talk

Excursions to the African and Asian continents have been a persistent theme in 2009 spring shows: surely something to do with the urge to get as far away from the West’s problems as possible. Junya Watanabe and Ralph Lauren have both gone African throughout on their runway. Miuccia’s idea to “move away from all the fussy, couture-derived fashion that has become too heavy and overexploited,” must have really made us all remember that we’ll need truly visceral temptation to get us out shopping.

Regardless of intentions, this years spring shows seemed to be so much more authentic and riveting than previous seasons. With a few exceptions, such as the case of Gucci, designers really seemed to be taking a seeking inspiration in the cultural traditions that precede glamour, and western civilization.

In the case of Watanabe the beauty of it was the way he struck such an attractive balance between tribal references, and his own signatures. He used colorful “African” prints with motifs of apples, hearts, and leaves; he bunched, twisted, and draped them into tops, tunics, and dresses, steadily mixing them with faded denim, in the way that reflected how Western women would wear them; the ruffles of cotton prints bursting out of the hems of long skirts.

For Ralph Lauren, down came last season’s gold antlers and up went a Moroccan lamp. The show opened with a khaki camp shirt that looked like it had just come back from safari and beaded gold harem pants slung with two belts. Interspersed among the other silk-satin takes on that slouchy, relaxed.

In todays world of dramatically reconfigured priorities, Orientalist-modernist mix seemed to be the right answer. For many such as YSL and Dolce & Gabbana the choice was to play it both ways, combing Japanese-inflected austerity with uncompromising risk-taking shapes and hotly desirable accessories. The Oriental themes came out in the towering lacquered chignons, and soft, cocooning shapes inspired by kimono wrapping, and Japanese fishermen’s pants.

In these economically challenged times of conflict and insecurity, fashion leaders are using culture to bring us together reminding us once again, that it is indeed a small world.

At a time when pockets are tight, the general alarm regarding economic decline has given rise to a number of concerns for new-age marketers. A slight edge, a propitious insight, can now make the difference between bankruptcy and billions. This has marketers across the nation scrambling to develop new strategies in a evolving media-scape that they don’t quite understand how to best use, in an effort to gain even an inch.

What marks this economic downturn as unusual are its unique recipients. The Millennials. This generation of brethren, brothas, bros, is the crème of the crop, the best ones yet. Larger (in number) than the Baby Boomers, more well-connected than Oprah, and smarter than you imagined young people could ever be, the Millennials are almost too cool to be true. Born from the early 80’s  to the late 90’s they grew up between the 1990s and 2000s.

This generation of technology-bred, media-soaked, and information-thirsty youth is a class apart, saving wildlife, going ultra-green, and rescuing underprivileged orphans in their spare time. They have not known an era without computers, cell phones or CD’s. They are “the empowered generation” that take information for granted, and make more demands upon what companies can and should offer. Unlike their Gen X predecessors who invented the term “reality bites” Millennials are idealistic and truly believe they can make a difference.

Known as the overachieving, go-getter types, and booked ‘til dinner with extracurricular every day of the week, Millennials have a lot on their plates, at all times. In fact, with today’s MacBooks, Blackberries and the like, Millennials manage to do it all: graduate in greater numbers than ever, score higher on the SATs, volunteer in third-world countries, march against pollution, and somehow still have time to keep in touch with friends in Beijing, Barcelona, and London. It often seems that the more they cram onto their plates, the hungrier they become. They are the “insatiable generation.” This is the live-strong generation, the generation that propelled Barack Obama’s candidacy into a movement.

Socially Millennials are changing the way people keep track of each other, as many feel the more friends they have, the better. The average number of friends for a young American in the 1980s used to range between 5 and 50, whereas the average Millennial today has peers they actively keep in touch with numbering up and beyond the 300 range. More peer-oriented than ever, they constantly chat with friends around the world, having long ago disregarded distance as an obstacle. AIM, MSN, Facebook, MySpace and hundreds of other chat media make it possible to gain perspective into the lives of those sitting thousands of miles away in the blink of an eye. For them, foreign countries the homes of their close friends or family, countries they’ve read about or studied abroad in.

Their own ethnic diversity in population only increases this cross-cultural interaction, as about 20% of Millennials have at least one immigrant parent, and four in ten Millennials are Latin-American, Asian-American, African-American, or of mixed ethnicity. Millennials consider themselves to be informed, empowered citizens of the world; and they are, more than any other generation has ever come close to being so. They understand the power one person can wield online; The big picture behind a single event; They are savvy know-it-alls (especially irritating to technologically challenged Gen-X’ers) and they are coming soon to a work place near you. As consumers they are incredibly selective and informed. They see through brands with X-ray vision, demanding substance beyond the hype.

One could stipulate that the only way to ingratiate them is to tap into what brings them together delivering on multiple platforms messages of innovation, universal coolness and good citizenship. Win over the Millennials, and you’ve won the race. Capture the hearts, minds, and wallets of these not-so-naïve youth, and you’re set for the long term.
Millennials care about what you’re doing for the environment and for world hunger and peace and on top of that they’re still interested in what you can do for them. The good news is, for better or worse, they don’t hold back. Establish a dialogue with them and they’ll quickly let you know exactly what they want.

It makes sense when you think about it.

Ralph Lauren can remake the Great Gatsby with all its 1920’s American Royalty luxury. Juicy Couture could put out a 16th century raunchy French comedy full of dark humor and cotton candy wigs. Levis could remake Rebel without a Cause, or reinvent a great American tradition in need of an update: The Western. DKNY can tell a futuristic city sleek story of action, ambition and betrayal. Alexander McQueen could make a series of shorts: Grimms Fairy Tales, for adults.

With Product placement becoming more of the norm, it seems like only the big studios and the fashion & luxury brands will be able to rescue my favorite genre before it becomes to expensive to produce: The period piece; The historical fantasy; Those films that take you to a time and place before products.

I could go on and on, about the different designer luxury brands that could tell fabulous stories, it’s an expensive endeavor, and few will take the risk even though the rewards might very well skyrocket their brands. continue reading “Will fashion brands join the Advertainment revolution shooting movies that tell a trend story?”

Here’s an amazing site: pandora.com

Type a song or artist into their search bar and click the “create” button, you now have your own radio station that will play music from the artist/song you picked and others based on similarities in acoustics, instrumentation, melody, rhythm, etc. — It’s a great way to discover new artists that you’ll enjoy.

Raul Higuera’s work is hauntingly beautiful, and definitely worth checking out. The self taught Colombian Fashion photographer presents images that are both dramatic and enchanting as they are fashionable.

check it out at: http://www.raulhiguera.com/

I-phone : You-cardboard

You think the future of mobile phones is the all in one i-phone? Well seems there’s a California company that thinks a painlessly disposable, super lo-cost cell-phone made of cardboard is the future. While with the I-phone you’re tied to AT&T, with the cardboard phone you’re –sort of- free, or at least you don’t have to pay one of those horrendous penalties if you decide to change companies. Minutes are charged from a pre-paid card, no matter what network is behind your calls. This is great news for tourists, or people who want to keep track of their cell-phone expenses on a business trip. But unfortunately in the US if you want a fancy phone you have to have it locked to a network. You can bet the idea of an unlocked i-phone makes AT&T tremble!

The European Wireless freedom:

What does a “locked” phone mean exactly? It means you are locked into a given system, and often times it feels like you made a deal with the devil. Europe has lived a free wireless life from the beginning, since the wise European Union forced all the network systems to unify from the start. So over there you can buy a cell-phone while in a network and move the device with you if you change your carrier. Really!!

For the US consumer the advantage has been that the cost of the phone itself has been greatly reduced, subsidized by the wireless carrier. So as soon as you get bored with one model you can move to another for a reasonable amount not even close to the real value of the device. That’s if you keep it in the same network. If not the Penalty Monster gets you and that, for some, it’s something that goes against all good old rules of capitalism.

California rules:
But wait there’s hope! A few days ago a preliminary California ruling stated that Sprint Nextel must pay consumers in California $18.2 million from a class-action lawsuit that challenged these “early termination fees,” and that the company must stop trying to collect the $54.7 million they are seeking from other customers who haven’t paid they early termination charges.

There’s a big possibility this ruling may extend to other states. Maybe very soon we’ll move into a network free wireless world in the US too. If that’s the case, it will very likely be the cheap cardboard cell-phones that turn out to be the big winners.

Spain defeats Germany for the Euro 2008 Cup. It’s their first major title in 44 years.

Spain: 1
Germany: 0

¡Felicidades Campeones!

The other night I was flipping through the channels and I came across Nashville Star, NBC’s country music answer to Fox’s American Idol. There were a couple of things that caught my immediate attention. The first was the public’s ability to not get bored with the multiple variations of the Idol format or that Billy Ray Cirus, of “achy breaky heart” could be given a second chance.

But more importantly than that, or that Jewel is a judge of the show and now a bonafide country-star, was the fact that one of the participants was Latino and the other one an African American. There they were, Gabe Garcia and Coffey singing contemporary western hits and making it to the next round. It seems that country is finally all-american, no guilt or shame attached.

Country is becoming bigger and more attractive to both whites and non-whites and it’s going to get bigger. Here’s why. America has become more comfortable in its cultural skin, shedding the haughtiness of the eighties. It’s something our fast-paced culture is craving in a post-911 society that values return to simpler times. As a result NY professionals welcome a restaurant called hill country, and texas hold’em poker becomes one of the most played games online, as well as watched on ESPN.

At the end it seems that the US is ready to embrace its humble Honky Tonk roots. The result is that we’ll see more country, healthy comfort food, albeit all with new touches and accents reflecting our cultural pluralism.

 And we’ll see more of this throughout this year as both Republicans and Democrats need to speak to that other disenfranchised group, the rural white.  So get your country records out, practice that two step, and put some ribs on that barbeque and celebrate the new old face of America.

The Roberto Cavalli at H&M collection debuted in around 200 select H&M stores worldwide in November 2007. H&M was created 60 years ago and has become a worldwide success offering a large range of trendy fashion items at low prices. The collection included 20 men’s and 25 ladies’ pieces including underwear and matching accessories all in Cavalli’s unique signature style. Stars like Madonna, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Victoria Beckham and Lenny Kravitz have worn the exotic patterns and prints on Cavalli’s name brand lines.

H&M has perfected this formula over the years; signing a top fashion designer to create a special collection for the low-cost chain. First off was Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld in November 2004, followed by Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf and most recently Madonna. H&M has never disclosed the sales revenues for the unique collections, but the special labels have flown off the racks within days. A fashion revolution for the masses?

Hardly! The price points for these unique collections seem a little high for the quality and design. Fashion conscious people everywhere should know better than to squander anywhere from $49.90-$349.90 (Cavalli’s price range at H&M) on mediocre designs made from the lowest-quality materials. The brand name is irrelevant if the quality cannot justify the price. I for one would rather invest in a piece from Just Cavalli or the Roberto Cavalli annual sale.

As spring brings with it warmer climate, I feel the urge to venture out more and take advantage of New York’s rich cultural offerings. Last month I attended a lively talk at the 92^nd Street Y by three of the world’s leading writers: Umberto Eco from Italy, Salman Rushdie from India via England, and Mario Vargas Llosa from Peru. The conversation entitled “Three Musketeers” in homage to Dumas’ classic started with each writer reading a part of his most recent novel in its original language form.

The reading was followed by a discussion around various topics including literature of both the good and the bad kind and the place of writers in politics. The three writers were at ease as good friends are when they reconnect after many years. They simply picked up where they had left.

When talking about Dumas’ novel, Eco, who is semiotics professor at the University of Bologna, expressed that the “Musketeers” captured something in the collective imagination but that the novel did not pass muster in terms of its compositional and technical merits. continue reading “Would there be only three musketeers if Dumas had Facebook?”