Westergaard Designs

This furniture line by british designer Polly Westergaard offers some of the best looking stuff I´ve seen in years, beautiful, well made and of course functional.

For more, go to their site.

The Affluent Society

"So great has been the change that many of the desires  of the individual are no longer even evident to him. They become so only as they are synthesized, elaborated and nurtured by advertising and salesmanship, and these, in turn, have become among our most important and talented professions."

From "The Affluent Society" by economist John Kenneth Galbraith.

Blofield

Air filled furniture that looks as comfortable as it does cool and practical. Check it out at their site.

Alissia Melka - Teichroew

Amazing jewelry, glasses, house appliances and more by designer Alissia Melka - Teichroew, definitely check out her site.

Do we need high fashion?

Wee need clothes to cover our body and face the weather but do we need clothes that have a price tag of hundreds or thousands of dollars? Maybe we don´t, but for some people like myself, High Fashion is a way of living a dream by being part of the universe that our favorite labels embody: the people, places, events and fantasy tales related to them; reading about them, looking at their ad campaigns, visiting their corners or flagship stores and, with the act of buying, we become a part of the tangible expression of ideals we identify with, an identity we want to relate to.

We are part of a lifestyle we live, feel, or want.

So, maybe we don´t need High Fashion, but many of us need to dream, and High Fashion is a way of living some of our dreams.

KIBISI

This Copenhagen based industrial design firm is all around amazing, they´re all over the place with bikes for Puma, maybe the best looking couch and headphones I´ve ever seen and lots of great other stuff, totally reommended, check them out at their site.

Li Xiaofeng

This amazing Chinese artist makes some of the greatest looking clothes out of ceramics, they look just incredible, and, he recently collaborated with Lacoste on the creation of some polo shirts, really worth looking for them.

Retrosuperfuture

This is just one of the coolest eyewear line I´ve seen in a long time, check it out at their site.

Noé Duchaufour - Lawrance

Interior and product designer Noé Duchafour - Lawrance has some of the most elegant items one can encounter, check them out.

Tradition

The word can take us to places like family dinners, parades or comic book conventions, but for luxury brands like Hermès or Louis Vuitton, it´s the place they were born in, the materials and techniques they use; values, a way of life, their identity.

They are part of historic moments, places and people. They are not only brands but also legends and fairy tales that translate into highly desirable products.

But it is important to note the fact that these fashion houses understand that tradition also means reinventing the legend, keeping the quality of the materials and the techniques, but also being open to reinterpret their aesthetic symbols, as well as creating some new ones along the way.

Supra Footwear

Awesome stuff, I just found out about this brand and have to say I´m now a fan, plus they have a great website, online shop and blog, be sure to check them out. I just got the Gunny Black Tuf High Top Model and can´t wait to rock them out.

Simulacrum

"The simulacrum is never what hides the truth - it is truth that hides the fact that there is none. The simulacrum is true". 

-Ecclesiastes 

From the book "Simulacra and Simulation" by Jean Baudrillard.

Basic Values

Why should high Fashion be revered?

Many of us talk about the grand shows, stores, designers, models, campaigns, celebrities and of course, the prices that come with High Fashion labels but, recent events like Tom Ford´s intimate show and the artisanal tours made by the likes of Chanel and Tod´s are bringing to our attention the basic values that have become secondary due to the hurry for novelty from the market and fast fashion brands and, What values are these?

As I humbly see it, they are:

Materials because High Fashion houses should use only the finest in elaborating their products, from the yarn for the stitches to the hardware on a bag.

Craftmanship the techniques are essential, the way every garment and accesory is constructed should reflect the particular know how of the house, turning each piece into a prowess of architecture and engineering.

Exclusivity this comes from the aforementioned factors, as well as design, all houses have a distinctive aesthetic that sets them apart, and this should preavil in each collection.

All of this and more values are important but I think it should be noted that, at the end of the day, the way the market moves and the influence of so many things like the mood of the people or the latest song or movie can overshadow anything.

Swear

Swear is a footwear brand created in London by entrepeneur Jose Neves. In 2000 Jose and brand manager Jorge Sampaio wanted to create a crossover shoe for a crossover generation. Tired of going to gigs and seeing cool young people wearing a mix of converse and vintage boots with their skinny jeans, they set out to design a sneaker-classic shoe hybrid that would look cool with tight jeans and t-shirt, a bold and minimal look of the early 00's, taken to the streets by garage rock revival bands such as The Strokes, White Stripes or The Hives. 

So, be sure to check their stuff at Swear

Kickstarter

A new way to fund and follow creativity, Kickstarter, as they put it, believe that a good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide, and that a large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement.

To find out more, be sure to check them out.

Raw Edges

Creating beautiful and functional objects that can look somewhat "stacked" is the work of art of Yael Mer & Shay Alkalay, the minds behind Raw Edges.

Quality and Timelessness

These are the new values that occupy the mind of consumers.

A sentiment triggered by the current economic downturn and manifested in different ways. Consumers now look for clothes and accessories that are capable of transcending the logic of disposability that come with the change of seasons in fashion. Or, like in the case of emergent economies like China, where their up and coming upper middle class is looking for articles from the likes of Gucci and Hermès as a way of letting everyone know they like the best and have the money to pay for it.

Whatever the reason, there´s always someone willing to support the industry, even in this hard and uncertain weather.

Peonía

Mexican Fashion at its best. This concept store with a namesake brand offers a wonderful aesthetic that has little to do with folklore and everything with style. Sophisticated design and construction by designer Carlos Ortega, Peonía is sure worth to check.

Marcel Wanders

Marcel Wanders has collaborated with the likes of Droog Design, Bisazza,Poliform, Cappellini and Moooi, of wich he is also art director and co owner.

Elvine

Elvine is a Swedish clothing brand inspired by Gothenburg’s unrefined subcultures and the legacy of traditional craftmanship.

Fantastic clothing all around, altough my favorite items are jackets, still, visit Elvine and check it all out.

Knowledge Value

Concepts vary depending on the context, and because this is a space about fashion theory, or at least what I consider this to be, I´m going to adapt each concept to the theme, trying not to leave out of the equation the many ramifications that cut across the theme.

So for starters, I´m going to try and define what I consider a very important characteristic of the fashion industry and it´s products: Knowledge Value.

So, from some personal observations and the help of Taichi Sakaiya here it goes:

As the term indicates, Knowledge Value is the amount of knowledge involved in the creation of a product, beginning with the design and aesthetic, passing on to the selection of materials and the manufacturing techniques used to give it life.

Knowledge Value can be tangible or not, it can be measured or not, it can come from the tradition of a particular know how or from innovation, it can be the combination of these and many other factors.

Ultimately it is a testimony that each product presented to us, be it a shirt, a bag or a pair of shoes, are not only mere objects but the result of thought and passion being put to practice.