestion point or the revolution has started already?’