The Conversations

How Was BoF Voices?

In this episode Jason fills us in on his experience - upon his return from the Business of Fashion Voices conference in England. He breaks down the key themes, his highlights and the main takeaways.

We hope you enjoy, subscribe and rate this episode and as usual join the conversation!

What Happened to Zac Posen and a Generation of American Fashion Designers?

American fashion designers have been riding the hype machine for over two decades. The playbook often involves Anna Wintour's anointment closely followed by Vogue, the CFDA and few other retailers and gate keepers as 'one to watch'. Hollywood is courted, then muses and clients, with the public expected to follow suit, leading a designer to great long term success. As evidenced by the closure of a host of American labels in recent years — most recently the well-liked Zac Posen — is this formula is flawed? 

What was once seen as a dream making recipe has proven otherwise, with the rise of digital, social media, direct to consumer practices and increasing consumer power. In this episode, we dissect the America fashion scene.   

We hope you enjoy, subscribe, comment and continue to support and join the conversation! 

What Do We Think About the Current State of Influencer Culture?

Social media influencers are the arguably the most powerful tastemakers and trendsetters in fashion today. Their influence extends beyond how we dress and beyond our beauty routines to impacting the very way we consume and think in the rise of the direct-to-consumer sales model. Anchoring our conversation in Instagram’s move this week to stop publishing 'Likes' as a measure of a post’s success (in the US), we deep dive into the influencer landscape discussing from our perspective what we have found both challenging and optimistic about it overall.

We hope you continue to weigh in on the conversation, support, like and subscribe this episode!

 

A Conversation With Céline Semaan: Can Fashion Truly Tackle Sustainability?

In this episode, we circle back on our sustainability conversation from S2 E11, and this time we're joined by Céline Semaan - writer, advocate, founder of The Slow Factory, Study Hall and one of our industry's leading voices in this issue.

With fashion's environmental impact being brought to the forefront as an issue of our time, solutions and greenwash marketing are being added to the mix in equal measure. The answers to solve our industries waste, climate change contributions and human rights violations are layered and complicated - requiring but not limited to; legislative action, major financial investment, addressing our relationship with selling and consumption, innovation, business and manufacturing restructuring, radical executive updates and complete participation from all industry players. With so much at stake it’s a challenge we can’t afford to ignore, but with the aforementioned requirements for reconciliation before it’s too late, can fashion truly tackle sustainability? We take a second look at these topics with Cèline and cover much more.

We hope you enjoy this episode, participate in the conversation, rate and subscribe! Thanks for all the continued support :)

Who Are Our Fashion Heroes?

In this episode we ask, who are our fashion heroes? With fewer barriers to entry in fashion right now, one can catapult to the highest ranks of the industry with a pretty face and a t-shirt concept. But when we seek out innovative leaders, unbridled creators, or razor sharp business strategists, it’s less clear who the real players are in today's crowded landscape, with so many variables to consider against new and undefined markers. What do you think?

We hope you continue to support, subscribe, rate and keep in touch!

What Does It Take to Be a Fashion Brand?

In this episode we attempt to tackle the ideas behind what it takes to be a brand in the current saturated fashion landscape. With so many variables pertaining to channel, distribution, HR and business strategies, paired with cultural themes including sustainability, inclusion and political correctness, folded in with growing economic pressures, and increasing customer power, fatigue and shorter attention spans - how is a brand to stand out and not just survive, but thrive? We discuss and ask you to join the conversation!

We hope you enjoy listening, subscribe and rate :)

BoF Op-Ed | Inclusivity Demands More Than a Show

"In the current culture of accountability, where activism is shaping the zeitgeist, the fashion industry has staged an extraordinary consumer-facing performance, checking the boxes on race, body, gender and other forms of inclusivity. In an industry that’s hardwired to embrace the new only to quickly move on to the next trend months later, is fashion’s current interest in inclusivity simply a fad?" - writes Jason in the introduction of his Business of Fashion op-ed for their current print and digital issue, the theme: Inclusivity.

In this episode we'll be breaking down the topics Jason covers here, as well as discussing the grievances made by Pyer Moss designer, Kerby Jean-Raymond in his own op-ed about BoF's founder and EIC, Imran Ahmed's handling of the making of this Inclusive issue and it's subsequent celebratory gala event.

Welcome to season 3 of The Conversations! We hope you enjoy, subscribe, rate and join the conversation. 

 

CAMP: Notes on Fashion at The Met - Was It Actually Camp?

 

CAMP: Notes On Fashion is the highly polarizing theme of this year’s Costume Institute exhibition at The Met and the subject of this week’s podcast. We discuss the many different perceptions of camp and the campiest ones to own the attitude and help define “the movement,” since the invention of the contrapposto pose. Some subjects were soundly handled in the exhibit, but other influencers got barely a mention. If camp is in the eye of the beholder, was the exhibition an accurate representation of camp? Tell us your thoughts in the comments. 

 

 

Has Call-Out Culture Become the Social Norm?

There’s no room to make a wrong move in your messaging, imaging and opinion-making in culture today. Traditional, nontraditional media, citizen reporters and straight up mean girls are there to call you out and there is no shortage of platforms from which to air ones’ grievances. Call-out culture is a powerful tool in bringing attention and action to issues, but when is it doing more harm than good, what are the dangers when we conflate issues and meanings and what are the responsibilities of the people doing the calling out? We debate this question, highlighting some of the most recent controversies brought on by to call-out culture.

How Much Do We Really Know About Sustainability & Fashion?

This week we discuss the increasingly hot topic of sustainability in fashion. What does it mean, what does that look like, what are some of the solutions, what are the advantages and disadvantages of marketing and what are some of the barriers that will need to be reconciled in order to shift towards a more sustainable industry? We don’t have all of the answers and it's clear this is a very complicated and involved subject, but in this episode we explore the multi-pronged discussion - in what will continue to be one of many layered conversations we have here on the podcast. 

What's Inspiring Us in Fashion Right Now?

Ultimately us being in the fashion industry is underpinned by our love for it and staying in it requires being inspired constantly. In today's episode we discuss just a few entities that we're loving at the moment - from shape shifting stylist Ib Kamara (@ibkamara) to up and coming hybrid designer Mowalola (@mowalola), artist and musicians Desire Marea (@desiremarea) and Dev Hynes (@devhynes), incredible photographers Ronan McKenzie (@ronanksm) and Mar+Vin (@marvin) to fashion goddess Lulu Kennedy (@_lulukennedy) of Fashion East (@fashioneast), we breakdown what it is that they’re doing that has us feeling inspired.

What's Happened to a Whole Generation of Fashion Designers?

Suicide, substance abuse, transgressions and mental health issues have disproportionately claimed the bulk of fashion’s most celebrated and successful class of fashion designers to exist in the last two decades; era-defining talents including Alexander Mcqueen, John Galliano, Stefano Pilati, Milan Vukmirovic, Christophe Decarnin, Marc Jacobs and now Phoebe Philo. In this age of accountability, who is accountable for the health of the industry’s brightest talents? 

Can Big Retail Succeed in This Age?

The Vessel, the multi-storied retail emporium nestled in the newly minted Hudson Yards complex in New York’s midtown west side, opened to optimism and fanfare last month, boldly proposing a new era in retail. But after a visit to the grand structure boasting a first ever Neiman Marcus and Forty Five Ten in NYC and a requisite mix of other luxury and high street stores, we question the need and the relevance of big brick and mortar retail spaces in this age. When customer experience are key buzzwords and online shopping is the new normal, just how glorious and needed is a mall in the middle of New York City?

Can Naomi Campbell Be an Authentic Part of Our Industry’s Diversity Solution, If She Was a Part of the Diversity Problem?

In this episode, we discuss supermodel Naomi Campbell and her place within fashion’s diversity and inclusion movement. Promoted by a portion of S02 E01, where Jason so passionately, but only partially expressed his issue with Ms Campbell, we sought to contextualize this point of view, particularly regarding the accusations that for over two decades, Naomi aggressively kept other models of color off the catwalks, out of big campaigns and hindered careers. Thus raising the question of atonement; given her platform is now largely based on promoting black issues, championing models of color and pushing for racially progressive industry wide change - we discuss whether atonement for her alleged past transgressions are needed, likely and if it even matters for an authentic move forward. 

We hope you enjoy this episode and please do continue to let us know your thoughts! Please also support by subscribing and rating our podcast (*****).

Has Thierry Mugler Offered Us the Best Example of a More Creative Future with Resonance from His Past?

“There is no future without a past, so I hope that this exhibition will inspire in its visitors a new creative future” Thierry Mugler

The Thierry Mugler archive comprises some of fashion’s most fantastical, forward-looking creations from the late seventies to the early naughts. The designer’s place as a visionary showman in the annals of fashion is well-secured as evidenced by the recent opening of THIERRY Mugler: Couturissime, a retrospective of the designer’s body of work at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art. In these banal creative times, we were struck by the flawless broadcast of designs from another time finding new life in this hyper digital age and on the bodies of today’s most powerful celebrities.

Has the Pursuit of Wealth and Success Brought Misery to Our Lives?

In our increasingly fast-paced, performative, oneupmanship culture, signs of personal success are more difficult to measure. As issues such as life balance and personal care increasingly take center stage, has the pursuit of wealth and success brought misery to our lives? 

With Karl Lagerfeld’s Passing, What’s Next?

With the recent death of iconic fashion giant Karl Lagerfeld, we have a general conversation about what his passing might mean for Chanel, Fendi and the industry at large.

Let's Talk About Raf (Simons)?

This week, we get into Raf Simons’ abrupt departure from Calvin Klein, after and in light of the brand's absence during this month's Fall 2019 fashion week. We discuss topics behind his departure; was it timely, expected, what went wrong, what were the key takeaways, and more. We wonder what will be next for one of fashion’s biggest brands and one of the most revered designers working today. 

While today's episode focuses on Raf, we would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the death of fashion giant Karl Lagerfeld, news that has eclipsed our industry this week. We’ll be discussing the significance of his passing in next week's episode, so stay tuned... 

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this episode and support by subscribing and rating our podcast. Ps. We love getting your DMs re: your thoughts and feedback on these topics, so let us know what you think about Raf! 

(FROM THE ARCHIVE) A Conversation With Designer Edward Buchanan: Is He Fashion’s Best Kept Secret?

Last year, during NYFW SS19, we caught up with Edward Buchanan (@sansovino6), the Milan-based fashion designer and industry veteran. Coming up in the ranks of Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, and Riccardo Tisci, the former Bottega Veneta creative director is one of the very few black designers who has worked steadily between the US and Europe for 25 years, most of the last decade at the helm of his independent knitwear brand SANSOVINO 6. With such an extensive, storied and impressive resume, it’s a wonder Buchanan is not one of our industry’s household names. 

Since recording this episode there have been fall outs with Italian luxury brands Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and most recently Gucci that has spurred much needed industry conversation(s). In this turbulent fashion climate where there’s no escaping the diversity conversation and venerable brands are taking a drumming for insensitive messaging, imaging and lack of representational hiring, we sought out Buchanan who’s been called “the best American label you’ve probably never heard about” by Vogue.com, to weigh in on these among other progressive issues in fashion. 

What Are the Important Issues in Fashion?

Welcome back for season 2 of The Conversations! We’re so excited to be back! This week we dive straight into the big question of What Are The Important Issues in Fashion, discussing key themes including our thoughts on sustainability, race and representation, authenticity and power players. There’s a lot to unpack and expand on for future episodes, so stay tuned. 

We hope you enjoy season 2 and continue to support us by giving us a 5 star rating and review - we really appreciate you <3