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| Illustrated by Jean-Philippe Delhomme |
From left: Bridget Foley (Women's Wear Daily), Cathy Horyn (The New York Times), Hilary Alexander (The Daily Telegraph), Suzy Menkes (International Herald Tribune), Guy Trebay (The New York Times) and Robin Givhan (Newsweek/The Daily Beast)
Hope everyone is having a good week. September flew by and there's so much to update you all on. September truly is one of my favorite months- there's that back to school feeling (regardless of whether you're in school), the idea of starting anew, and of course, New York Fashion Week. Needless to say, September will always be the start of the new year for me. But back to fashion week. There's so much attention placed on the collections that it can be difficult to put looks into context.
I think Scott Schuman said it best, "shows aren't something that should make you feel bad about not being able to afford what you're seeing, or not looking like a model. Instead, they should just be pure inspiration for color, silhouette, genre, pattern matching..." When I attend a show and begin to think about it on a personal level, these are the things I consider. The collections are a means of getting inspired in the same way that literature, fine art, New York and ballet inspire me.
Which brings me to another point- I miss the dying art of fashion criticism. There's something about reading an insightful review of a show. There's a piece of me that feels nostalgic for a review where the writer has had a chance to do a studio visit after the show. It's implausible to think that the majority of writers today are reviewing collections without having the chance to look at the construction up close and feel the clothes. True fashion criticism puts clothing into a larger context. A good review speaks to history, culture, the economy and mores of a society.
PS- We all know I adore a good fashion illustration and Jean-Philippe Delhomme's are simply divine.
