Difficulty within Simplicity - A Philosophy of Fashion Design

Be bold, it is easier to simplify than to magnify.

-- Geneviève Sevin-Doering

As a then fashion design student and now fashion design practitioner, I am from time to time amazed by how difficult a garment creation appears yet how simple the patterns are to construct it. This of course is not always true. There are garments consisting tens of pattern pieces, hundreds of notches, and probably over 10 pages of sewing guide of how to construct the piece. I, however, have always believed that difficulty should always be embedded in the simplicity and simplicity is always sought in the difficulty. All the beautiful things seem to possess such quality from nature, to art, and to mathematics. As a matter of fact, simplify and elegance has always been two criteria to judge a PhD dissertation in Mathematics. Beautiful things are more likely to be true as tested time and time again. The ultimate goal of methods and techniques should be to do without them. Previously trained in economics, a subject built around scarce resources and how to economize them in a society, I always find that those fashion designs stunning to my eyes are always those with most efficient, innovative, and interesting patterns technique. As those wise words said by Ms. Geneviève Sevin-Doering, a French costume designer:

“Not having the method is bad. Remain entirely imprisoned by the method is even worse. One needs to first follow a strict rule; then one needs to intelligently explore all its possible variations, the aim of any method is to do without it. But if one wants to go beyond the method, certainly one must first have it; if one wants simplicity, it must be sought in the difficulty.”

As an example, I present a beautiful, kimono-inspired jacket by Alexander Lee McQueen from his Fall/Winter 2003 women's ready-to-wear fashion collection. Mixing oriental tradition and McQueen's hallmark razor tailoring, this is a succinct summary of his design genius. The sharp tailoring, for which this label is famous for, is seen in the jacket’s strong linear construction and carefully layered fabric sections. A collision of Western Victoriana and Eastern traditional dress, this garment, like so much of McQueen’s work, references historical detailing while remaining quintessentially modern. This jacket consists of only 7 patterns pieces. SHOWstudio.com presented the downloadable garment including an aerial view of the pattern pieces as well as the printing and sewing construction help. I have made it available below for you to download and try to construct the design yourself.

• McQueen Kimono Jacket Pattern Overview - click here to download
• Download download sheet 1 - click here to download
• Download download sheet 2 - click here to download
• Pattern help - click here to download
• Pattern sewing instructions - click here to download
• Printing help - click here to download

United Colors of Benetton -- The Italian Fashion Brand with a Soul

Transform sweaters into messages, shirts into signs, and jeans into signifiers.

-- Luciano Benetton

United Colors of Benetton is a 50-year old Italian fashion brand that enjoyed wild international success in the fashion industry with a market focus on the young adults. In its heyday, it had 40 plus stores in the United States and its airy boutiques were filled with sweaters in every color imaginable. "The brand was vaguely exotic and pleasantly cool without being aloof or intimidating." Benetton hit a sweet spot in both pricing and aesthetics. However, its place as a stalwart in the fashion industry has been replaced by labels such as J. Crew, Abercrombie & Fitch, Uniqlo, Target, Club Monaco, Zara, and others. Fast fashion left it behind and it has lost its magic touch of design. Its clothes, at least those shipped to the U.S. market became unattractive and unfashionable. Around 2014, Benetton exited the U.S. market (no U.S. stores can be located on Benetton's official website, therefore the deduction).

In the international marketing industry, however, Benetton is also very well known for its campaigns. It markets its clothes in an extremely non-traditional fashion and stirred extreme emotions among consumers. Benetton uses controversial social issues that common among different cultural, racial, and religious groups in the world. Some of its marketing campaigns were loved by consumers while others found it hard to swallow. Despite of mixed reviews , it has managed to convey the message of peace, equality, and love and raised awareness of social problems around the world.

Luciano Benetton, one of the founders of United Colors of Benetton, wants to transform "sweaters into messages, shirts into signs, and jeans into signifiers." This quote tells us that Benetton is passionate about two things: its clothes and its message. Amongst the most controversial ads, Benetton has featured topics such as dead AIDS patient, interracial homosexual couples, reconciliation of Chinese soldier and monk, kiss between a priest and a nun, and the list goes on. Most of the time, the Benetton ads provides a shocking visual focus on the social issue with its green logo served as the only identifiable text in the campaign.

When questioned the motives of its decade long ad-campaign, the Benetton photographer and artist Oliviero Toscani said "the goal [of the campaign] was to reach people's souls, to invoke discussion of controversial topics, and to bring societies to the awareness that humans share many similar concerns." Since Toscani took the reign of marketing, the company's sales increased by 20%. In autumn 2011, Benetton launched its new worldwide communication campaign, an invitation to the leaders and citizens of the world to combat the "culture of hatred", and created the UNHATE Foundation.

Benetton is struggling with charging into the future with its colorful sweaters and newly appointed creative director (appointed 2011), hoping to regain its glory in the fashion industry. But fashion stories never end there. In an industry that is fueled by changes, there is possibility of a new day. What Benetton needs (to my opinion only) is revamping its design aesthetics, but keep its soul! Let's enjoy some out of many of its memorable marketing campaigns.

To know more of the controversial ads by United Colors of Benetton, please click here: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1170425/alessandro-benetton-building-brand-controversy#timeline by Judy Attwell.

AMAGAZINEcuratedby.com: an online fashion magazine that makes your heart flutter!

“The past is what bonds us – The future leads us.”  - MAISON MARTIN MAGIELA

A couple of years ago when I was still in the design school honing my pattern making skills and exploring my creative mind, I have stumbled upon a quite unique and extraordinary magazine. I have somewhat a hesitation to call it a "fashion" magazine not only because I always think "fashion" is such a limited word to describe a fascinating field that walks and balances both the art/creative and the business worlds, but also because the core of this magazine transcends "fashion" itself.  Every individual issue opens up the door to a visual adventure.

A MAGAZINE is the new name of the Belgian fashion magazine whose title previously played with the letters of the alphabet. Previous issues were curated by fashion designers Dirk Van Saene (N°A), Bernhard Willhelm (N°B), Hussein Chalayan (N°C) and Olivier Theyskens (N°D). It publishes twice a year and invites a fashion designer, a group or a house to be the curator of the content of the magazine which explores the universe of their own aesthetics, cultural values, emotions, and inspirations. Very often the designer/curator collaborates with artists, photographers, models, editors, of their choosing to unfold a creative journey in each issue. As I flip through the pages, I become more in touch with their creative universe as a whole as I allow myself to be shocked and challenged to reflect upon my inner self.

A MAGAZINE has published 14 issues so far and the guest curators include MAISON MARTIN MAGIELA  (issue #1), Yohji Yamamoto (issue #2), Riccardo Tisci (issue #8), and Stephen Jones (issue #13), to name a few.  Each designer has their own story to tell via visuals and words.  For example, the premier issue curated by MAISON MARTIN MAGIELA "brought us into contact with everybody that has ever had ties with the fashion house, long or short. Permanent staff members, casual collaborators, trainees, assistants, models, artists, photographers, musicians, choreographers, filmmakers. Some of them are still closely connected to the house, others have since gone their own way. Maison Martin Margiela and the “extended creative life and expression of the house” became the leitmotiv. Therefore this magazine is like a reunion, where all of these people were invited to be present within its pages, to show what they are working on at the moment or a piece of work which still remains very dear to them." In issue #10 curated by Giambattista Valli explores what beauty is through collaborations with artists, photographers, and style icons including Louise Bourgeois, Nan Goldin, Chiara Clemente, Lucio Fontana, David Hicks, Richard Avedon, Slim Aarons, Iman and the late Corinne Day.  Issue #13 represents the first A Magazine curated by an Italian woman and the first to explore the decorative realm of a jewelry designer, after the magazine’s longstanding relationship with prét-à-porter designers was first diverted in 2013 by the curation of British milliner Stephen Jones.

Aside from the main content of the magazine, it also runs a news section following the international art scene, artists, and fashion designs (mostly western). If you are interested in purchasing the magazine, some issues can be found on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/A-Magazine-Iris-Van-Herpen/dp/9077745122).  All issues can be viewed via their website www.amagazinecuratedby.com. Enjoy the visual feast!

Fashion - Business or Art?

One of the most moving fashion collection, for me, has to be the Fall 2010 Women's Ready-to-wear from Alexander McQueen, which took place a week or so after the designer had committed suicide, leaving the unfinished 16 pieces of garments to the rest of his team.  The setting, based on the news report, was small, quiet, intimate yet dignified that "went to his core as a designer who scaled the heights of couture accomplishment."  It was all about the clothes with models walking in a simple yet beautiful way.  That is the moment, if I dare say, that made us forget about FASHION, but appreciate clothes.

What is fashion? Some (mostly the designers) would argue that it is art while some may say it is purely business.  For me, it is both as was witnessed in the late Alexander McQueen's last exhibit.  It is a strange form of art. Unlike any other forms of art which furnishes the viewers only visual and spiritual interaction with the art creations, fashion allows the wearers to physically interact with it, combines both entities and releases a new form of vitality and individuality.  Like all forms of art, it is born out of creativity and embodies the essence of all forms of art - designed and created to move and inspire.  It is also a business.  Like all businesses,  fashion requires discipline, attention to details, production, logistics, and processes. Even with the most brilliant management teams, without creativity (or the art element of it), fashion would certainly loss its enchantment.  Then what comes out of the other end of the efficiency of optimizing procedures and pumping out products would just be a widget.  "The creativity is the oil that you put into that machine that makes it smooth and keeps it running. It’s the creativity that lubricates and fuels the industry. But it’s the business side that keeps it working." (Imran Amed interview, The Talks, February 11, 2015, http://the-talks.com/interviews/imran-amed/).

It does feel, at times, that the homogenization of fashion has taken over the world. Whether you are in Shanghai, Madrid, or Australia, the same stores are carrying the same big brands with the same campaigns.  The moving element and the individuality of clothes was taken away and all that left is "fashion" - the seasonal silhouettes, color trends, the “must have” shoes, or the “it” bags.  Then when I decided to start Verity & Volition, I have pleasantly come across quite a few silently strong designers.  They are using their designs to speak volume and conveying their unique point of view,  such as Manmade Natural (https://www.facebook.com/MANMADE-NATURAL-107342272650160/), Wu Yong (www.wuyong.org),  VISVIM (http://www.visvim.tv/), and Honest By (http://www.honestby.com/).

So what is fashion?  As Oscar Wilde once said "to define is to limit", let's then not define it at the moment. Rather, let it be whatever it is for you, let it be whatever it is to you, and let it be however you want it to be.  But whatever it is, let it come from within, let it come from somewhere meaningful, let it move and inspire you, and let it embody a part of you.  Let's enjoy clothes and the creativity behind it, but also appreciate the emerging fashion industry for discovering these exciting creativity.