Remembering Anna Piaggi

It was sad to learn this week of the death of Anna Piaggi, legendary fashion journalist and editor, as famous for her glamorous and extremely experimental dress-sense, as her fashion reportage. Editor of the now-legendary, short-lived illustration-led Vanity during the 1980s, to many of us she was perhaps most famous for her celebrated DP's (Doppie Pagine/Double Pages) that appeared in Vogue Italia, some of which were complied in a book by Thames & Hudson called Anna Piaggi's Fashion Algebra (which I luckily have a copy of still, but I know is now sadly out-of-print, so maybe track one down in your library, or pick up a perhaps now extortinately priced one on E-bay or Amazon!).

I remember vaguely as a fashion undergraduate at London College of Fashion, long back in the mists of time, being in a class where we were watching a documentary, the title of which I have long forgotten, but in which Anna Piaggi appeared, in all her glorious finery. A hysterical laugh went up from my fellow students, which at the time, and still today, I didn't quite understand. While Piaggi may have appeared a ''figure of fun'' to my peers at the time, I found their response rather peculiar, after all fashion is meant to be fun. And wasn't this also the reason we as students of fashion had signed up to such a course, because this was an industry we perceived as fun and glamorous? Besides, if it wasn't for people such as Piaggi who are prepared to stand up and promote the talents of fashion designers, handbag makers, or milliners, how else is their work to be promoted? In many respects Piaggi has played an important role in both Italian and international fashion circles, using her position as an editor/journalist, and as a true patron, to promote this aspect of fashion culture to its fullest extent. While we are all familiar with the role of the ''best dressed'' as promoted in many magazines, Piaggi took this a stage further, becoming a legendary figure on the front row of fashion shows, a joyful spectacle to keep an eye on, amongst the dreary sea of fashion mavens and PRs in their regulatory black and dark sunglasses. Certainly, the fashion weeks will be a much duller place without Piaggi, and she will be sorely missed, since, despite what my peers thought, every class needs its ''clown'' - after all, it's part of what makes life (and fashion!) worth living.

The View from CPH

Iconic Hotel

Magasin - Department Store

Colour Combination

Window Display

Traditional Tailoring Shop

Designmuseum Danmark

Fashioning the City RCA 2012

Getting ready to launch the Call for Papers CFP for the upcoming conference I'm organising at the Royal College of Art in September - Fashioning the City: Exploring Fashion Cultures, Structures and Systems. For more info and to apply visit: www.fashioningthecity.wordpress.com

New Year, New Exhibition...

Entrance to the exhibition - Off the Wall


New Year, New Exhibition...it's that time of year again when the annual Work-in-Progress exhibition comes around, which is a key milestone in our academic year here at the RCA. In previous years the fashion and textile's research students (MPhil and PhD) have usually exhibited as part of the larger cohort of fashion and textile MA students. In a new approach, this year as a group we decided to showcase our current working practice within our own self-contained and dedicated gallery area within the much larger exhibition - Off the Wall an exhibition-within-an-exhibition. How successful we have have been you can judge for yourself - since the exhibition is now open everyday from 10.00 - 17.30 until 18th January.

Here below is a brief taster of my own exhibit in the exhibition entitled Antwerpen (Anvers) [Antwerp]: Towards a Case Study, which focuses on one of my ''case study'' cities in my much larger research project looking at the material and materiality of developing that goes into formulating such a case study. The ''mood board'' is a key part of developing fashion collections, and in the spirit of this my exhibit takes the form of a real-life 3-D mood board or collage of material I've collected and is being used to shape and inform my work.


Off the Wall - because everything in the exhibition was exhibited ''off the wall'', suspended from a central hanging rail running through the gallery space


''Mood-board''/''Collage'' of artefacts


Plinth built of fashion magazines Considering the materiality of my research - what are the research materials?


Caramello - The Original Mokatine - bringing to life the sensory experience of Antwerp


Abstract Banners, provided with support from Macroart

The View from Antwerp

Shopping Centre Interior



Peter Lindbergh Exhibition at FOMU



Giant Pearls



Tree Decorations on the Meir



Christmas Lights

Fash!on ON/OFF

It seems the interest in Fashion Film continues to build, with new outlets for the showcasing of Fashion Film. If your in or around Antwerp in Belgium this week be sure to check out the programme of the first Belgian Fashion Film Festival FASH!ON ON/OFF being hosted in the city at Cinema Zuid/FOMU. Visit www.fashionoff.be for more details on the screenings and talks to include work by Serge Leblon, Henrik Adamson, Ruth Hogben, Peter Lindbergh and Ben Trovato amongst others.

Triumph of the City

Much as I enjoy delving into the labyrinth that is fashion theory, I am also aware of its limitations as I progress with my research. Rather than there being one theory or set of ideas, instead I find myself dipping into several, and at this point in time, seemingly disconnected theories, ideas and concepts. Apart from which I am also increasingly aware of the ''healthiness'' of stepping outside of the usual comfort-zones of looking at what seems like the same old references in relation to field of fashion. With this in mind I was glad to have take the time yesterday to attend a lecture hosted at the London School of Economics and Political Science (hardly the usual haunt of the average fashion researcher!).



Ostensibly set up to promote his new book of the same name Professor Edward L Glaeser's lecture ''Triumph of the City: how our greatest invention makes us richer, smarter, greener, healthier, happier'' proved to be a lively and topical discussion on the merits of the city. The main thrust of Glaser's discussion focused on the basic human and social needs through which cities have developed and continue to evolve: that of the need to be in contact, communicate and exchange ideas with our fellow human beings. Glaser referred to the ''paradox'' of today as being that while we are better connected today than ever before, with mobile phones, Twitter and Facebook et al we still retain the need, and desire, to cluster together in one place. He took Silicon Valley in California and also the recent up-risings in the North Africa as examples of situations where clustering together has led to important changes in, respectively, technology and politics. Yet the city as a conduit of ideas is not new, if as Glaeser, suggested we think back to ancient Athens and the cluster of great intellectual thinkers that inhabited the city at that time. Our greatest asset is our ability to learn from those we are amongst, and cities more readily facilitate that on a greater scale, what Glaeser referred to as the city's ''urban edge'' - the bringing of people together. Today this is perhaps more important as ideas become ever more complicated.

While speaking predominately from an economic point of view many of Glaeser's points also have a relevance to the developing cultural aspects of cities, and the thinking behind the ''clustering'' of specific industries and working professionals. In relation to fashion this can be viewed through the clustering of fashion in specific cities, notably the large ''Fashion Capitals'' Paris, London, Milan, New York and Tokyo. These are cities where not only fashion and textile designers are found but also trend forecasters, buyers, agents, fashion editors, photographers model agencies, and of course the events many of them can be found attending. These include shop launches, exhibition openings, catwalk shows and trade fairs. Here fashion professionals can come together and network, exchanging gossip, ideas and new leads about who or what is the next big thing. Glaeser's lecture proved extremely illuminating on the subject of what makes cities dynamic and still attractive to us all, yet it also high-lighted some of the problems cities face too. Very large cities, such as London, while a magnet for drawing in those looking to make their mark also suffer from their popularity. Or rather as Glaeser made clear, city authorities, government bodies and planning experts need to ensure that they are endeavouring to develop and encourage growth and innovation, rather than holding it back. Particularly in the case of London, the lack of capacity in terms of affordable housing and/or office/studio space is a key issue, in part because of a lack of building new property and also re-thinking what kind of properties need to be developed. Here in the UK the idea of the ''tower block'' is something taken out of a nightmare, yet in looking at the uses of space building up, rather than out, may be one of the solutions. Famed for its nurturing of fashion design talent and entrepreneurs in this field, this is something that remains a key consideration for London, and how its reputation for this may be continued in the future.

More Information:

Triumph of the City: http://www.triumphofthecity.com/index.htm

Tonight - Fashion Loves Film

Fashion Film-maker Kathryn Ferguson will be hosting this evening's Fashion Loves Film: Art or Commerce? film screening and panel discussion at the BFI Southbank as part of the Bird's Eye View Film Festival, a celebration of women film makers. Films to be shown include those made by Linda Sterling, Katerina Jebb, Ruth Hogben and Julie Verhoeven. Few tickets still left, but selling out fast...maybe see you there?

More Information:

BFI Southbank: http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank

Bird's Eye View Film Festival: http://www.birds-eye-view.co.uk/

An Evening with Akiko Fukai

This evening I took the opportunity to head to the Japan Foundation in Russell Square, where Akiko Fukai, Chief Curator and Director of the Kyoto Costume Institute was speaking on the theme Japan/Fashion, followed by a Q&A discussion with Alison Moloney, Fashion Advisor at the British Council. In an introductory speech by the Japan Foundation's representatives we were informed that this was the very first time they had played host to a fashion event. Judging by the packed turnout of around 60 people in their seminar room, perhaps this will precipitate the start of more fashion-themed events to come. As the rest of the audience no doubt appreciated, this occasion offered the rare opportunity to hear from a curator working within a very different fashion and, indeed, curating culture.


Installation View Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion


In her brief presentation of around 20 minutes, Fukai gave us a whirlwind tour of Japanese fashion culture and its impact within Japan and beyond. Touching on the internationally recognised Japanese street style influenced by Manga, Anime, and ''kawaii'' or cuteness, Fukai also appraised the visible and invisible appropriation of Japanese aesthetics in Western culture. This ranged from the paintings of Van Gogh and Whistler, through to the ''deconstructed'' clothing of Ann Demeulmeester and Maison Martin Margiela. Through the development of Japanese designers influence on Paris fashion as showcased in the work of Hanae Mori, Kenzo, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo, Fukai also unpacked the three core elements Japanese design has specifically had, namely textiles, silhouette and cutting or construction. In particular the stylistic form of the kimono has influenced the pattern cutting and ornamentation of such haute couture ''greats'' as Paul Poiret, Chanel and Madelaine Vionnet. Fukai also addressed the curation of her own recent exhibition ''Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion'', which recently ended at the Barbican and is now being exhibited at the Haus der Kunst in Munich. Through concentrating on the chief influencers on Japanese design internationally, namely Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto, together with a small selection of more recently established names, allowed Fukai to explore the key themes of the exhibition, including innovation and tradition in the use of textiles and silhouette, the flatness of cutting and pattern construction and the cooler, trendier aspects of ''kawaii''. As Fukai noted in her concluding comments perhaps one of the most important elements of Japanese fashion design, both in the last 30 years and today, is the ability of Japanese designers to explore and create through the co-existence of opposites, such as the seedy and the sublime, or nature versus the urban.


Jacket by Yohji Yamamoto


Following this overview of Japanese fashion culture Akiko Fukai was engaged in conversation with Alison Moloney, exploring further some of the questions raised in her talk. This conversation was extended with questions from the assembled audience. One of Fukai's key insights during this discussion was into fashion's changing status in being exhibited in art gallery context in Japan. Following similar developments in Europe, over the last ten years fashion, too, has begun to receive greater prominence in Japanese art galleries and museums, which Fukai put down not least to her own efforts and that of her colleagues at the Kyoto Costume Institute. In looking at the designers she had chosen for the recent Barbican/Haus Der Kunst exhibition, Fukai commented on how for her these designers did indeed represent Japan and Japanese-ness, even if the designer's themselves did not recognize their own work in that context. Fukai acknowledged that several Japanese designers see themselves and their work in a more rounded, international or global context, rather than as being specifically Japanese, which raises interesting questions regarding the local versus the international, or the exotic other versus the known. Further to this it was interesting to hear Fukai's thoughts on the changing fashion system, represented as she noted in the recent sacking of John Galliano by Christian Dior. As Fukai noted it used to be that recognition grew out of the talent and/or skill of individual designers, this was how Japanese designers grew to prominence during the 1970s and 1980s in Paris. During the late 1980s and 1990s, however, the power of merchandising and branding came to prominence. Today, Fukai noted how the system has changed again from the power of big name brands, to 'fast fashion''. leaving a large question mark over what will happen in the fashion industry of the future. As Fukai made clear, fast fashion needs to get its ''nourishment'' from somewhere, as it is unable to develop or recreate that for itself. As was noted by a member of the audience it appears fast fashion has won, as firms like Uniqlo grow ever larger, yet Yohji Yamamoto was recently forced into liquidation. Yet for Fukai this appeared to be too simplistic a notion, instead she asserted that perhaps the future of fashion lies in a ''return to basics'', with people deciding for themselves what they find comfortable to wear. This could be purchasing ''one off'' items, or customisation of existing clothing, yet also clothing that is easily affordable and obtainable is also included in this equation, including Uniqlo. Fukai cited their J+ tie-up with Jil Sander as a possible indicator of what the future might bring. In addition, Yohji Yamamoto is not yet totally obsolete, since his work is set to be explored and celebrated in an exhibition opening shortly at the V&A, which perhaps will help to inspire the next generation of designers attending Britain's fashion schools.


Shirt from J+ Uniqlo

Overall, this was an interesting and lively debate in matters surrounding curation, identity, and the context and perceptions of a specific fashion culture. It will be interesting to see if the Japan Foundation decide to take this further in introducing a series of lively and topical debates on similar themes. But as for the burning question of the evening, who is Akiko Fukai's favourite designer? Well she was her own best ambassador, wearing an outfit by Comme des Garçons. As Fukai acquiesced, it is Rei Kawakubo's way of making her question that really appeals to her sensibility as a curator of fashion.



For further Information:

Kyoto Costume Institute: http://www.kci.or.jp/index.html?lang=en

Japan Foundation: http://www.jpf.org.uk/

Haus der Kunst, Munich: http://www.hausderkunst.de/

Quote of the Month

Norman Parkinson for Queen Magazine, 1960


Recognition comes when you can name any city and a flood of connections are made that unfold in layers... Together they make a story. These are a mix of realities and perceptions. The city in its totality is a bundle of associations and has connotations from the physical to the intangible, to stories, images, products or even ideas.

Landry, Charles, 2008, The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators, London and Sterling, VA: Earthscan.

This month's quote comes courtesy of Charles Landry, one of the most significant thinkers and practitioners in the field of city planning, in particular in relation to realizing the creative potential of cities for civic and economic good. I made use of this quote in a recent written piece to accompany my recent exhibit in the Work-in-Progress exhibition, which set about portraying the importance of evoking the Fashion City through imagery, including advertising and fashion editorials. What is intriguing about Landry's thoughts here is the idea of the ''layering'' of a given city's reputation built-up over time. Many city's have attempted, and often failed, to develop their reputations as centres of culture, yet this kind of status cannot be created out of nothing, and neither can it be created over night. Both the city's inhabitants and it's outside audience, such as tourists or potential investors, have to believe that such a ''story'', as Landry puts it, exists as much in reality as it does in the glossy images the city wishes to project. In short, the city's ''story'' cannot be ''faked'', it has to be ''authentic'', in real terms, as much as in perception. This is as important for a city that wishes to establish itself as a ''Fashion City'' as any other which might focus on art, architecture, music of film as its marker of cultural status. Concerning the Fashion City, much of the layering of the story is made in the creation of fashion imagery for fashion editorials in glossy magazines and advertising by the leading fashion brands. In the case of London this comes through photographing fashion in the streets, posing models against iconic landmarks, or making use of the ''icons'' of the city, of which London has many, from bright red buses and telephone boxes, through to the black Hackney cabs and bearskin hats of the Queen's Guard. Located in the physical locality of the city, these are much a part of London's fashion ''legend'' as they are an evocative and glamorous stimulus in developing imaginations.

Introducing Fashion Film

Quote of the Month

Dinarzade or Lillian Farley photographed by Edward Steichen, 1924

‘’As I went through the door to show my first dress, I had the impression of stepping into a perfumed, silk-lined jewel casket, the atmosphere was strongly charged. The men in their correct black tailcoats with the sleek, pomaded hair; the women in gorgeous evening dresses, plastered with jewels. It was hot, so hot, and the air was stifling with the mixed odours of perfume and cigarettes.’’

Lillian Farley in Chase, Edna Woolman and Chase, Ilka, 1954, Always in Vogue, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd. pp: 166

December's quote is a recollection by Lillian Farley, sometimes better known by her more exotic moniker ''Dinazarde'', recalling her first entrance as a mannequin in a fashion show at Jean Patou. Farley was one of the six celebrated mannequins brought from America to showcase the haute couture creations of Jean Patou. Although a lesser known name today than Chanel, Patou was a fashion marketeer par excellance, and knew what a great stir he would created in ''old Europe'' by showcasing his designs on a group of attractive yet ''modern'' American women. In turn, Farley's recollection here as recorded by Edna Woolman Chase (who worked for Vogue for an incredible 50 plus years rising to become its Editor-in-Chief, assisting in the ''birth'' of the British, French and German editions of the magazine along the way) reminds us of what an ''event'' a fashion show can be and the importance of the ''performance'' aspect that fashion can provide. Here in the depths of winter with heavy snowfall disrupting or preventing travel we can now revert to the comfort and convenience of the Internet via our laptops to obtain our ''fashion fix'', yet as Farley also reminds us, there is really no substitute for ''being there'', breathing in the atmospherics of the fashion, whether that be mannequin parade, or the spectacle of dressing up for a Christmas party. None of this can be substituted by the virtual experience. Farley's recollection is also an intriguing insight into the apparently more ''civilised'' experience of the early fashion shows, where the audience, men included, ''dressed-up'' for the occasion (no scruffy photographers scrabbling around in jeans and trainers) and where the heady atmosphere of excited anticipation for the new collections was heightened by the mixed aroma of perfume and cigarette smoke. Perhaps it was this kind of atmosphere Tom Ford had in mind to re-create when he presented his first own-label womenswear collection in September, where all but his ''official photographer'' Terry Richardson was banned, and the outfits paraded in the ''closed salon'' were worn by a mixture of high-profile characters, including Lauren Hutton, Beyoncé and Stella Tennant. Does this mark the return of the fashion show as an intimate ''insider'' event, where you have to be ''in-the-know'' to attend? As with Patou, Ford too is consummate marketeer, and so it will be interesting to see if others take to offering the ''first bite'' of their new collections to only select group of fashion insiders. Although judging by some of the outfits worn by the audience in recent pictures released from this show, it would appear the audience too will need to dress accordingly to rise to such occasions.

Searching for...Halston or Lanvin

There's a frisson of glamour in the air in a gloomy and wintry London this week. Following hot on the heels of speculation about who may or may be designing the future Duchess of Albany's wedding dress comes the launch of H&M's collaboration with Lanvin plus also the European premiere of the film Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston.

With Lanvin perhaps the party-dress label du jour, it came as no surprise to see a queue of eager fashion fans outside H&M's Oxford Circus flagship in readiness to get their hands on a piece of Parisienne chic from such a fabled house. In researching in and around the uses of fashion film it is curious to note how H&M have picked up on creating a short film to promote their tie-up with Lanvin - viewable here:

LANVIN FOR H&M. SEE THE FULL COLLECTION AT HM.COM

Taking the Paris-chic theme to its extreme, the film is created in the image of Guy Bourdin, best known for his fashion spreads for French Vogue and advertising campaigns for shoe company Charles Jourdan. This can be read in one of two ways, either as an homage to the innovative work of Bourdin (who was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the V&A a few years ago), or perhaps as a pastiche, featuring Bourdin's evocative and mysterious women, dressed-to-the-nines, pursuing strange encounters in hotel rooms, with the odd French Maid-type slinking by with a pot of coffee. I'll leave it for you to decide...but for an original look at Bourdin's own experiments with film it's highly recommended to take a look at SHOWstudio's project which puts together several fragments that illuminate Bourdin's working processes as a highly accomplished fashion photographer.



In the same week we have the release of a feature film on another 1970s fashion stalwart (do we detect a trend in the air, happily coinciding with the 70s-esque S/S 11 trend for maxi-dresses, big hair and espadrilles?) that of Halston, the famed New York designer who dressed the best of the Studio 54 crowd and partied hard alongside them. Following on from other recent documentaries focusing on the fashion industry, such as the September Issue and Lagerfeld Confidential, it will be interesting to see how this new film adds to the developing genre of fashion documentaries and the fashion film genre as a whole, as well as seeing what kind of insight this film gives into the evocative world of a decadent period of the 1970s New York fashion scene.

Resources:

www.showstudio.com

www.halstonmovie.com/

Upcoming - 3rd Fashion in Film Festival

Exciting news - hot off the press - the 3rd Edition of the Fashion in Film Festival directed/curated by Marketa Uhlirova of CSM is coming up from 1st-12th December. I had the privilege of working on the 2nd Edition ''If Looks Could Kill'' back in 2008, and it looks like the 3rd Edition under the theme ''Birds of Paradise'' is shaping up to be even bigger and better, with an intriguing mix of film screenings being hosted at the Horse Hospital, Tate Modern, the Barbican and BFI Southbank. This edition is also set to include a series of ''off-site'' installations on a trail around London, together with an installation at Somerset House. Definitely this festival is a must for any fashion or film lover's diary as a number of rare or never-seen-before films are to be included in the programme.

Fashion in Film also participates in many other projects and events, with plans to visit New York and the Arnhem Mode Biennale in 2011, while Marketa's new book to be be published by Wallflower press is also due out next year - so plenty to keep an eye out for!

For the full Fashion in Film Festival programme listing visit:

www.fashioninfilm.com

Who will it be - Jigsaw or Westwood? Galliano or Marshall?

Souvenirs at the ready...

After much speculation and anticipatory rumor Prince William and Kate Middleton have today announced their engagement. While much comment has been generated over the choice of ring (William's mother, Princess Diana's own engagement ring) the real speculation in fashion circles is what will the bride be wearing, and perhaps as importantly, who will be given the task of creating what will no doubt become one of the most photographed, blogged and tweeted upon dress of the century? As a former employee of mid-range brand Jigsaw it's not outside the realm of possibility that in these straightened times that Kate may choose something ''off-the-peg''. More likely, however, the task will go to a ''name'' British designer, perhaps some satin-silk ''picture-dress'' with a huge bustle by Vivienne Westwood? Or perhaps an intricately embroidered number by Matthew Williamson? Or even something spiky yet seductive by Gareth Pugh or Hannah Marshall? Although fully-resident in Paris, John Galliano has on hand the full might of the Dior ateliers at hand...and one can only imagine what Alexander McQueen could have created...or perhaps Christopher Bailey could develop something tasteful with a little Burberry-check...and of course she must wear a hat or headdress of some kind, British milliners are second-to-none, step forward Stephen Jones...

Coming on the heels of recent royal weddings in Sweden and the Netherlands, such a state occasion offers the opportunity for Britain now, too, on an even grander scale to assert its authority in the sartorial stakes of its official consorts. While the sartorial battles between the likes of Michelle Obama, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Samantha Cameron are well documented, the royal consort holds a special place in the demonstrating the cultural, and thereby political, superiority of nation states. Although the potency of their sartorial influence has perhaps waned under the plethora of actresses, TV and pop-stars that now act as fashion's ''role models'', the royal consort still adds a certain glamorous and exotic allure that their less-than-royal counterparts cannot hope to provide, or indeed compete with, as examples such as Queen Rania of Jordon prove. Yet the figure of Kate Middleton provides a new-take on the ''fairy-tale'' updated for the 21st Century, being a middle-class girl from a wealthy, self-made family. In dressing Middleton for her wedding the designer entrusted with the task will not only be creating a fabulous gown for a one-off occasion, they will also find themselves on duty to provide a dress that defines a new era in bringing the royal wedding into the 21st Century

Design Relationships

McClaren C12

I am not really a big fan of cars as such - living in London a city seemingly snarled up with them, or having lived in NL too, where pretty much everywhere is accessible by public transport, not being a car owner is almost a no-brainer. Yet today at the RCA I had the opportunity to attend a panel talk hosted by the Vehicle Design Department, in part because I was intrigued more by the talks title than the speakers attending (not being very ''au fait'' with the ''names'' associated with car design generally) which went under the banner of ''Design Relationships - the ways design relates to commerce and the way it touches people''.

Design - especially for ''consumer goods'' such as clothes, cars, furniture, telephones or computers - is perhaps as much about the emotive or tactile quality as anything. This was certainly the key message put across by Neal Stone, Director of consultancy Leapstone, and formally of BA and GNER, who put it in terms of how design is the key link between commerce and people. In many way this is one of the standard arguments, that innovation comes through design, as a way of promoting the health and leadership of any given brand or product. Yet design, or rather designers who create and develop cars, or other products, have a very real role as ''problem solvers'' - with even car designers having to think through how to develop a vehicle that coincides with the principles of ''cradle-to-cradle''. Frank Stephenson, Design Director for McClaren, explained how the ''time-to-market'' for cars has changed from the usual 36 months, to 18 months, and how it is now even possible to develop a car in just 10 months, which is achieved with advances in the speeding up of the ''drawing-board'' and prototyping stages of car design. Deputy Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre, Rama Gheerawo, explained how in looking at the role of cars in cities today it's necessary to garner the views of a cross-section of car users, from passionate ''petrol heads'' to complete car abstainers, since all have a valid view, and indeed stake, in the usage and perceptions of cars today. Looking at how cars can be more ''connected'' to our everyday lives - how they are used for both professional and personal occasions, he described some possible solutions to how this could come about, and how cars may in future may become more ''useful'' in their role as ''street furniture'', when cars spend so much time just sat passively in parking bays. Kenny Schachter, a curator, was a car enthusiast of a different kind. As furniture has come to be displayed as ''Design Art'', so too he believes, do cars have a role to play in the gallery or exhibition space, as beautiful objects whose aesthetics and meaning behind them can be celebrated in the same way so many other ''designed'' products can be, and are. He cited in particular the project he commissioned the architect Zaha Hadid to create, with a 3-wheel and four-wheel version of what became the ''Z-Car''. This idea of creating ''bespoke'' or ''limited'' edition vehicles almost brings car design back full-circle, to its beginnings, with cars initially the preserve of enthusiastic and adventurous inventors.

For each of the speakers, collaboration was a key theme in the context of car design, yet this is also a facet that applies to many other areas including fashion. Since to realise the vision or ambition of a particular concept requires the input, and co-operation of a number of stakeholders - from designer's ''drawing board'' through to end user. Yet, as was acknowledged in the Q&A session at the end of the panel presentations, the designer's role is today perhaps more complex than ever, as they have to negotiate the demands and needs of the various aspects their designed product impacts upon. Less about trends or ''styling'', instead the social impact has to be considered, and while building ''efficiency'' into the design process is important, helped along by innovations in technology, this cannot negate the quality or emotive aspects of design. As cars too, can be viewed as ''fashion'' objects, unveiled in the glamorous surroundings of glitzy car shows, this emotive and tactile quality makes them not only interesting, but also desirable.


Z-Car, four-wheel version, by Zaha Hadid

Research RCA: New Knowledge

''What is Fashion?'' this is the question I pose as part of my installation for Research RCA: New Knowledge - the first ever dedicated exhibition of the work of MPhil and PhD students held by the RCA.

In many ways this question ''What is Fashion?'' is less a statement than a provocation in re-assessing how we look at and consider what fashion is. While there is much commentary about fashion, both in the Fashion Press or Media and amongst those in academia who take up fashion as a serious subject of intellectual investigation, few have actually dared to ask the question out loud ''What is Fashion?''

In a well-known essay Valerie Steele, Director of the Museum at FIT in New York, has even gone as far as to state that for many Fashion is the ''F-word'' - something abusive, yet in turn itself also abused. This curatorial project seeks to address this stance, looking at the different ways in which we seek to define and process the meaning of what fashion is.

In the ''What is Fashion?'' section of my website I post up pictures of my installation together with a PDF copy of the accompanying brochure, with the aim of provoking a continuing and lively discussion. To join in the debate E-mail your thoughts, comments, ideas or images to: whatisfashion(at)nadabea.com

Details for the exhibition:

Research RCA: New Knowledge

22nd - 27th October 2010

Opening Times: 11.00 - 18.00 daily

Private View: 21st October 18.00-20.30

Venue: Gulbenkian Galleries, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London. SW7 2EU.

Transport: Buses: 9, 10, 52 and 452 Tube: South Kensington and High Street Kensington

Quote of the Month

Fashion is inconceivable except as image. Fashion plays out in images, not on the streets. The fashion industry is intimately entwined with the logic of the illustration, the presentation. What stimulates our imagination are the illustrations, far too rarely the clothed individual himself. Less and less do we see the clothed person as an image, but more and more as a two-dimensional interpretation of that image. There is no fashion without the resonance in the logic of the illustration.

Lauwaert, Dirk, ‘I. Clothing and the inner being II Clothing is a thing III Clothing and Imagination IV Democratic snobbery’ in Brand, Jan, and Teunissen, José, Editors, 2006, The Power of Fashion: About Design and Meaning, Arnhem: ArtEZ Press and Terra Lannoo. pp: 183

This month's quote concerns fashion's relationship with images, and particularly the notion that because fashion is mostly perceived through images (such as those in magazine spreads) its aspect s flat. Yet this disconnects fashion from its very real haptic or tactile qualities. In exploring how and why fashion has become so popular as to be used in the promotion of such a wide variety of products, as I attempted to explain in my paper presented at the 2nd Global Conference on Fashion in Oxford, in part this is due to the very tangible nature of fashion. For everyone, the touch-quality of fashion is something that is perhaps very specific to the enjoyment of fashion - while we can all aspire to the images perpetuated through glossy fashion magazines - in ''real=life'' we also experience fashion through touch - with the clothes both in our wardrobes and those we encounter in shops. It is this tangible quality that many non-fashion brands and products seek to emulate in attempting to attach the idea of fashion to enhance the allure of their own products or services. Visible in the car industry, electronics and food. While the image of fashion remains important it is through the physical notion of touch that we perhaps truly experience fashion.

Wool Week

Sheep Herding in Savile Row

While we are all familiar with the glamorous round of Fashion Weeks - New York, London, Milan, Paris - a number of ''alternative'' events have recently been established here in the UK offering a more nuanced engagement and showcasing of specific aspects of the fashion industry. Following hot-on-the-heels of High Street Fashion Week in September comes today's opening of Wool Week (11th-17th October 2010) as a showcase of all things wonderful and woolly. Not only limited to London, with stores such as Harvey Nichols, Liberty and Jigsaw dedicating windows to the event, this initiative of the British Wool Marketing Board also includes events in Cumbria and at the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead. This promotion of wool is part of British Wool Marketing's ''Campaign for Wool'', which even has the backing of HRH Prince of Wales, who attended its original launch in January. Now in the midst of autumn it is an appropriate time to turn our attention to wool as we seek out new winter coats in the shops, or search in the back of cupboards and drawers for old favourite scarves or pullovers. This is also an interesting example of a re-configuring of the idea of a Fashion Week to focus on a specific aspect of what is a sometimes forgotten aspect of Britain's rich textile culture. It is also a reminder that there are many mills in the North of England and Scotland, in particular, who remain key-players as producers of woollen cloth, sought out for their high-quality products. While it might be possible to pick up a cashmere sweater from M&S or Uniqlo for £60 or so there remains nothing quite as satisfying as pulling on a pullover made out of 100% wool, a fibre that has helped to keep as both warm and stylishly attired for hundreds of years. A bastion of the British fashion industry, Savile Row is also to be seen backing the event, in spectacular style, with a ''greening'' of the Row complete with grass and a heard of sheep!



For more information visit the British Wool Marketing Board at: http://www.britishwool.org.uk

Away to Oxford

Oriel College, University of Oxford, venue of 2nd Global Conference on Fashion

Lack of recent posts is due to my preparation of a paper to be presented this week at 2nd Global Conference on Fashion, hosted at the University of Oxford by Inter-disciplinary.net. I attended to give a paper at the first conference last year, so am glad to have been invited back, and to have the opportunity to re-acquaint myself with some of the academics and fashion professionals who attended last time, and to meet some new faces too. The opportunity to ''network'' within the field of fashion theory is somewhat limited, particularly as relatively few of these type of conferences are held, so am looking forward to hearing about the research of others in related fields. At last year's conference some of the most interesting papers were those that related to fashion from a theoretical and historical perspective, areas in which my own knowledge is less developed (my own knowledge of ''fashion history'' is gleaned from my own haphazard reading, hence the number of gaps in my understanding), as well as those who had traveled from places outside the usual Euro-American fashion theory arena, which last year included speakers from Russia, South Africa, Japan and Jamaica.

Presenting my own work in the form of an academic paper at such a conference has also become a useful tool in my own research methodology; as well as finding a forum in which to present my work before an informed audience. In particular, the feedback in the Q&A session at the end of the presentation was useful in finding if in ''testing'' my work that is is understood in a wider context outside of my immediate academic community. It also provided me with a few useful leads and new ideas to explore, so am hoping for more of the same this year, not least because I still feel that as my research topic on the ''Fashion City'' is so under-developed it needs a few learned and rigorous ears to help iron-out the anomalies or to pick out potential pit-falls.

One of the ''finds'' of last year's conference came in the form of the academic fashion blog Worn Through to which Lucy Collins of Temple University contributes. This American-focused blog, which is more like a magazine, is full of interesting perspectives on the teaching of fashion and fashion curating, with news on exhibitions, new publications, conferences and potential job opportunities. Visit the site and view their latest posts at: http://www.wornthrough.com/

For more information on the conference, and the archive of last years, visit: http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/critical-issues/ethos/fashion/