WOT? SWOT!

A SWOT analysis of your own personal design practice.


Australia is small (population-wise) and has a lack of fashion production industry. I think a successful fashion business will most likely have to make the most of the good aspects of globalisation to thrive. International recognition for Australian fashion is constantly growing, and emerging designers in the mid-to-high market sector seem to be thriving on international as well as local attention and sales.

STRENGTHS:

• Education in the fashion field
• Australian made (demand rising)
  
• Determination
• Consumer awareness
  
• Diverse market levels
  
• Close to good off-shore production (Asia)
  
• Smaller market = brand loyalty
• High standards
• Willing to take chances (strength? weakness?)

WEAKNESSES

• Lack of industry experience
• Too many graduating fashion designers
• Current economic climate
• Not an established label/designer
• No local traditions of craftsmanship
  

OPPORTUNITIES

• Global influences and networking
• Australia is in a comparatively good situation
• Market keen to support local
• Changing customer attitudes
• View challenges such as sustainability as a positive thing - personal growth as a designer.

THREATS

• Recession
• Unforeseeable future market trends
• High local production costs
• Costs of shipping due to global warming

New Fashion Centres - London Calling

"The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in
Engines stop running and the wheat is growing thin"

London Calling, The Clash

In class we covered traditional London fashion - the history of tailoring and hunting styles that Brit fashion is known for. But when I read about new, young fashion designers, the ones that make the biggest impact for me are always from London. I assume a lot of this is from the excellent fashion colleges there, most notably Central St Martins, but I also think that London is a very supportive environment for new fashion design. Many initiatives, scholarships, and events are held to encourage emerging talent, especially during London Fashion Week.

This support is not a new thing, with the British Fashion Council having built up the business since the 80s. Inititives such as New Gen and Fashion Forward have made an huge difference in how London fashion is viewed to outsiders, and with sponsors such as Topshop, the designers can get a chance to be both critically and commercially successful.

London Fashion Week is much smaller than New York, Paris or Milan, but it comes close, despite having some troubles keeping designers from showing at one of the major three. This problem only seems to have gotten worse with the economic collapse in which audiences tend to be skipping London to save money.

My recent favourites include:

Mary Katrantzou

The bestdesignerever Gareth Pugh


Simone Shailes

There are so many more, but these three show some of the variety that is coming out of London at the moment. Good show, old chap.

I did it my way

Here's an interesting interview on custom tailoring shirts via the internet: Shirts My Way.

Sustainability - Luxury vs Fast Fashion

Our discussion on sustainability today seemed to focus most on the idea of treasuring garments rather than replacing them. While the majority of the public seem to still be supporting fast fashion at the moment, there does appear to be a shift in consumer behaviour towards buying longer lasting, better quality clothing and accessories, which often happen to fall under the 'luxury' bracket.

To get an insight into the mindset of a luxury consumer, I decided to interview an older friend living in Melbourne who always buys quality over quantity.


Q) Where do you buy your clothing?

A) Hmm... all sorts of places. I'm very loyal to certain local middle market boutiques. I also tend to save up in order to buy a perfect item from the luxury stores on Collins street. I occasionally get items from high street stores but usually they are for a certain purpose, such as a party or to dress up something else I own. I am an ebay addict and have won many irreplacable items in auctions. Online shopping is something I partake in if I cannot find an item I want in a shop, or can find it at a better price, but for the most part I like the tactile element of shopping. I also enjoy op shopping because you never know what you'll find.

Q) What is important to you when buying clothing?

A) Style and quality.

Q) How do you define 'quality' when shopping for garments for yourself?
A) It depends what it is. If it is something I hope to get a few years out of then quality is good finishes, good quality fabric and attention to detail. But if it's something that I know I will only wear a few times then it just needs to last that long, so fabric and finishes aren't such a huge deal. I will never buy synthetic fabrics or garments which look as though they will not wear well. If I buy an item, I want it to be an investment.

I also consider price-per-wear, I often consider $5 per wear to be a good starting point, and anything less than that is a bonus. One of my most expensive splurges, my miu miu handbag, has been used so often that I imagine it'd be down to about $2 per wear, and I'm not going to stop wearing it any time soon! This is why I buy 'luxury' or 'quality', not only do you end up with a better product, an item you love and cherish, and something that makes you happy every time you use it, but a good purchase ends up being cheaper in the long run.

Q) What do you think of 'fast fashion'?
A) What do I think of fast fashion... I think it is a dying trend.
Q) Why?
A) Because it was reflective of the economy during the '90s - up until recently, but now there is a shift in consumer behaviour and people are looking for longer lasting, quality fashion. Well some people, and if they aren't yet, they will be soon.

Q) What is 'luxury' fashion to you?

A) Luxury fashion is... Luxury fashion is carefully considered, high quality fashion. I seek luxury fashion because I know it will last a lifetime. It is also a reflection of lifestyle and often brand loyalty.

Q) Is branding important to you?
A) Yes. Not in the garish, in your face way some labels have played up recently though.
Again, branding comes down to brand loyalty. One is loyal to a brand when the quality and craftsmanship of the pieces lives up to a personal standard, and in my case, that is quite a high standard. When a woman carries a Chanel 2.55 bag she carries it with confidence and with the knowledge that its design has stood the test of time, she will not look dated, she will look classic and chic, she knows that because the brands reputation has told her so.
Buying into a brand is like buying into property. It is carefully considered.

Q) Is sustainability important to you?
A) It has recently become important to me, but I don't go out of my way looking for it.

Q) Would you go out of your way/ pay more for a sustainable label?
A) I'm not going to change my ways for sustainable fashion. It needs to be well designed and in tune with fashion. And it needs to be easily accessible.

A better blogger did a better job...

In reference to my earlier post woMENSWEAR, I now direct you to noted fashion blogger Susie Bubble's exploration of her male friends closet. Seems to be a lot easier for a woman to get dressed out of a mans wardrobe than vice versa. If you're interested, click here.

Menswear - Ask the audience

I love exciting menswear, I see it as an opportunity for design creativity as so little has been done in comparison to womens fashion. The main issue seems to be having a consumer group experimental enough to wear eyecatching designs as it is widely believed that men don't enjoy fashion as much as women, and are less likely to go out of their way to find/wear new design. This is even more widespread in Canberra, so I thought interviewing a fashion-forward male local for his views on this issue would be informative and interesting. He is the type of consumer I would target in my own menswear design practice. Introducing D:

How would you describe your style?
Borderline Personality / Disorder.
With the occasional nod to the mainstream.
[The sort of nod that says "Please don't hit me because it upsets & arouses you that I am awesome enough to wear gold go-go boots without shame"]

What do you think about the availability of mens fashion in Canberra?
Is men's fashion available in Canberra?
I know men's clothes are, but fashion?
Not so much.
I don't believe it's any particular fault of Canberras per se - we're just not big enough yet to support the sub/countercultures that usually push the fashion envelope to interesting places.
(Interesting places does NOT include any bar with complimentary nuts.)

Where do you normally shop?
50% OpShops.
30% Soho.
15% Felt.
(5% Supre. eek. Love their trakkydaks. Gayshame.)

Would you make things/have things made if you couldn't find it?
Constantly. If I want something specific, I make it myself.
Shopping is an adventure where if one manages to find something one likes = happy accident.
Expectations so often lead to disappoint, right?
Like, expecting not to be beaten on any particular evening because the gold go-go boots give everybody the impression I am a superhero of indeterminable strength. (and fabulosity.)

What direction do you think mens fashion is heading?
North by North West.
If North = homothrowback, and West = twentyfirstcenturybogan.
If we're talking local/australian ('mainstream') fashion - check out Oxford St, Sydney, or Commercial Road, Melbourne.
The young men lying facedown in a pool of their own broken noseblood - whatever they're wearing is what will be on the backs of their attackers in approx 2 years time.
This pleases me greatly - it used to be between 3 & 5 years.
But the hetero male appears to be catching up.
I can't wait until they start getting beaten themselves, because the gays are offended by their homoclothing.

Do you ever feel out of place because of your style?
I used to, quite a bit.
Then I found that great fashion goes hand in hand with great quantities of alcohol. If you get so blind that you can't see that you're out of place due to your threads; you become the hot tranny mess that everybody wants to take home with them at the end of the night. (Only to steal your clothing, sadly)

Are there items you own that you don't wear in canberra but would be happy to where elsewhere?
Almost anything I make myself. ie, most everything in my *floordrobe.




I'd like to finish by saying : Cut.
Men's fashion isn't about to go anywhere more interesting until the average fashion punter (read:designer) can take a few more risks with Cut.

A polo shirt's a polo shirt. Even if it is a beautiful shade of teal.

A polo shirt becomes something more when it has an asymmetrical collar which buttons down to the armpit, or has one tie-up sleeve, or is double lined + mock-hemmed.
Change. The. Cut. Already.


Cut.




*Floordrobe = As the name implies.

Gender - woMENSWEAR

''So. okay, I don't want to be a traitor to my generation and all but I don't get how guys dress today. I mean, come on, it looks like they just fell out of bed and put on some baggy pants and take their greasy hair - ew - and cover it up with a backwards cap and like, we're expected to swoon? I don't think so.''

Clueless, 1995

The class discussion on the impact of traditionally male characteristics being such an influential factor in designing uniforms got me thinking about the context of male/female fashions. Apart from historical references, and current reactions, what makes us think generalisations such as floral = feminine, tailored = men?

The most obvious industry to look to for this post is the music business, where performers make a name for themselves by having a strong image and gaining attention for it, as well as for their music. Among others David Bowie, Boy George and Micheal Jackson utilized traditionally feminine styles and in doing so became iconic.



Of course these performers have clothing fit for the stage, and if this idea was to be interpreted for the street or the average joe, the glitz-factor would be toned down.

Blogger Bryanboy is an example of a 'real person' who isn't afraid to incorporate female elements into his wardrobe. However his tagline 'I'm so gay I sweat glitter' reinforces the main reason men don't want to be associated with feminine styles: they don't want to look gay, or ''too gay''.

Fair enough, the clothes you choose to put on your back are the ones that you will be judged by, and assumptions will be made in our society with the most common attitude to homosexuality being negative.

In my opinion, we all have both male and female qualities, why not be able to show both?

Subcultures - Follow me! I'm Revolting!

I've always found the concept of 'bottom-up' fashion fascinating. When looks come from the street and designers catch on to what is popular, rather than setting trends themselves, I believe the looks gain interest because they are, in some way, 'authentic'.

Classic and iconic fashions are made when they some up the spirit of the time in which they were created, and the looks that spring to mind, hippy, punk, mod, etc. all came from a subculture.

However, for the most part I don't believe they keep this authenticity. As soon as a subculture becomes popular/designed for it effectively 'sells out' to the masses, the reasons for which the subculture originally existed for are lost, and the ideas behind the look become over-simplified and homogenized.

You can see this process in an assignment I did for S&C 1 on the Mod subculture. The text may be too small to read, but even through the pictures you can see that once Mary Quant and other designers cottoned on to the mods, the style completely changed into the 'Swinging London' Carnaby street look, now known as the 'Mod Look'.

This homogenization needn't always be a bad thing, I happen to love 60s 'Swinging London' fashion, but I do think it's important to note where a subculture ends and becomes a trend.

If anyone would like a closer look at the attached assignment, just ask! :)

(***EDIT - I'm having trouble getting blogger to attach my images. I will try again later)

Luxury - Loss of Luxe

What is considered luxury?

• something that is an indulgence rather than a necessity
• lavishness: the quality possessed by something that is excessively expensive
• wealth as evidenced by sumptuous living
  

Luxury NOW:

'' The luxury industry has changed the way people dress. It has realigned our economic class system. It has changed the way we interact. It has become part of our social fabric. To achieve this, it has sacrificed its integrity, undermined its products, tarnished its history, and hoodwinked its consumers. In order to make luxury 'accessible', tycoons have stripped away all that has made it special. Luxury has lost its lustre.''

Thomas, D., Deluxe, Allen Lane, London, 2007