Well, rumour has it that the next H&M collaboration is going to be with Lanvin. Although it is not confirmed, I was having dinner with some fashion insiders last night (Lisa Tant and Imran Amed) and they both seemed to think Lanvin was the one, although it won’t be officially announced until September 9th. H&M deserve mega-credit for their teaser videos, launched two days ago on Youtube. First of all, they are amazing to watch. Secondly, they get us thinking… who could it be? Before Lanvin, rumours were flying around about Bottega Veneta and Carolina Herrera, amongst others. I’ve posted two of the videos here, check them out. Apparently the quotes sound very “Alber Elbaz”, although I am sure it could be someone else as well.

I had a discussion with my students today about H&M’s designer collaborations, and we all seemed to agree that H&M had far more credibility than other “collaborative” fast fashion brands, because they work primarily with great fashion designers, rather than celebrities (Madonna and Kylie Minogue being the two exceptions.) The only other brand that I can think of who has managed this is Target, who have also done some great collaborations, and more recently, gained increased exposure because by selling their product through Gilt Groupe and in Colette.

A Kate Moss for Topshop dress, which does not look very "Kate Moss" and which is quite overpriced at approx. $250.

Which brings me to think, are we beginning to see the end of the celebrity collaborations? (Please God say it’s true!) Kate Moss has ended her relationship with Topshop this week, apparently on bad terms, and I am guessing it is because the clothes were never that interesting in the first place. They were being greedy rolling out 6 collections a year, and charging high prices, for something that wasn’t even properly designed by her. Luxury brands have been distancing themselves from celebrity collaborations (I hope we won’t need to see any more Kanye + Louis Vuitton crap), and I think the consumer is getting sick of it. Now that designers like Alber Elbaz and Phoebe Philo are practically household names, why do we need a celebrity to give kudos to a fashion brand, when a top designer can do the same thing?

Anyway, back to H&M. What are your thoughts? I’d love it to be Lanvin, but only if I manage to get my hands on it without having to wait in line. I was a bit scared that it might be Tomas Maier from Bottega Veneta, simply because I want the brand to remain secret (well, it is obviously not a secret, but it clearly doesn’t have much exposure) because I haven’t managed to buy anything from them yet. Until I can own some Bottega Veneta, I don’t want it going mainstream. It is sort of like the way you feel about bands when you are a teenager, you never want anyone else to know about your favourite bands, because then they are uncool. On the other hand, it is not likely I’ll become a Bottega Veneta customer anytime soon, because their clothing is VERY expensive, and is not available anywhere in Canada. Regardless of who the H&M designer is, there is no doubt it is going to be exciting!

P.S. One of the things that was brought up last night while we were gushing about the greatness of Bottega Veneta, was the fact that their collections are not at all branded. Imran explained that as a result of this, the brand was something you buy “for you.” And what a lovely way to think about a luxury brand. It is not about flashing labels and monograms, buying luxury should be always for yourself, not the people who are going to recognize the logo.

**** UPDATE ****

It has been confirmed, the collaboration with Lanvin will come out in stores on November 23rd. Here is a quote from Alber Elbaz.

“H&M approached us to collaborate, and see if we could translate the dream we created at Lanvin to a wider audience, not just a dress for less. I have said in the past that I would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public. This has been an exceptional exercise, where two companies at opposite poles can work together because we share the same philosophy of bringing joy and beauty to men and women around the world.”

Illustration by Chris Bettig

I met Mandana when I was working for Lambesis, a brand development agency. I was one of their global trend scouts, and she was our editor. She recently started a short fiction blog called Teeny Tiny Fiction, which is very fun and cute. I guest posted a short story there, about some dresses, have a look.

Here’s the deal with the Fashion Chat interviews: They are done on Skype or Gmail using the chat function. I do edit them down a bit, but try and keep the general flow of the conversation. Actually, I haven’t done a very good job of editing this interview, but there were so many interesting things said. And I definitely sort out the spelling mistakes, since I am guilty of very bad writing when I’m chatting and typing very quickly. Hope you enjoy!

Alexandra Suhner Isenberg: OK, so you are a writer, editor, art director, trend forecaster, creative, and culture consultant. You’ve worked for Oyster magazine, Dazed & Confused, The Face, Dutch and for a ton of amazing trend forecasting agencies and consultancies.

You’ve also got Teeny Tiny Fiction, tell us about your blog.

Mandana Towhidy: Umm. Ok. when I was In Portland, I ended up doing some gigs for Wieden + Kennedy. And for one of these stints, they put me in a room with a dude from Amsterdam, which ended up being Rafael Rozendaal. He’s an Internet artist. We couldn’t be more different. I’m a writer who loves books and art and pens and he hates everything outside his computer screen. And for the entire time I was there, plus the year or so after, he always said, “Why aren’t you doing something online? DO SOMETHING ONLINE.”

After I left Portland and moved back to California, and had finished the work on my novel, I was about to start a short story collection. And again he said, “THAT WOULD BE PERFECT FOR ONLINE!” He was relentless. But I love him for it. And so it was. And I’m very shy about my creative stuff. But the response has been really great. And they aren’t serious. Just more like literary “doodles”.

ASI: I love the term literary doodles, it totally sums up Teeny Tiny Fiction.

MT: Yeah. Just like a sketchbook. And it’s really nano fiction, which is a newish term referring to tiny fiction…tinier than flash fiction and mostly used online.

Illustration by Chris Bettig

ASI: There have been so many changes in the way we consume media in the past ten years. Lets talk a bit about magazines, what is the future of print magazines? I know it’s a question that gets asked all the time, but I’d like to know your thoughts. Maybe one or two examples of who is here to stay.

MT: Well… When I was a tiny little thing, like maybe 6 or 7 or something, I saw a picture in one of my mom’s magazines, or maybe WWD, of a fashion show and all the people sitting in the front. And I asked my mom who those people were. And she said, “Those are buyers and editors.” I knew I wanted to be there. I tried being a buyer, because we have retail buyers in the family. But I hated retail. And I also knew from a very early age that I loved to write and I loved to draw.

And so, I decided, hmmm. I need to write. And then some time later on, when I was at the end of my retail visual gig, my then boyfriend was watching fashion TV with me and there was a lady speaking and under her name it said FASHION JOURNALIST. And my boyfriend then said, that’s what you should be doing. And everything shifted.

Illustration by Kelly Tunstall

But those dreams aren’t really there anymore. Before I went into hiatus to work on the last novel, about 3 years ago, there were so many magazine jobs…so so so so so many. And I was getting gigs without even trying. People would forward me emails from editors looking for people. But now, it’s zip. They really f-ed themselves in the ass, though. Most of these greedy publishers. Because anyone with any sense of style would NEVER throw in the towel of art for…a celeb cover. And coverage. I mean, can you imagine what Diana Vreeland would think?

I read online that paper will easily be a thing of the past. Which I think is good…the flip side is that because I can’t really work at the same Vogue I saw as a child, and I can start an online thing and have it as stylish as I want. I don’t need Vogue anymore. Anyone can be the new Anna Wintour. Ya know?

The web is the Wild West right now.

I think a lot of brands are missing out on a great opportunity to create a following with a branded publication, like Benetton and Colors or Acne jeans and their nice pub or even H&M’s publication. It doesn’t have to be super thick and glossy. It can be smaller and newsprint. But if the content is amazing, the customers will get hooked! And it can be really fun, because you’re creating your own culture for your very own brand. I mean, does Uniqlo have a publication? If they did, I would love to see that. (ASI: actually they do, but I’ve only ever seen a copy for a few seconds.)

ASI: Wow, leads to my next question, about Vogue. We both aren’t huge fans of US Vogue, do you think the next few generations will respect a publication like that?

MT: I don’t think the next generation gives a fuck about Vogue.

I think the next generation thinks, “I want to do this….I can do this…I’m doing it.” They aren’t waiting for anyone or anything or any influence. They see what they like, like Teen Vogue (which I do love) and they say, “I am going to start my own Teen Vogue.”

Illustration by Chris Matty

ASI: So, you are in LA. Do you like it? (Mandana just moved to LA from Portland. Before that she was in New York City, and before that in San Francisco.)

MT: Um…yes and no.

I grew up here. It was a great experience. I like smaller big cities. I like neighborhoods. But I am back and I had to ask myself why I was back here AGAIN, and I think I’m supposed to be here.

ASI: LA was tipped to be a new fashion capital a few years ago, when Rachel Zoe was making headlines. It never really happened. Why do you think?

MT: Well, there’s a huge problem here in that the cooler people hide out.

ASI: I forgot to add “ugh” after Rachel Zoe

MT: Ahahahahah…to the ugh! The douches are out there. But I think there are some of us that can change that. It’s really spread out and, frankly, there is lots of cookie cutter terrible style.

The right people that/who can create a good scene here might pop up. One good thing happening is that Jeffrey Deitch is coming here. That will bring them out in thralls, when he starts at the MOCA.

Fashion week was always weird here. The PR kids here never ever knew the mags I wrote for. I’d say I was from Dazed & Confused and they’d look at me bewildered. Once I asked, “Do you know what Dazed is?” and she answered, “Um, I think I’ve seen it before…” I mean, that’s what the big PR people are like here. It’s not like that in New York or London or Paris or Tokyo…or even sleepy San Francisco.

ASI: Geez

MT: That’s why fashion sucks in LA. But New York is almost over. Sorry, but it is. No one can pay $7500 a month for an apartment. So, we’ll see.

Illustration by Azad Sadjadi

ASI: I remember one day during one of our trend brainstorming conference calls, we discussed the idea of urbanites moving back to smaller cities. At that time I was in London, and planning to move to Stockholm or Vancouver. You were going from NYC to Portland. Do you think this is still a trend? I mean, it seems so, after your comment about NYC.

MT: I think it’s forever happening and going to happen. For good art you need cheap rent. Not my quote. But true. And good art usually brings in creative style, cool kids, which brings in more cool kids/good style. And so on. And then it starts over again somewhere else. So, yes. I think it’s always happening. LA is huge, so it can happen here repeatedly.

ASI: We all know that social media is THE thing right now, and it’s all anyone is ever talking about. I am quite enjoying watching some of the old fashioned brands jump on the bandwagon and then fall straight off. But how about a backlash, is there any chance of people regressing a bit? I mean, a backlash like people get bored of Twitter and everything. Or they use it, but value “old fashioned” ways more.

MT: I think it’s happening. There are a lot of reports recently about how the CEO of Facebook doesn’t believe in privacy or is changing the privacy things. I think it’s all really weird. I mean, I don’t think a lot of people realize these are companies gathering information from all the users and selling it as research to huge companies. I think it’s really a weird thing. I mean, not everyone, but some people spend more time on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc, than they do on their art. And then they wonder why they aren’t getting ahead.

ASI: It is stressful being on Twitter cause in theory you should be always “on.”

MT: There are a lot of people, mostly artists, I know who never have and probably never will get on any of those sites. And they are some of the most famous and successful. They are too busy CREATING films and art and scripts and stories. They might have a blog, but it’s not updated very much.

ASI: You are so right, I need to think about doing that more.

MT: I think Twitter is really too much. I can’t really handle the narcissism. It really freaks me out. Even Facebook. I have most of the people on there hidden so I don’t have to hear about them making a cake or feeling shitty every five minutes. I mean, GO DO SOMETHING.

Lula magazine.

ASI: Is there any magazines, blogs, websites, artists, anything you’d like to recommend to the Searching for Style readers? One or two people/things you love?

MT: Of course we love Italian Vogue and such. I like Lula. Check out Rafael’s site. newrafael.com since he’s the person who pushed me to get online.

Here are some other things I like right now:

• Bang Gang from Iceland, especially the last record.
• Petra Cortright’s sparkle 1 and 2 (see video below)
• Amy Davis and Jon Moritsugu’s new record “High on Low“
• Cecil Beaton
• Liselotte Watkins
• Artist Brian Ermanski

ASI: I heard the term “email bankruptcy” today, which means you are so behind on all your emails, you just erase them all and hope the important ones will resend.

MT: Omg that is ridiculous. That just sounds like laziness. Who gets like that? I used to write for 7 magazines at a time, go out 6 nights a week, sleep in all day, and I still managed to write everyone back. One thing I really don’t like about the new kids on the block is the lack of etiquette or manners. Like, people not replying for eons. Just cuz. They are used to it.

ASI: I feel that way after I go on holiday and find a full inbox. That’s why I check emails while I am away, so I don’t get stressed thinking about a full inbox when I get home. But yes, no excuse for that in your every day life.

MT: Or ignoring a text. that’s just rude.

ASI: Oh god, don’t come to Canada. I have people responding to emails 3 WEEKS LATER. No sense of urgency at all, or etiquette. It is totally rude, Canadians are not very good with that sort of etiquette at all.

But that’s a subject for another day…

MT: I mean, sometimes, it’s fine. But there is a whole new generation who don’t think anything is wrong with that. and they are too busy on Facebook and Twitter to reply. The other thing about social media I hate is that people add me on Facebook, but never email me or call me anymore. I mean, that’s just not my style.

Check out Mandana’s blog Teeny Tiny Fiction. Unless otherwise specified, all images from Teeny Tiny Fiction.

Read other Fashion Chat posts:

Fashion Chat: Bon Bon Bodywear

So many people dress well in London. Not classic like the Parisiennes, or polished like the New Yorkers, but here people are trendy. The 13 year old girl, and the 55 year old woman are all dressed in the latest fashions (although sometimes the women dress a bit too young…)

Ever since I arrived in London I’ve been trying to figure out why everyone here is wearing the latest fashions, while most of Vancouver can barely manage one great trendy item, let alone a complete look. It took me a while to figure out why, but then it dawned on, it is obviously becasue they can access the latest fashion at a very low price. The British High Street is the best fast fashion shopping in the world, because it has all of the best international brands and a ton of incredible British brands. Topshop, Miss Selfridge, New Look, Primark, River Island, Oasis, and Marks and Spencer are some of the British brands that sit next to the likes of Zara (Spain), H&M (Sweden), Uniqlo (Japan), Bikbok (Norway), Mango (Spain) and more. Every store is packed with the latest styles at amazing price points, although that’s not necessarily a good thing. I can understand why there is so much criticism here about people buying too many clothes, since there are so many clothes readily available, and extrememly cheap.

I came here intending on hitting all the deparments stores, but then I realised I am more excited about the high street clothing, which is cheaper, and a lot more fun. Plus I can afford more of it. I am trying to to buy things I will wear for a while, not super trendy pieces (well, not all super trendy pieces), although a lot of the very trendy stuff probably won’t be in fashion in Vancouver for at least another season or two, so I’ll get a longer life from most of it.

Imgaes from their brand’s websites. New Look black and white striped tunic, £18. New Look black and white bralet, £20. New Look Gold by Giles Deacon striped cap sleeve top, £35. Oasis nautical sweater, £45. Richard Nicoll for Topshop knotted t-shirt, £32. River Island shoe, £59.99. River Island bag, £29.99. Topshop peach cropped tank, £10. Topshop black puffy skirt, £60.

I was talking to someone in the fashion industry last week, about the fact that American Apparel is very good at producing clothing that seems to be exactly what the customer is looking for, at that moment. A great concept for any brand is to be able to predict and anticipate what the customer needs exactly when they need it. Every time I “feel” like I want or need something, American Apparel seems to have it.

But American Apparel can’t fill all, or even many of your clothing needs, since its mostly jersey. That is why I love COS (Collection Of Style), H&M sister, “upmarket” brand. Every time I walk into COS I see tons of clothing I want, all which seems to capture exactly what I am looking for, at that precise moment. But I also hate COS, for only having a handful of stores, no online shop, and no plans to expand into Canada. Damn them!

I went into on Saturday  and bought a few things, but will definitely go back before the end of my trip, when it is less busy, so I can go through the entire store again, and buy as much as my budget will allow. COS makes perfectly simple, classic clothing where every garment has a great detail or design feature. The fabrics are very high quality, and it is great value for money, with the prices ranging from £40 to £120.

Here's a petticoat style skirt I bought.

Here's the perfect oversized grey sweatshirt.

Even the hangtags are beautifully simple.

Even the safety pin is cool.

Here’s some photos of their beautiful magazine.

Before I start this post, I just want to say that I am devastated about the death of Lee Alexander McQueen. I have decided to wait a few days to write a post about it, as I’d like to hear a bit more about the circumstances and the reactions, before I write.  I’ll post something in the next week or so. R.I.P. Lee Alexander McQueen.

It is hard now to go on and talk about fun fashion things, but I feel I am long overdue for a post about the Sonia Rykiel collections for H&M. I never wrote anything about the lingerie (I had a draft written for ages, and then it was too late,) so I definitely need to comment on that, and the knitwear coming out next week.

This body suit is pretty cool.

Not exactly a t-shirt bra, but very cute.

One of my students asked me if I was going to buy anything from the upcoming collection, and, unless I get the opportunity to do so with the least amount of effort, the answer is no. It is not because I don’t like the collection, on the contrary, it looks great but I have a lot of the real thing, so I don’t intend on buying the cheaper version.

But it looks pretty cool!

I had a look in my closet to see if I could show you all some of my fantastic Sonia Rykiel collection, and I realised that my collection consists of bags, shoes, and jewelry, I barely have any clothing at all. My Sonia Rykiel shoe collection is PHENOMENAL, with a lot of pieces that were never commercialised or that were produced in very limited quantities. My bags are mighty cool too. And the costume jewelry is fantastic. There is way too much of it to photograph tonight, so here are a few good bits.

Rhinestones, or "strass" as its called in French, are one of the key elements in all of Sonia Rykiel's collections.

My time at Sonia Rykiel was amazing, and I know I was fortunate to have worked with one of the fashion greats. She is a pretty amazing woman, and she was very invovled in all of the collections, which was rare because she was in her early seventies at the time. I can’t possibly describe the entire experience in one, or several, blog posts, but here are a few short stories that might make you smile.

My beautiful ribbon sandals.

One day Sonia took the design team to lunch at the Cafe Flore, which was across the street from the flagship store and the offices. She is known for being a bit of a swinger, and let’s just say, her love life certainly hadn’t caught up to her age. We were sitting upstairs, and a man came over to the table, which was filled with young fashion designers, good looking gays and girls, eating lunch, and right away he started chatting up Sonia. She didn’t even seem surprised. I was pretty impressed, and hope that I will still be receiving fancy pick up lines when I am 70.

These don't look like much, but the trim is real fur. And I love real fur.

If you work for Sonia Rykiel, and your name is Sonia or Nathalie, you need to adopt a new name while you are working in the company. They don’t want anyone to have the same name as the founder or her daughter. The even weirder thing was that our studio director was named Antoinette, but Sonia hated that name, so she was referred to as Louise while she worked there. Louise wasn’t her middle name or anything, it was a name assigned to her, because Sonia “liked” it.

Sonia Rykiel was not the most generous of brands when it came to giving freebies, particularly to the models. We always told the dressers to make sure that the models didn’t steal the clothing. At one show, I was helping someone dress Alek Wek, and she said she loved the shoes (I think those were the ribbon sandals shown above.) One of the senior designers said to me, “Give her the shoes! Give her the shoes!” We gave her the shoes, and what happened? A few weeks later she is photographed wearing them out, and of course they become one of the “shoes of the season.”

Yes, these ankle boots are amazing...

but even more amazing when you fold down the top and expose the pink lining. Notice the "strass" all down the side.

My favourite one-on-one Sonia Rykiel moment was when she called me in to help her tidy up the studio. I had just started there, so I felt pretty intimidated by her. Our fur supplier had dropped off some colour samples and they needed to be tidied. Now, this didn’t mean they dropped off a few bits of dyed fur, this meant we had about thirty top grade fox skins, dyed in the most beautiful colours (which, once lined with satin, sold as scarves for about $2,000 each.) She was shoving them into garage bags, and asked me to help her with it. She said they were in the way. Here I was, 20 years old, a little Vancouver girl, shoving $40,000 dollars worth of fox skins into a garbage bag with one of the most famous French fashion designers. Welcome to Paris.

My "Glam Star" strass pins.

All Sonia Rykiel for H&M images courtesy of H&M.

The collaboration we are all dreading: Jimmy Choo and Ugg.

There has been so many new product launch announcements in the past few weeks.

• Armani is doing a collaboration with Reebok
• and… Armani is making chocolate
• Diane Von Furstenberg is launching home decor
• Acne has launched furniture
• Paris Hilton is launching swimwear and lingerie
• Bebe is collaborating with Kim Kardashian (barf)
• Versace is launching a cell phone
• Tory Burch and Alexis Bittar are giving Barbie a makeover
• Gucci is launching couture
• Steve Madden is collaborating with Diana Ross

Great to hear these brands are doing so well that their allocating ressources to brand extensions, but isn’t it a bit strange that no one seems content to stick to what they do? Are these new products really going to expand profits or increase profiles, or are they just activities to get short bursts of media attention? I’m all for brands expanding into relevant product areas and interesting collaborations like Louis Vuitton’s artist series and H&M designer collections, but some of these brands are overdoing it, don’t you think?

Image source.

Jason Matlo had a party last night in his studio for his friend Brad. My husband was the only straight guy amongst five women and at least forty gay guys, and he lasted over three hours. What a star!

Lyndi Jane from Style Republic Magazine, Jason, and TJ.

Rebecca and Brad, who both work for Holt Renfrew.

I am so jealous of Brad’s glasses, the shape is fantastic. But he says they came from a dollar store, which means its not worth getting a pair. I don’t like to spend money putting lenses in frames that might not last.

Danielle, Wen-chee, James, and me (wearing H&M top and skirt, COS waistcoat, Ash shoes, and Hermes jewelry)

Christina and Leila, whose red vintage Balenciaga dress looks amazing.

I can’t remember who this girl was, and I am sorry its not the most flattering of photos, but she deserved a mention. She turned up wearing a full space suit with proper space helmet, and then took that off to reveal this combo. I am loving the American Apparel two tone tights with Sonia Rykiel for H&M lingerie bodysuit.

One thing Vancouver girls do really well is nails. Everyone seems to have cool manicures here.

Jason said the bakery could not understand why he wanted a white cake with white icing. I love it. Tone on tone cake decoration is the way forward.

I was absolutely shocked to read this article in the New York Times about the fact that H&M throws away tons of old stock that hasn’t sold. Not only do they throw them away, but they also cut them up, so they are sure that the clothing cannot be worn. Apparently Walmart does the same thing. The article goes into full detail about this, and apparently they contacted H&M eleven times for comment, but no one has responded.

I guess its not unusual that companies get rid of their stock this way, but its upsetting. We all know that there are tons of people who would be desperate for this clothing. I was pretty shocked that H&M were doing this, more so than Walmart. Although H&M is a very big company, they are Swedish and as a brand, they tend to have a generally good reputation. It was very unwise of H&M not to comment on the situation, as requested by the New York Times. In a situation like that I feel it is much better to fess up and announce that you are changing your strategy, rather than avoid saying anythingt, which generally means you are guilty of something.

H&M: Not as cool as we thought.

This brings me to a subject that has been on many people’s minds in recent years: the subject of ethics and sustainability. I would not consider myself to be as ethically-conscious as I should be, aside from food and beauty products, but that is for more selfish reasons. However, I have changed my ways significantly in recent years, and I imagine many people have too. I have always been very against wasting food, but now I am even more careful about wasting anything, and I try and buy fairtrade and organic where possible. The problem of course is transparency, how do you know which brands are genuinely good, labelling is often complicated, sometimes you don’t know what is good and what isn’t.

I am certainly not a model citizen when it comes to buying ethical, eco-friendly, or sustainable goods, but I do support and applaud a few brands that I know are doing some good things. Here is a short list, I am very open to recommendations if you have any other great brands to suggest.

American Apparel: A lot of people don’t like American Apparel, and I can’t understand why. Yes, I know their founder is a bit of a pervert, and his advertising is often pretty controversial, but let’s look at the facts. They do fantastic basics that can be transformed into whatever look or style that suits you, they have a huge selection, and everything is made in the US. They are one of the only companies that actually gives their factory workers healthcare and paid holidays. What’s not to like?

Dr Haushka: Aside from my hair products (see below) I am pretty much loyal to Dr Hauschka. Their holistic products are amazing, its not over priced, and I love the company.

I swear by this stuff.

Barefoot Botanicals: This British company makes the best shampoo and conditioner for problem scalp, as part of their aptly named SOS range.

Marks and Spencer: Marks and Spencer is setting the standard for high street retailers by earmarking 200 million pounds to their Plan A program (Maybe H&M and should read through it…) “We launched Plan A in January 2007, setting out 100 commitments to achieve in 5 years. Through Plan A we are working with our customers and our suppliers to combat climate change, reduce waste, use sustainable raw materials, trade ethically, and help our customers to lead healthier lifestyles.” It’s very long and detailed, but basically they are opening sustainable factories in the Far East, charging for plastic bags, not putting any crap into their food, and generally doing a lot of good things. Plus they do amazing hosiery, great basic lingerie, and I have a crush on the chief executive, Stuart Rose. He is SO charming.

Noir: Not your typical eco fashion brand.

Noir: I have yet to buy anything from the Danish brand Noir, since it is pretty hard to get ahold of, but I like them because they have been doing “ethical” fashion long before it was cool, and they make “ethical” fashion look cool. From their website: “The mission is to provide fashionable apparel that is created based upon Corporate Social Responsibility principles in all links of the supply chain that are meant to, at a minimum, do no harm, and, at a maximum, do good in the communities, cultures, societies and environments in which the companies operate.” Sounds good to me.

Osklen: Osklen is this amazing Brazillian brand that for some reason is barely known outside of Brazil (I am DYING to go to Brazil!) “The brand represents the lifestyle of contemporary women and men in a world where urban and nature, global and local, organic and technological live together. It is precisely this perception of the integrated nature, culture and society, with refined aesthetics, that makes Osklen to be considered one the the ten most influential and inspiring brands in the world by WGSN.”

—-UPDATE—-
Thursday January 6th at 2pm

H&M has finally responded to the New York Times article, and is now saying it will no longer destroy unworn garments. It is explained in this follow-up article, which basically says that H&M claims it was their policy to donate the unwanted clothing, and that they didn’t know why they were being thrown out. I’m still pretty upset that this happened in the first place…and I don’t believe it wasn’t orders from head office. They say they will now donate the old clothing. I really hope they enforce this, and other retailers follow suit.

My friend Michaela pointed out to me recently that everyone has just sort of been ignoring the fact that we are about to enter a new decade. Well, I wouldn’t say it has been ignored, but I agree we aren’t really making a very big deal of it. Maybe we had millenium overload ten years ago, but no one can deny that a lot has happened since 2000.

I have been working on this post for a while, looking through other websites’ and newspapers’ “summaries of the decade” and trying to think what I felt was really important from the last ten years. I have combined it all under a few categories, and I am probably forgetting loads of important things, but here I go. Also, I don’t agree with Time Magazine, who has called the 00s “The Decade from Hell”, I prefer just using the term The Noughties. Nought means zero in British English. Maybe we can call it The Decade Nought to be Forgotten? Ok, that sounds cheesy. Lets just call it The Noughties.

It is a very long post, so I have broken it down into 3 parts. Here is Part 1. Enjoy!

The Politics of the Stars and Stripes really took over the world stage in the past ten years. First, the Americans had the disastrous Bush era, whose ignorance, terrible international relations, and poor leadership led to the US being the most hated country in the world. That pissed some people off so much that they flew planes into the World Trade Centre towers, which led to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and very long line ups to get through security in airports. Things started to look up at the end of the decade, when Barack Obama was elected the first African American president of the United States. He hasn’t been around long enough for us to feel the effect of his good deeds, but it definitely brought hope to the world, and has calmed down their enemies… a little. And his wife is the best dressed first lady ever…she deserves mega kudos for showing off her arms, supporting young American designers, and wearing affordable clothing.

Yay!

These images from are from The Cut’s Michelle Obama Lookbook, they have been documenting all of her outfits. Definitely worth a look.

A Shift of Power took place in the fashion industry, as we saw established designers disappear, famous retirements, celebrities taking over the industry, and revived brands making headlines.

Valentino retires, and so we say goodbye to the man known for red dresses, animal prints, and perma tan.

Emanuel Ungaro also retired in 2004, which resulted in turmoil in the house for several years, leading up the current disastrous state which sees Lindsay Lohan as Artistic Director. The above images are from her first collection for the house, which was bought by only two stores.

Things are not looking good for Christian Lacroix, who has had to suspend his Haute Couture and Pret-a-porter because of financial difficulties.

The Ferre brand is also unstable, since the death of the founder, Gianfranco Ferre, in 2007. Image source.

And some very old brands have been reinvented…

Alber Elbaz is now the Creative Director behind Lanvin.

Nicolas Ghesquière is the Creative Director for Balenciaga.

and Christophe Decarnin is the Creative Director for Balmain.

Luxury Made Accessible by the high street retailers collaborating with big names. Owning a piece by Karl was no longer unattainable, as long as you were willing to wait in a line up.

H&M were the pioneers of the designer high street collaboration.

H&M designer collaborations. Clockwise from top left: Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf, Matthew Williamson, Sonia Rykiel, Comme des Garcons, Jimmy Choo, and Roberto Cavalli.

Christopher Kane for Topshop, the famous crocodile print.

Target launched collections with McQ Alexander McQueen, Anna Sui and Rodarte (shown above.)

New Media changed the way we consumed news and information. Time Magazine summed it up in 2006 when they named “You” as person of the year. Web 2.0 changed the way we consumed the web, making users the new contributors. Google, Wikipedia, Facebook, and Myspace changed the way we searched, researched, communicated and socialized.

The computer screen was a mirror...

This image of bloggers Bryanboy and Tommy Ton (from Jak & Jil Blog) sitting front row at the Dolce and Gabanna Spring Summer 2010 show with Anna Wintour, Hamish Bowles, Suzy Menkes and other big player fashion journalists showed that blogging was being taken seriously in the fashion industry.

Scoot Schulman’s street style blog, The Sartorialist, is known for his well-chosen photographs of men and women of all ages on the streets of the world’s fashion capitals.

Websites like Vogue’s Style.com has allowed us to view fashion catwalk images hours after the runway show itself, changing the way we consume fashion. Years ago, fashionistas would wait until the magazines published the new season’s collections, usually months after the show itself. Now we see the shows immediately after they happen, and hear about them on Twitter as they are happening.

Catch Part 2 of 3 “Remembering the Noughties” posts tomorrow!

All images from the brand’s or person’s website, except all catwalk images from style.com, unless otherwise noted.

I love this installation in the Stockholm Head Offices of H&M by UXUS, a group of designers from Amsterdam. It is for H&M Home, which looks very promising; it looks a lot more exciting than Zara Home, and feels a lot more “designed”. I have no idea when the home collection will arrive in Canada, if ever, but right now it is available in Sweden. Sweden is a mecca for modern interior design, even the most basic of homes look like an Ikea catalogue, in a really good way. The Swedes are just born with great design sense, something I will probably talk about over and over again in this blog.

From UXUS:

“UXUS followed up the Home Reflections presentation with “Interaction”, an installation celebrating H&M Home’s transition from an online and catalogue retailer, to a physical showroom where one can indulge all the senses, especially touch.”

Imagine walking into work every day and seeing this before you head to your desk!

I read about this first on Dezeen, one of the best design blogs.

Images courtesy of H&M.

(By the way, anyone toying with the idea of getting a job at H&M, I heard they are a fantastic company to work for, but they do all sorts of creepy profiling interviews. They also expect all designers to start at the bottom, whether you have 6 months experience or ten years. Probably the reason why I am not living in Stockholm right now.)