I didn't think I'd be able to make this third lecture tonight but wound up attending anyway (along with my marketing class). The focus was about designing with retail in mind, so initially I jumped at this idea because retail is a huge interest of mine. It was a panel discussion with House Beautiful magazine's editor in chief Robert Rufino, Dallas boutique owner Brian Bolke and fashion expert Jaqui Lividini.
Alright, so this is going to be a not so glowing review of the lecture. The whole thing really put a bad taste in my mouth for some reason. I felt as if their tones and attitudes really reflected a certain bitterness and elitism that you always hear about in the fashion industry. They were there to, I suppose, inspire us as students and educate us but I felt as if they were stuck in their own bubble.
They did say some things that I felt were valuable but mainly, it made me think how the fashion industry is changing so much. It is evolving and it is becoming easier for people, with perhaps less social status and less of a bank account, to steal their jobs. They seemed to really roll their eyes at the fact that bloggers exist and that people even read blogs. They threw around the words "fashion authority" a lot which made me feel weird. Fashion authority? RELAX. I also heard the sentence "Going to Paris to pick out clothing for my shop is like, the hardest job in the world". I looked around to see if I was supposed to laugh or nod my head in agreement. The hardest job in the world? RELAX.
The three of them were in their own little world and I felt that they had no interest in really stepping out of their world to help the students and I realize this because they know that everyone in that room, and everyone with their blogs, are waiting in line to steal their spots. Quickly. They let that insecurity show.
They frankly made me feel embarrassed to want to be apart of fashion because they made it sound so superficial and as if it were truly the only thing in the world. Talking about struggling between if green or blue is big that season and other things that make me cringe when it is spoken in a way that makes it sound like we're talking about strategies in Iraq. I didn't get that feeling from the other lectures, so it's okay. Fashion is a a business, but style is personal. It's something that i love so i'm willing to work hard to make it a career. There are so many elements to the industry that I am learning about. It isn't all fun and games but it's not rocket science.
I must say there were some interesting points (Brian Bolke was cool) but their attitude made me not even want to listen. They clearly are successful and know what they are talking about but they just seemed old and bitter to me. Go retire somewhere so the next generation can take over, please.
