• In few words, can you tell me if trends are essential for companies? Or if they are not essential, and why.

Absolutely.  Trends impact every single industry, from fashion to transportation to food.  Since we live in an information-rich environment, it is essential that every business stays in tune with change.  The internet has really accelerated the rate in which information travels.  Consumers play a much more active role in product development with open source sites.  Sharing, commenting and liking on sites such as  Facebook or Twitter have allowed companies to interact with consumers on a more personal basis.  Observing consumers on these types of platforms are key to predicting future trends and consumer behavior.  What makes a trend essential for any company the way in which it relates to fundamental human nature.  People are constantly seeking a balance between stability and change.  Stability allows a person to feel comfortable, to relax, and perhaps the opportunity to “not think” when they are overstimulated.  Yet too much stability creates boredom.  This is why I think trends will always be essential.  Trends introduce novelty in ways that consumers are able to comfortable with and can quickly adopt.

• In your opinion, what are the qualities required to work as a trend forecaster?

First, I think that all forecasters have to have a keen eye, particularly for color.  Color is such an important part of product development, mostly because it illicit a psychological response in people.  Some people are obviously more sensitive to perceiving color.  For example, it is difficult for someone that is colorblind to forecast colors and trends because they do not have the ability to perceive the range of color that most people can.  Recently, scientists discovered a woman that can see 99 million more colors than the average person.  The research on this is still very new.  What the scientists discovered, is that a majority of women that gave birth to colorblind children had an additional “mutant” cone for perceiving color.  (Cones are what allow us to see color.  Normally, humans have 3 cones.  A colorblind person generally has 2, hence why that cannot see greens or reds.)  After running tests on these women with the additional cone, one was able to see a much broader spectrum of color than those of us with 3 cones.  While I’m not a scientist, I believe this could be a scientific breakthrough in understanding why certain people gravitate towards fashion and art.  They probably are able to see a larger spectrum of colors than others.

Image courtesy of people.tribe.net

Next, I would say that forecasters should have a real interest and desire to study the past.  Most new trends are really interpretations and modifications to fashions that have already existed.  It’s really important to know what was fashionable in history, and generally you can see changes in silhouette every 8 – 12 years.  You also need to know what impacted these eras socially, economically, and culturally.  People preferred certain styles because of what was happening at the time.  As you start to really look at history, you’ll see a pattern.  This makes trend forecasting more “predictable”.

Image courtesy of theunsewn.com 

Third, trend forecasters have to be really curious and personable.  You need to observe what is happening everywhere.  You’ll need to talk to a wide variety of people.  Gathering data, especially about what consumers think they need and can’t find in the marketplace, is critical to being a successful forecaster.  You can’t be afraid to talk to strangers or experts.  You just need to march up to them, be friendly, ask your questions and listen.

Image courtesy of web.jhu.edu

Lastly, I think that a really good forecaster has to be able to interpret a large amount of information and make it easy to understand.  A majority of clients and consumers will fatigue after reviewing too much information.  A forecaster has to take all of the guesswork and jargon out of the equation.  You need to make sure that anyone could understand your predictions easily, because they don’t have the background or interest to gather the information themselves.  If they did, they wouldn’t have hired you. :)

• Is there a way to formulate a true prediction or do you think this process is just a way to dictate fashion?

 I’m not sure that there is a way to dictate fashion anymore.  The fashion world has become so fragmented.  It had to, to survive the ways in which society has changed.  I think it’s difficult to dictate a single fashion.  People have all different interests, shapes, sizes, etc. However, I think it is easy to formulate several possible outcomes that would satisfy consumers.  Most of this involves understanding what they want, how the world is changing, and what they need to feel that balance of stability and excitement.  Always being attuned to society and consumers lifestyles/desires/dislikes is the closest you’ll get to a crystal ball.

• In your opinion, are physical trend books and offices trend competing with online trend sites, like Style Sight? Are they compatible or competitors?

In my opinion, you need a physical book or report.  While online sites are nice to get a feeling or idea of color, they do absolutely nothing for communicating the texture and feel of fabrics.  Touching and understanding how a fabric interacts with the human body is really important.  It’s also important to see how certain colors transfer to fabrics.  Computers give a very saturated view of color.  In reality, the ways that fabric interact with dyes and how they reflect light is completely different in physical space.  You’ve probably experienced this while shopping online: you love the photographs of a product, but it somehow looks like different when it arrives.  I believe that online sites should compliment a physical trend book, but should never substitute for one.  There is only so much that a computer screen can convey. 

• We do not interpret trends in the same way in different brand level (Luxury, Bridge, Designer, fast-fashion.)   What are the differences and similarities?

 Obviously, a lot is different in regards to the price point.   These types of lines may be looking at the same trend ideas, but their execution will be very different.  If you are working for a higher end brand, it is important to present excellent quality textiles.  It is also more important to present innovations in textiles, finishes, and other technology that improves the materials.  It is also important to consider what geographical locations the brands will be selling.  Different markets will want different things.  Most brands tune into this, because what might be very popular in France will not be in, say, Dubai.  I think larger chains, that offer mid – to low-rage items have the biggest challenged.  They have to interpret the trend in the cheapest and fastest possible way.  Luxury brands have the advantage of sourcing better and higher quality materials, and feel less of a “time crunch” to launch a specific trend or style.

• And finally, what future do you see for trends offices?

I think that trend offices will be more important because brands simply don’t have the time to sort through all of the visual information.  Many companies have downsized, and just don’t want to hire permanent staff.  Trend companies allow brands to have access to information and research a cost far below hiring permanent staff.  I also think that with the economic condition worldwide, it is the perfect service for young people to start contracting to bigger companies.  Everyone has to be creative with how to stay employed.  Why not do it offering your creativity as a service?

This was a big surprise for me!  Kent (1882 – 1971) studied painting under William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri.  I’d learned a bit about his paintings while working at an art gallery.  Henri encouraged Kent to paint landscapes of Monhegan island in Maine on his own.  This experience of painting directly in nature greatly affected Kent.  Whatever medium he chose, Kent’s work always captures the amazing power of nature.

Kent gained a reputation of a neo-Transcendentalist because of this.  Transcendentalism was a philosophy that originated in the 1830s and asserted that spiritual experiences could be observed in nature.  Time spent in nature often created a mystical or transcendental experience to those that followed this philosophy.

You can see that his textile designs capture natural themes.  The other accompanying design is called Running Deer.  Both of these were realized in 1950.  Kent made a similar design for Bloomcraft Inc called Deer Season, which you can see below:

Harvest Time by Rockwell Kent.  Image courtesy of Boston Museum of Fine Arts

And Pine Tree:

Pine Tree by Rockwell Kent.  Image courtesy of Boston Museum of Fine Arts

 Unless otherwise states, images courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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These drawings are from 1925, and just darling!  I stood there a long time looking at them.  (They were a bit difficult to photograph without casting a shadow, as you can see.)  These sketches are simply entitled Sonia Delaunay: her paintings, her objects, her simultaneous fabrics, her fashions.  I think these are really prime examples of her design sensibilities, which included the art theory her and her husband Robert developed.  (New to my site?  You should take a look at my previous posts on Sonia & Robert Delaunay)

Sonia, along with her husband, painter Robert Delaunay (1885-1941), developed a color theory called simultaneity – the sensation of movement when contrasting colors are placed side by side.

I love the geometry and color patterns in each of these sketches.  They clearly show a harmony between the fine and decorative arts movements at the time.  The green and black dress on the left is a nod to Cubism.  The middle dress looks uncannily like the interior of  an Art Deco building.  Perhaps it was inspired by a tiled floor.

The silhouette is still column-like, which is a hallmark of the 1920s.  There is no defined waist, and the garments seem to hang vertically from the shoulders and obscure the shape of the body.   However, you can see that most of the hemlines are quite long – a definite contrast to the American flapper.  A nice alternative silhouette  to all The Great Gatesby buzz that’s been going around.

All images courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Stephen Burrows is an American fashion designer, and was very active in the 1970s.  He studied at FIT and was quickly hired after an internship.

A few weeks ago, I found a great book The Fashion Makers by Barbara Walz and Bernadine Morris.  There was a great biography on Burrows.  It explained how his grandmother taught him to sew as a child.  He explained: “I was fascinated by the zigzag stitch.  I put it on everything.”  He liked to use this to finish the edges on jersey dresses, because hems would weigh the fabric down.  The zigzag finish makes the fabric light, and curl and wave at the edges.  This design signature started to be referred to as the lettuce edge, because it looks like the undulating wavy edges of lettuce.

I just adore the dress above.  The combination of colors are stellar, and it looks so easy to put on and wear.  Another favorite of mine is the outfit below.  It’s two pieces, and just so fluid and romantic.

I don’t wear pants very often, but was crazy for these tulip pants.  The loose cut and way the fabric envelopes the leg is so interesting.

I also really liked the mannequins the museum used.  Their postures made the clothing come alive.  Most mannequins don’t gesticulate in this type of way.  Generally, they are ridged and are simply hangers for the clothes.  These are so different, and help in imagine the garments on a moving body.

Burrows was also very fearless about pairing vivid colors together.  There is a whole section of the exhibit dedicated to color blocking.

I’m not that adventurous when it comes to pairing intense hues in one garment, but I did really enjoy looking.  This type of color blocking was a signature of Burrows.

This set against the wall was so intense!  It looked futuristic – almost like something by Pierre Cardin or Andres Courreges.  These garments were all available at the O Boutique, the first commercial venture Burrows launched to sell commercially.  He was later signed to make clothes for Henri Bendel’s in New York.

There were also accompanying sketches.  These are always some of my favorite items to look at.  It reveals so much about the design process.

My time is a bit limited, as I’m currently very busy.  However, there are some clues to go on based just by looking at the design.  It has a curiously design motif based on Mayan sculpture.  In fact, the first clue I noticed was the human face.  It is a profile view.  The figure has large ears, and a sort breathing mask attached to his nose.

There is a famous sculpture in the Mayan town known as Palenque.  Palenque flourishe during the Seventh Century, and has some of the finest architecture, sculpture, and art that the Mayans produced.  Pacal the Great was one of the most famous rulers of this town.  In his tomb, there is a sculpture that looks very much like the design on this scarf.

There are other design elements that look like Mayan sculpture.  Here are a few details:

Dots within circles appear in lots of Mayan tablets  People and faces are exaggerated and stylized, composed of simple geometric shapes.

It will be fun to do a bit more research on this when I have the time.  I’m curious to see if there was an exhibition on Mayan art in New York sometime in the 1940s or 1950s.  Hopefully in a few weeks I will have an answer.  If have any clues about this design, please leave it in a comment!

The tuxedos and suits were so elegant.  Yet it was difficult for me to focus solely on the menswear, because the women’s costumes made by Prada were also on display.  Just look at the glitzy, embellished fabric.

Prada gown illustrated by Steven Stipelman.  Image courtesy of WWD.

Prada gowns and Brooks Brothers tuxedos illustrated by Steven Stipelman.  Image courtesy of WWD.

Fashion illustrations have been abandoned with the advent of digital photography and CAD programs.  It’s so nice to see illustrations making a comeback, because they add  such a rich dimension to the mix.  It furthers the relationship between fashion and art.

  Bottles of Moet champagne complemented the display.  The whole environment just felt so opulent.

Brooks Brothers is also offering a limited edition line of menswear based on the film.  Everything from straw boaters, to oxfords, to full tuxedos are available for purchase.  I’m hoping that this creates a new trend of men dressing up!  It’s so attractive.  All of Brooks Brothers clothing is produced in America.  In fact, most of it is made right in New York.

Who wouldn’t like to be greeted by a man wearing something like this?

All images courtesy of Brooks Brothers and Warner Brothers Studios unless otherwise stated.

The Fitting by Mary Cassatt, 1891.  Color print with drypoint and aquatint.

Cassatt was from Pennsylvania, and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as a teenager.  Art schools were much different then.  Females were not allowed to draw the nude models in classes.  They instead were instructed to draw from mannequins and plaster casts.  In 1866, Cassatt moves to Paris to further her studies.

She starts showing her work at the official Paris Salon, but was rejected in 1875.  This is the same year that she accepts an invitation from Edgar Degas to join the Impressionist group.

The Coiffure by Mary Cassatt, 1891.  Image courtesy of NYPL.

I immediately noticed how much Cassatt’s prints looked like Japanese woodblock prints from the era.  The show went on to talk about how many of Cassatt’s early prints were influenced by the influx of Japanese art  that flooded Paris in the late 19th Century.  Many of her compositions mimic traditional Japanese art: the placement of the subject, the use of space, and the idea of capturing moments of daily life.

Takashima Ohisa Using Two Mirrors to Observe Her Coiffure by Kitagawa Utamaro, c. 1795.  Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  

Another observation that interested me was the representation of patterns on textiles and other decorative objects.  Patterns seemed to jump out at me: the  floral print on the carpet, the painted  pitcher, the stripes on the subject’s dress.

I also enjoyed seeing several prints of with the same composition, but that had different layers of plates.  This was because Cassatt was experimenting with reworking her copper plates and perhaps which colors of acquatint  she would use.

Afternoon Tea Party by Mary Cassatt, 1891.  Image courtesy of NYPL.

Seeing the various stages of Cassatt’s process is so interesting.  I love seeing work like this, because it allows you into the artist’s mind.  You can see how she dealt with challenges in depicting the image as it was in her mind.  Maybe she wanted more depth in the background, or the cups to be a darker blue.  It reminded me of the exhibition on Matisse – where you started to see how the artist revisited a composition again and again to perfect it.

Again, you can see this evolution in The Letter.  One has a very plain background, while the other focuses on the pattern of the wallpaper.

The Letter by Mary Cassatt, 1891.  Image courtesy of NYPL.

If you can’t make it to the show, the exhibition catalog is available online.

Mother’s Kiss by Mary Cassatt, 1891.  Image courtesy of NYPL.

Pursuing the selections was so much fun.  There were gorgeous dresses from every era spread out on racks and tables.  I loved this day dress from the 1930s.  The top stitching on the collar and sleeves was such an elegant touch.

Every object could be handled, as long as you wore a white glove.  Auction previews are a great way to examine objects before they hit the block.  You can determine the condition and your budget.  If you are unable to attend when the lot is up for bidding, you can submit a phone bid.  No more wasting the entire day waiting for the lot of your dreams.  (New to auctions?  Keep in mind that every auction house has a buyer’s premium.  This means an extra percentage is added to your final bid.  These premiums range from 20% to 35% depending on the auction house.)

There were also some fantastic dresses from the 1920s.  Their condition was really impeccable.  These dresses were carefully housed in a blue board box, and cushioned with tissue paper to preserve the shape.

I just loved the hemline on this dress.

This was another favorite!  The auction estimates were very reasonable.  I was really tempted to bid on a few things.  Who wouldn’t love a dress with beading like this?

There were bins of ethnographic embroideries and textiles from around the world.  Seeing the quality and craftsmanship of historical textiles makes it so difficult to shop the contemporary market.  Just look at these hand embroidered flowers on this velvet cloth.

The best part?  I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in ages!  Giselle from Fashioning the Past was also at the fashion preview.  If you haven’t seen her blog, you should really check it out.

Pauline Trigère at her home, La Tortue!  Last year, I was lucky enough to find a dress by Trigère.  It started my fascination with the designer.  (New to my site?  Please take a moment to read these previous posts)

Pauline Trigère (1908-2002) was born in Paris and became an iconic fashion designer in Post War America. Her mother was a dressmaker and her father a tailor who had made military uniforms for Russian aristocrats.  Trigère learned quickly from her parents, and designed her first dress as a teenager.  She never sketched her designes, but worked by draping right on the mannequin.

Trigère moved to New York in 1937 with her husband Lazar Radley, their two sons, her mother, her brother Robert.  Trigère first worked at Ben Gershel, and later assisted Travis Banton at Hattie Carnegie. After getting fired from Hattie Carnegie, Trigère and her brother Robert decided to start their own business.

Trigère builds quite a brand in America.  So what is all this turtle business?  The turtle becomes a a major element of the Trigère brand as time goes on.  Robert gave her a small turtle talisman when they first started the business.  Then, Trigère started to see them everywhere.   The turtle became a hallmark of her line.

The Arizona Costume Institute explains:

She named her country estate in Westchester County, New York, La Tortue (The Turtle) because there were three turtles sunning themselves on a little rock when she first saw it. A collection of well over nine hundred turtles fashioned in gold, silver, needlepoint, crystal and other materials adorned the estate.  In each collection, Trigere designed a garment with a turtle print.

I actually have a scarf by Trigère that depicts a turtle.  The best part?  If you look closely at the photo of Trigère, she is wearing a shirt and scarf of the same design.  My scarf is black and red, although other colors were available.

 

 

It’s been an intense week, so things have been quiet on my blog.  New classes, new students, presentations about The Stieg Collection.  Everything has been so much fun, but I’ve had little time to write.  I probably should be grading papers, but I wanted to write a post about my fashion forecasting class.

Much like it sounds, you can predict future fashions and trends if you know what to look for.  We look at different people, what motivates them to participate in fashion, innovations in textiles, trends in colors, and lots of other things.  What I like most about teaching this class is that I have to communicate how I see things.  Last week, I took my class on a field trip to do some trend spotting.  I have some ideas in my head already that fashion is going to become increasingly inspired by nature.

Even in the city, you can see that people crave nature.  Plants line storefronts.  Colorful flowers and shrubs are displayed for purchase.  Food culture is becoming more focused on natural flavoring, organic produce, and saying “no” to genetically modified organisms.

We also went to Brooklyn Charm, and I noticed a lot of jewelry that took cues from the natural environment.  Leaves, flowers, gems, crystals, geodes – everything pointed to the great outdoors.

I couldn’t resist!  I got a few small charms for my own necklace.

I saw some vintage clothing from the neighborhood we observed that had some great references, too.  I wanted to buy everything, but I was only observing.

Leaves can be dressed up or down!

And you can never go wrong with flowers.

I started to see how people were already wearing this on the street.  Doesn’t it look sort of like the early 1970s?

My thoughts were confirmed when I saw all the pictures from Coachella!  New York and California seem to agree some fashion points.  It’s a flower power revival, don’t you agree?

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