According to Flare magazine, "The Eccentric" is in for Spring Summer 2010.

As part 2 of my Fashion 101 on trends, I’d like to discuss how media presents trends. We covered where trends come from in the last Fashion 101, so today we will be looking at how magazines present trends to their readers.

The magazines have a job to do, they have to sell issues and they have to encourage their readers to buy more fashion, so that their advertisers are happy (more on that here.) Magazines can’t just say “here’s a pair of pants” and “here’s a top”, they need to sell their readers a story, and that is where trends come in. Rather than simply present the looks shown on the catwalks, magazines put together trend themes.

Now here is the scary part of the magazine business. After the fashion shows, each magazine team sits down together and talks through the catwalk shows. They decide what their trends are for the next season’s issues. The magazines then send out “their” trends to the PR offices, so that the PRs need to make sure they have pieces in the collections that fit into the magazine’s trend stories.

All of this means that the magazines are actually deciding what the trends are, rather than going by what the designers have actually designed. And the PR’s have to scramble to find ways to make their designer’s collections fit in with the magazine’s trends. In all fairness, the editors are inspired by what they see on the catwalks, but they could quite easily decide that a lot of black and lace on the catwalk means a gothic trend, even if none of the designers were inspired by gothic art while designing. And that is why magazine trends often have nothing to do with the designer’s inspiration, and usually look a bit…boring. Or they jsut don’t make any sense at all. I also think they sometimes treat their readers like idiots when they present trends like “long coats for winter!”  or “floral prints for spring!”, because I have never known a winter season that hasn’t included a few long coats, and there are ALWAYS floral prints in the spring.

Here are some examples of slightly disjointed trend pages from Style.com (sorry Style.com, you are the best site for catwalk coverage but your trend pages suck.)

This trend is called Pattern Play, and yes, there are obviously patterns on all of the garments, but that is about the only thing that they have in common. I don't understand how Anna Sui's fun little floral printed suit can be considered a similar trend to Ann Demeleumeester's wicked trashy, dishevelled suit with printed wings. Clockwise from top left: Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Anna Sui, and Ann Demeleumeester.

Game Theory: Although there are some sporty references in some of these looks, they are definitely not from the same sport and not the same style. The Olympics, American football, surfing, and snowboarding inspirations are far too different to be considered one trend. I think the editors were running out of ideas here. And I can barely even see a sport reference in A. F. Vanderforst's dress. Clockwise from top left: Derek Lam, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Alexander Wang, and A. F. Vanderforst.

This trend is Superhero Worship. Maybe I am not very imaginative, but I can't see any superhero references here, only really nice clothes. Clockwise from top left: Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Balenciaga, Calvin Klein, and Antonio Berardi.

So, next time Vogue or Elle are telling you that “Winter Garden” or “Gothic Princess” are THE trend for the season, keep in mind that they aren’t telling you what the designers are thinking, they are telling you what their editors are thinking.

Read other Fashion 101 posts:

Fashion 101: Where do Fashion Trends Come From?

Fashion 101: Designers with Two Jobs

Fashion 101: How Haute Couture Works

Fashion 101: Magazines and their Advertisers

This is the last of the London photos..

Liberty is definitely my favourite London department store. It is in a building which was built with parts of an old ship, and it feels so much more intimate and special than the big department stores. And they have the most fantastic selection of brands, the cool luxury brands, like Preen, A.P.C, Ann Demeulemeester, Filippa K, Alexander Wang, McQ by Alexander McQueen, Nudie Jeans, Christopher Kane, and Rick Owens.

The main entrance. They have the most fantastic florist.

This Givenchy bag is so beautiful.

The Liberty shoe department is like walking into someone's old house, with rooms of lovely furniture and beautiful shoes poised on shelving, chairs, and tables.

All the shoes feel so special (except the hideous amount of Kurt Geiger shoes on display, which is a very tacky, wannabee-luxury footwear brand that controls all the department store's shoe departments and insists its shoes are in every one.)

The displays feel so friendly and welcoming.

A wall of Wallpaper travel guides. The best city guides if you're feeling flush.

On the complete other end of the spectrum is Primark, one of the most hideous places to shop in London. Why do I go there? Cheap socks and leggings. And I picked up a bunch of really cheap jewelry too, which will be great for holidays where you want to wear bikinis and jewelry, but you don’t want to worry about having any thing too expensive on you. Primark is ALWAYS busy, to the point where I’ve never used a changeroom, and always expect to wait half an hour in the line ups to pay. Here are some photos of Primark on a normal Thursday afternoon.

This is not boxing day sales...

it is like this every day of the week.

You have to fight to get anything...or anywhere.

7 pairs of socks for just under $4.

Beach earrings for $4.

Leggings with fun little silver snaps on the bottom, $8.

When I was sitting on the tube, I noticed this girl’s Doc Martens, and I felt a bit nostalgic for my teenage grunge days where I wore Doc Martens boots. I also thought this looked pretty cool, in context with today. I might dig my boots out. There’s something a bit rock’n'roll about the way her jeans and boots look. I’ve been trying to convince myself they are coming back in for the past three years, but now I really thinking they will, since they have been getting a lot of press over their 50 year anniversary.

Am I the only one who is feeling this? Is it lame?

Back to Vancouver, and I finally got to sample Butter Bakery’s homemade Oreo cookie. I also bought the peanut butter cookie sandwiches. Let’s just say, I won’t be going back. They were far too delicious to resist any further temptations, so I’ll just avoid that factory of deliciousness altogether, if I want to continue to fit into all my new London clothes.

The packaging is so pretty.

Peanut Butter sandwiches and Oreo Cookies. My mouth is watering just looking at this photo.

They also make homemade marshmallows, which are soft mounds of tastiness beyond your wildest dreams.

Tonka is wearing the Butter Bakery ribbon around his neck. He is trying to get his nose into one of the Oreo cookies. No way would we waste one of those on a dog.

Check out the other London Photo Diaries…
London Photo Diary Part 1
London Photo Diary Part 2
London Photo Diary Part 3
London Photo Diary Part 4

Ann Demeulemeester’s collection is dark, slick, and sexy. Her original style was considered to be deconstructionist, and this shows in this collection, but the deconstructionism is structured and palatable. There’s also an edge to this collection, the bright tomato reds, the rows of black beads, and the use of feathers creates a dark, fantasy side, but without looking too gothic.

I Love…

slightly disheveled yet slick tailoring.

the slickest cape we've seen so far on the fall winter catwalks.

a fur jacket that's been thrown on.

the jewelry in this collection" row upon row of shiny black beads make the looks more glamorous.

All images from Style.com.

The new Alice in Wonderland movie directed by Tim Burton is bound to be a visual feast. It will come out on March 5th, and the stars include Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Anne Hathaway. I looked up some of the visuals on the movie’s website, and they look amazing.

Now, with that in mind, maybe someone can explain this disastrous Alice in Wonderland themed window at Printemps.

A bit of background, Printemps is a big luxury department store in Paris. Powerful retailers, such as Printemps, sometimes ask brands to create special pieces for them, which can be exclusive limited edition collections or special display items, which will help the store to sell the brands.

Just looking at this photo reminds me of how much I miss shopping in Europe...

So, Printemps has asked designers like Ann Demeulemeester, Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, Chloé, Charles Anastase, and Haider Ackermann to design special pieces for their Alice in Wonderland-themed window displays. These are all designers that I respect and like, so I really cannot understand why the resulting window displays do not look very Alice in Wonderland, or fairy tale, or interesting at all. It basically looks like the designers, aside from Maison Martin Margiela and Nicholas Kirkwood, couldn’t be bothered to actually make something for the window, so they took an old piece from an old collection and made up an Alice “story” to go along with it.

Seriously, how is any of this related to Alice in Wonderland? (By the way, the images and quotes below come from an article on Style.com, you can read more about it here.)

Chloe says: "“Running around careless and free in a romantic dress, falling down the rabbit hole, chasing time in a dreamlike state of mind, meeting unexpected characters with many tales to tell—sounds like many a girl’s night out!” I say: boring navy blue dress worn best on a "fat day."

Charles Anastase says: "“I went to John Tenniel’s original illustration of Alice for inspiration. She’s seated at a table having tea, and her dress looks much more asymmetrical and theatrical than that boring Walt Disney version.” I say: A white and blue pouffy dress does not equal Alice in Wonderland.

Haider Ackermann says: "“My favorite character is the Duchess, who at first seems nearly as unpleasant as the Queen of Hearts. When I was designing this piece, I was seeing Alice running, escaping through the forest destroying her shiny dress." I say: This dress looks nothing like Alice in Wonderland, or the Duchess. In fact, that horrible rounded slit on the front makes the dress go from "interesting" to "scary."

Here are some of the better pieces.

Nicholas Kirkwood says: "“I think my favorite Alice character is the March Hare. You can see I’ve made his watch rather prominent. ...this time, I figured, why not just pile as much as I can on top?” I say: Nicholas Kirkwood has one shoe shape he has redone a million times, and its starting to get boring, but at least that one shoe is pretty cool. Especially with all that stuff piled onto it.

Maison Martin Margiela says: "“Alice’s silhouette is a blue upside-down dress with cage sleeve, as if she walked through the mirror and her dress completely reversed.” I say: This dress is beautiful, combining the fantasy of the fairy tale and the innovation of Maison Martin Margiela, and the colour is exactly the right shade of Alice blue.

Cartoon Alice image source.

I feel like I haven’t paid enough attention to Ann Demeulemeester in the past few years. I have always had immense respect for her work, but I haven’t followed it very closely. She is part of the Antwerp Six (which I talked about in this blog post) and although this menswear collection is very “fashion”, there are some very strong pieces.

I Adore…

this coat, even though its tied way too tight around the waist.

the collar on the top, the accessories and the boots.

the fur neckpiece. I want one.

one of the first fur coats I have have seen this season that don't look too "pimp."

the layers, the drapes, and the general feel of deconstructivism.

this rock look. Almost every designer is trying to do ROCK (unless they are doing SPORT) but this one looks authentic and effortless and actually cool.

I Loathe…

paper bag waists on men.

the shape of these trousers.

feather boas for men. It's taking the rock look to far into the world of goth.

All images from GQ.com.

I have been meaning to comment on this for some time, but I have quite a big pile of blog drafts piling up, which I am hoping to clear by the end of the holidays.

So, Martin Margiela has left the house he founded. Maison Martin Margiela was founded in 1988, and since 2002 it has been majority owned by Diesel, the Italian group which also owns Viktor & Rolf, and of course the denim brand Diesel. I won’t go on too much about the history and the acquisition, and if you are interested you can read all about it in this great article from the New York Times, but I will say that in the time that Diesel took part ownership of Maison Martin Margiela, their sales went from €15 million to €70 million.

Maison Martin Margiela has been quite an important brand for me, particularly when I am lecturing to fashion students (one of my many fashion-related jobs.) This was the brand that helped me define the level of my students. If they all knew the brand, I knew it was going to be a good group. If 30% knew the brand, I knew there would be a few strong ones leading the rest. If 10% or less had heard of Margiela, I knew I was in trouble.

Anyway, I am sure not all of my readers are familiar with Maison Martin Margiela, so I am going to do a little facts list. It is by no means exhaustive, I am going by memory (so feel free to correct any mistakes people) and I am not a Margiela expert, but here we go.

FACT 1: He is from Belgium, and considered to be the “seventh” member of the Antwerp Six. The Antwerp Six were six Belgium fashion designers that graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts (a super prestigious fashion design school) in the 80s, and then proceeded to drive to London in a van to show off their wares. That was their big breakthrough.  The Antwerp Six is Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Marina Yee. Thanks to them, and Margiela, the Belgian fashion designers got a reputation for being quite avant-garde, a reputation they still have.

Some cool Maison Martin Margiela sandal boots.

Toys by Maison Martin Margiela. They love white.

FACT 2: No one sees him. He doesn’t do personal appearances, and he never meets journalists. Even Carine Roitfeld, editor of French Vogue, has never seen him. I thought it was very funny the other day when someone said that he was spotted looking for a house in West Hollywood. That would imply someone has seen him…

Some menswear. I sort of imagine he looks something like the guy in the centre.

FACT 3: He never referred to himself as “I”. It was always “Maison Martin Margiela is doing this…” or “We are doing this…” instead of “I am doing this…”

This was a really famous Aids t-shirt they did. The text was printed straight onto the shirt, so some was on the front, and some was on the inside of the back.

The Aids t-shirt hanging.

FACT 4: His clothes don’t have the brand name on the label, and his shops don’t have the name on the outside (aside from the one in LA.)

Maison Martin Margiela clothing label.

The Hong Kong store.

The Paris store.

The sign above the London store.

FACT 5: He is known for recycling garments.

An outfit made from lots of old pairs of jeans.

FACT 6: He only communicates by fax (although I am not sure if this is still the case, since hardly anyone has a fax machine anymore. Except for my Mom.)

Another couture outfit.

FACT 7: His fashion shows involve a running commentary about the clothing, and all of his staff wear white lab coats.

One of the staff showing a men's vest.

FACT 8: He often costs his garments based on the number of hours spent making them. Which makes a €5000 jacket actually seem reasonably priced. It is really interesting to see the time involved in making a couture garment. Yes, it is expensive, but at least you know that it is because the garment actually takes a lot of time to make.

This picture came from Diane Pernet's A Shaded View On Fashion (another one of my favorite blogs.) She included the following caption: "Travel Jacket: 53 hours to construct/5330 Euros The jacket is cut from a zipped nylon travel garment bag. What I loved was the breakdown: 'The hours of work necessary for the creation in question includes: the preparation, the finishing and the quality control but exclude the research of raw material, technical control, necessary treatment (cleaning, softening, dying, etc.) and the fittings. Travel Jacket - February. ' "

Here are a few more of his garments.

Great Shoulders.

The famous wig jacket.

Some of the store's shelving.

And look at how cool his landing page is.

Anyway, he has left the company, and Renzo Rosso, the creator of Diesel, has decided not to replace him. Apparently the creative team of 20 something people are strong enough to continue designing without the need of a creative director. This is a very interesting move, and I think it is the right idea.

Replacing a Creative Director, especially the founder of the brand, is very difficult. There have been a lot of problems with Gianfranco Ferre, Emanuel Ungaro, and Versace, all of which have suffered as brands since their namesake founder has left. There has been a lot of speculation in the news lately about what will happen with Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, and Oscar de la Renta, because they all have creative directors in their seventies. Chanel has been quoted as saying “Karl Lagerfeld is the creative director of Chanel and enjoys a long-term contract which is absolutely not put into question. His succession is not on the agenda,” but that is just not credible, they must have some sort of plan in place, because lets face it, at 76, chances are he won’t be able to continue in his role for much longer. I won’t even begin to express the fear in my heart about the succession of Karl Lagerfeld, there is simply no one who can replace him.

With regards to Maison Martin Margiela, we can now only wait to see what happens. Critics have complained that the collections have been lacking for several seasons, apparently since he unofficially left the brand. But I agree that a replacement may only make things worse. I also believe that if this does work, Renzo Rosso will be setting a precedent, and many others will follow. If you can’t replace a great Creative Director, then don’t.

Sorry to anyone whose photo I didn’t credit. Most images came from www.martinmargiela.com and www.style.com but if I used your image without proper credit, please get in touch and I will remove it or credit it.