COLOR FORECASTING OF 2010

2010 is a key year of the 21st century------the 1st decade ended , a new decade started.
What are the most influenceial factors to this new decade , especially to the world of fashion?

As I studied Maison Martin Margiela, a Belgian but Paris-based Avant-garde fashion brand, I found that something is more or less an universial driving force of fashion------ economy.

Ever since the world financial crisis broke out last year, the world is under a great change. From the financial status, the consumer values and brutal economic realities are forcing the fashion brand to reconsider their reason for being and how they do business.

All in all, fashion is always in changing, there is not exception to Maison Martin Margiela in 2010.



The Core Spirit = True Colors of Maison Martin Margiela
There is nothing but only INNOVATION & LIFE-orientation. These spirits are all reflected by the deconstructed designs and the choice of colors------the true colors of MMM, which appeared in every collection seasons by seasons : BLACK & WHITE, sometimes with grey. (Achromatic Scheme)

White is the most important color for MMM, almost White = MMM. As white in Martin Margiela's world, is the color which provides an unlimited space for designers to express themselves, fades out the territories between time and space, and designers can be hidden in order to focus back onto the design.

Black, is almost the 2nd life of MMM. Although black & white are plain, they can create most effects and color feeling, especially when accompany any other colors. The black/White combinations are shown in each collections, it is ensured that Black and White are the basic color scheme of MMM.

The Color Variation of Maison Martin Margiela

Staring from black and white, MMM has developed its own color combinations. It never follows the main steam color trends, but expressing and reflecting its own perspectives through its unique color language.

Maison Martin Margiela, is unlike many other top fashion brands, using different hues and applying various color schemes, but mainly based on the limited color range, usually 1 to 2 primary colors as the undertone, by adjusting the purity and satuation of the colors so that it can create uniformed but diversed color effects to the collections.

It seldom uses the high satuation colors, excepting if the colors are high in purity(e.g. blue, red in 07 F/W, 09 S/S), they are mostly neutral (Earth tones: natural & muddy in appearance). Also, complementary colors combinations are rare, but analogous color scheme is often applied. The above color preferences show that in MMM's world, colors are varied, but always return to the basic. The ideal living is never vivid, or exotic, it is simple but rich.

The Key factors to Color Trend of Maison Martin Margiela

Maison Martin Margiela has its own vision on LIVING. Its innovative designs had became the inspiration of people in trend, but somehow, its would be affected by the changing world as MMM is undeniably a business. The consumer demand and lifestyle always take key role on the business, than how does MMM lead the trend but meet the consumer demand as well?

Target Customer: MMM's target customers have their unique perspectives on living and fashion. They buy and use MMM's products because they share the same views with Martin Margiela. The products they desired are not high-in-price, luxurious and monotonous, but always innovative and creative to explain and show their own statements.

Exhibitions: For MMM, exhibitions is crucial media to connect the target customers and promote the brand. It acts liked the advertisement. In the last 20th years, MMM has taken part in and organized numerous exhibitions around the world, whatever related to Arts or fashion. Those exhibitions allowed people, whether they are in fashion or not, accessible to MMM and its philosophy. The lastest exhibition is the 20th anniversary of MMM, retrospectives the designs and the brand history in order to refresh and retain the memories and spirits of Martin Margiela.

Designer's Participation: Since the brand is started up, outsides has beared in mind that

Martin Margiela, as the cheif designer and the founder of MMM, was in charging most of the design process of each collection. However, rumors has been raisen that Martin Margiela is no longer participating in the brand, in other words, he is gonna leave. Although Martin Margiela has never shown his face and pointed out that the design process in MMM is always a team work no matter his participation, it's hard to change the mind of public. The clearest example is the lastest publication of 2009 FW, media expressed their disapointments and mourned the leave of Martin Margiela as they didn't feel any hints of his existence from the collection.

Brand's Global outlook: the global business has under a great depression since last year, fashion industry was no exception. Facing such a hard time of smaller size of fashion shows, closing stores and low exchanged rate, MMM has still recorded 10% profit increased, which means customers trust MMM offering good design and quality for the price. Basing on this suppot, MMM has enlarged its market by giving wider range of products in cooperated with other labels, e.g. perfume, furnitures and homeware and by expanding its brand name over mainland China, and Dubai. However, because of the rumor about Martin Margiela's left, there might more or less affect the sale in the comming year. MMM has to be aware of the expansion as well as to retain the original customer, which means the comming seasons have to be more innovative but still remain the spirit of MMM.

Color Forecast of Maison Martin Margiela 2010 Fall/Winter collection

Color story

In 2010, the mood will be more fun, and practical, less cutting edge of coolness. this period of world need more love and concern rather than greed and prestige. The color range will be a bit wider than the last year, but still in the cool in underlying tone. Much greens, yellows and violets in grey tone will be used. Giving the feeling like sunlight in the morn or dwan, is it a hope or deseparation? that's none of us could foresee........

Fashion Forward

from: http://www.portfolio.com/business-news/portfolio/2009/04/14/Fashions-Shifting-Paradigm
by WWD Staff Apr 14 2009

The following paragraphes and sentences are edited from the original article, which representing what i think are quite useful to my analysis:

Moving ahead in the current economy will require fashion companies to be as flexible and innovative as they've claimed to be all along.

"The next couple of decades will see the coexistence of several "contradictory" distribution strategies, according to Gildas Minvielle, an economist at the French Fashion Institute. Slow and fast-fashion concepts will operate side-by-side and smaller retail formats will return to repopulate town centers."

"[Consumers are] coming back to basics and are less willing to be swayed by marketing campaigns," Minvielle said. "But nothing's sure. We could find at the end of 2010 a period of strong growth, and things could completely change."

"What we now have will be a fundamental economic reset,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corp., at a House Democratic caucus retreat earlier this year. "The economy is going to have to re-establish itself at a lower level of spending that reflects the real value of underlying assets before we can all start growing again at a healthy rate."

"The pie is smaller and fewer people have access to it," said Concetta Lanciaux, principle of Switzerland-based Strategy Luxury Advisors.Lanciaux said designer labels are unlikely to grow as consumers trade down to brands that offer good design and quality for the price. That Obama has embraced more "entry-level" brands like J. Crew, and "simple" versus flashy designers is emblematic of the direction. "The consumer can now really discern value for money," she said. "People perceive what's fake. Now we want the truth."

This moment is a kind of great trumpet blowing for taking that idea, that rough concept and trying to add some [social] responsibility, some durability or lastingness to it,"
"People are looking for purchases that are going to last. It needs to be a few zippy things that people can actually think about acquiring."

"Fast fashion has caught on, in part, because of its clear usability for consumers. It's a business model that offers shoppers an accessible way to stay current. "

The New, Pushier Consumer
Every aspect of retailing, from the number of stores to the looks they carry and the marketing they use to draw customers, could be permanently reordered as shoppers throw their weight around.

"Consumers are getting out of the habit of buying," said Popcorn, the futurist. "We're calling the consumers 'citizens' and a citizen wants to play deeply in the purchase cycle. They want to say, 'I want it this way or I want it that way. I want to put my logo on it. I want an Adidas logo on top of a Nike logo.'"

People are angry with their leaders, losing faith in big companies and scared about the economy, said Popcorn, noting that value brands are "no longer a sacrifice, just smart."

"If you're going to truly focus on your core customer, you are going to have to relook at your business and how big your business can be," said Andrew Sacks, president of marketing and intelligence firm Agencysacks. "The focus should be on being profitable and building a more consistent brand."Sacks said the first step is acknowledging the business is changing and might be smaller and focused on a different range of products.

The type of goods that go into stores and how they are presented to shoppers are also changing, and concepts such as "aspirational" are proving to be a moving target. "The aspirational consumer is going to continue and maybe consumers will become even more aspirational," said Mackey McDonald, former chairman and CEO of VF Corp., who is no longer affiliated with the company. "What they will buy will be the things that will be important to their image and the statement they want to make about who they are."

"The only way we're going to move forward is to connect directly with the customer."

The Price-Value GamePrice
is a function of how much shoppers are willing to pay for something, while value is a gauge of something's intrinsic worth.

"We have to get back to creating innovative product, concepts, and merchandising ideas to stimulate and energize the customer," said Andrew Rosen, president and co-founder of Theory. "You just can't get away with making clothes and expecting them to sell. You have to be good at what you do. Clothing is not just a status symbol anymore. There has to be a sense of relevancy to it."

The New Society
"What does it mean to buy something?" Donna Karan said. "I think that buying something will no longer just be for yourself. It's buying something with a conscience, how it affects the seamstresses, the fabric people, the manufacturers, the world at large. I think we were in an economy where it was all about ‘what I want,’ but with every purchase, there is a business and how you can make a difference in somebody else's life. If that shift happens, it will all of a sudden awaken the consumer to why they're actually buying something."

The Global Order
An A.T. Kearney study last year singled out the 10 most attractive emerging markets for investment. Brazil, China, and India topped the list, which also included the United Arab Emirates as the 10th most attractive market. The global downturn might well force changes to that list, as fortunes rise and fall. Witness Dubai and Russia, which both seemed unstoppable just a few months ago but have since faltered dramatically.

The New Austerity
Doing more with less is becoming a way of life in the often high-flying fashion industry.
Empty fashion hype is another casualty of the financial crisis, said Jean-Jacques Picart, a Paris-based industry consultant. "The big trend of 'fashion for fashion' is dead," he said. "Consumers are looking for honesty, respect, and value."
In the past, creativity was channeled in service of the image and desirability of fashion brands, whereas in the future, "creativity will serve the product," he explained. "Passion and reason will be the two important elements for fashion in the future."

The Nuts and Bolts
For years, the industry's been filled with chatter about market research, making products with both creative and commercial appeal and tweaking supply chains so design decisions could be made later, but the tangible results were often never seen.
"It's the execution of these things, not just the wishful thinking of them," said John Karonis, newly minted president of Kurt Salmon Associates' retail and consumer-products group. "Our economic environment has really instilled a sense of urgency in many people."A study by Kurt Salmon described this new, more efficient way of operating as "acting vertical," and said firms such as Target Corp., Coach Inc. and Aéropostale Inc. were already doing it.

The Future
None of this means companies will outright abandon the strategies and methods that helped them get started in the first place. The future of fashion, however different, seems likely to be based mostly on its present.

Snapshot 4---scenery

A Tale of Value and Three Pairs of Shoes

17 April, 2009
from the Business of Fashion
http://www.businessoffashion.net/2009/04/a-tale-of-value-and-three-pairs-of-shoes.html

LONDON, United Kingdom — There’s been quite a lot of talk about value lately. But what does value really mean, and how are different consumers evaluating their purchases?
Dunhill recently held a private sale in a discrete space in a Mayfair alley with some deeply discounted prices. It’s something many luxury companies have been doing to help shift stockpiles of their products in a way that doesn’t damage the brand. It’s easy to tell why most of the products are on sale at such low prices. There are flaws of some sort in the knitwear or the trousers are poorly cut or the print is ghastly. You tend to find these kinds of overstock products in available many replicates, in all sizes, proving they were of no interest to anyone at full price.
But sometimes, you come across something that seems one of a kind, special, and only available in one size: yours.
At the Dunhill sale, my eyes were immediately drawn to a beautiful pair of brown shoes. On a shelf filled with many other more mundane styles, these ones stood out because of the yellow coloured laces and a perfect shape. On the bottom, they said ‘Hand-Made in Italy’ and had a pricetag of £75. I could scarcely believe my eyes and figured they must have been used on a mannequin or for visual merchandising, because although they were a tiny little bit worn, they had no apparent flaws and there no others like them. I slipped them on and they fit. Even at their normal retail price of over £300, they would have been well worth it.
Since then, my Dunhill shoes have become something of an obsession, a rare purchases in these lean times. For me, they represent the best kind of value—a combination of great design, excellent quality and especially now, a price that didn’t stretch the bounds of belief, even with the Great Recession spending brakes on.

Contrast this with a savvy Italian friend of mine who also had a very emotional encounter with a pair of shoes. Admittedly her taste and style have sometimes outstripped the budget her fashion salary allows, but this is a sharp fashion consumer and one who knows value when she sees it.
When she first saw Christian Louboutin’s peach peep-toe heels with a flower corsage on the shelf at Harvey Nichols, she went into the kind of frenzy that all great designers ultimately yearn for: to create an emotional response within real customers. But when she turned the shoes over and she saw the £847 pricetag, or almost 1000 euros, those Great Recession spending brakes kicked in and the purchase was stopped cold in its tracks. She loved the corsage shoes so much that she took a photo of them on her feet, but she couldn’t bring herself to buy them because they didn’t promise to deliver any lasting value.
“In Mantova,” her hometown, she said, “people make 1200 euros on average per month. I can’t justify spending that much money on shoes, especially with this crisis.” What’s more, a previous pair of Louboutins she had bought during sunnier economic times have not stood the test of time. She complained that the quality was no good and that the inner sole had been glued and had fallen out. In other words, they did not pass her value test and this is one shopper whose memory is long.

Then again, at the newly revamped Joseph store in Notting Hill, some customers are still spending huge amounts of money on women’s shoes. Balmain’s crystal-studded sandals by Giuseppe Zanotti are retailing at an astounding £1300, or about $2000, and barely stay on the shelves before they are snapped up by fans of the uber-hot brand led by Christophe Decarnin and Emmanuelle Alt.
There was only one pair of those Balmain sandals left at Joseph on the Friday of Easter weekend. Two of the three pairs were bought almost immediately as the shoes hit the shelves, both by foreign customers, and one of these by telephone from Beirut. They are already sold out on Net-a-Porter.
Apart from their fashion currency, another reason why the Balmain shoes are so hot is because they are already collectors’ items. If you hop on a plane back home to the USA from London, you can sell them on eBay for $2800, allowing for a neat $800 profit.
Now that’s value of a completely different kind altogether, but it still shows that some customers are still willing to spend some serious cash on fashion shoes. Value, it seems, is in the eye of the beholder.

Imran Amed is Editor of The Business of Fashion

I also had a quite similiar experience about shoes. The following photo is the red ballet shoes I bought recently. As i have been longing to buy a flat shoes like that, though i found its price out of my expectation($ 420), i still brought it without hesitation. Another underlying reason is that this shoes is cheaper than the same ballet shoes from Repetto which is $1200 in price. I think what's the value of this shoes is really depends on myself. I LOVE this shoes and it's worth ,at least compared to another much higher price shoes,that's all. And i still get my memory of this shoes. In nowaday fashion, who knows the exact value behind a product?

Lesson from Susan Bolye, Youtube Sensation

19 April, 2009
from the Business of Fashion
http://www.businessoffashion.net/2009/04/fashion-20-lessons-from-susan-boyle-youtube-sensation.html#more-3632

Susan Boyle Britains Got Talent 2009
by matrix1087

LONDON, United Kingdom — Blanket media coverage over the weekend reported that a British woman named Susan Doyle has become one of the biggest Youtube sensations ever, registering more than 47 million views across the world, in less than one week. That’s more than the George Bush shoe-throwing incident, more than Tina Fey’s satire of Sarah Palin, and even surpasses views of Barack Obama’s victory speech. More than 150,000 comments have been registered on the YouTube page where the video appears. The numbers place the Susan Boyle video amongst the fastest spreading internet memes ever.

Boyle’s overnight international stardom holds a few interesting lessons for the fashion industry.

First, it demonstrates the potential impact and cost effectiveness of viral marketing strategies. Create content that evokes an emotional response, and it can travel like wildfire, turbo-boosted by social media like Facebook and Twitter. The cost implications of this are minimal as distribution is virtually free once the technology has been employed to seed the content in the internet’s fertile conversation garden. (Well, at least free to use if not free to deliver. A report from Credit Suisse last week said that Youtube was losing $470 million a year for Google, which owns the video sharing site.)

Kudos to brands like Halston and Diesel and designers including Viktor & Rolf and Gareth Pugh who have experimented with viral videos and achieved thousands of video views. But the viewership of Boyle’s video demonstrates just how much more potential there is to use these tools to connect consumers with a brand’s message. Imagine. Over the last year, we have watched as the Internet play a pivotal role in electing an American President. What could it do for a brand with a powerful story to tell?

Second, it highlights a return to realness. One of the reasons for the success of the video is the power of Boyle’s voice when compared to her grandmotherly appearance. Nobody expects her to belt out a performance of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables, worthy of West End legends like Sarah Brightman and her idol, Elaine Page. But belt it out she does, catching everyone off guard. Even if you know something remarkable is coming, she still manages to impress.

I suspect that a large reason for this is not only the immensity of her talent, but also the celebration of something real. She uses her talent to tell her own story, making the performance all the more authentic. Boyle is an unemployed church volunteer who cared for her aging mother until she passed away in 2007. “I had a dream my life would be, so different from the one I’m living,” she sang, fulfilling a promise to her mother to enter the competition.

Fashion companies, which have relied heavily on image-driven marketing in recent years may want to think about this: Boyle was not styled for the performance, nor was she coached to be anything but herself. Image will always be a part of fashion communication, but more and more, unless it is accompanied by authenticity and honesty, it rings hollow. Consumers no longer want to aspire to something fake.

Finally, creating something authentic doesn’t mean it can’t have commercial intent. Cowell says that Boyle will soon appear on Oprah and that her eventual album could hit number one in America. While some have criticised the way the Boyle’s awkward mannerisms were exploited to score the international PR coup, I believe it shows cleverness on the part of Simon Cowell and his producers for the show on how to communicate with consumers, using social media and the Internet, to heighten the overall television experience. Sharing the video with my friends was at just as good as seeing the video for the first time myself.

There is a brave new world of communication going on. The many-to-many conversation maybe a bit noisy and distracting at times, but that in itself speaks volumes for those who manage to rise above the noise.

Imran Amed is Editor of The Business of Fashion

the first retrospective for fashion house Maison Martin Margiela opened

June 18, 2008

the first retrospective for fashion house Maison Martin Margiela opened in Mainland China. The exhibition shows clothing from Margiela, as well as renderings of his retail locations, and installations from other side projects (a Margiela car cover, for instance). Executives from the house were present at the opening, wearing the signature lab coats, though they wouldn't give WWD (or anyone) a quote.

September 26, 2008

Belgium designers are getting a grip on business, Maison Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester and Dries Van Noten are opening stores and entering into licensing agreements in order to boost their sales.

Maison Martin Margiela's debut fine jewelry collection

July 11, 2008

Maison Martin Margiela's debut fine jewelry collection, in partnership with Italy's Damiani Group, is deliciously oversized. The creative on this signet ring upsized to bracelet proportions makes us very much desire the piece which makes us feel strange since its a powder white hand. The collection of 14 items is to arrive in November in 14 Margiela boutiques with prices ranging from $1,100 to $61,800

HK Street Fashion

Here are some photos taken on these day which captures HK people's fashion style on the street.

Though it's a bit hard to ask people take a shoot, it's still worthy to do so since i can know more how fashion affected on people.

Inspiration from living

I had my lunch with my friends this Tuesday, during the conversation, I fold my tissue and found something quite interesting which is the shape of each folding created. how would it be if i keep folding the tissue endlessly?

Maybe it's the most useless thing i made.:-P

Comme Format

執筆之時，正是美伊開戰，從報章、電視看到有關戰爭的圖片，場面令人心人痛，我們處身香港，隔岸觀火，誰又真正感受到那種痛苦？昨天以為「世界和平」是順口開河的願望，今天發覺「和平」不是必然的。做這個 COMME DES GARCONS 特輯的時候，翻看在 1991 年 6 月 1 日 COMME DES GARCONS 和 YOHJI YAMAMOTO 首度擄手在東京合作舉辦的一次名為「6.1」男裝展的資料時，看到那句 「FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN FASHION OR IN ANY KIND OF CREATION IS THE SYMBOL OF PEACE」 宣言，難免有點感觸。創作自由固然重要，和平空氣更為可貴。但願世界真的和平。

今期主題是「痛苦」。YOHJI 的痛反映在其音樂裡，而他好拍擋 COMME DES GARCONS 的 REI KAWAKUBO 則沒有 YOHJI 式悲淒的痛，或者應該這樣說，COMME 世界並沒有「痛苦」這個字眼， 要痛要苦反而其身邊人，因為當你愈想明白她的世界，愈去追尋，便會愈投入，看了很多之後還覺得不夠，像上了癮一樣。

REI 為 COMME 創造了一個立體世界，在不同角度看，有不同的畫面，然而只要將每部份加起來，大家便能概括出一個我所指的 COMME FORMAT。所謂 FORMAT，其實就是指她在時裝、家俬、 PRINTED MATTERS﹝包括 PRINT AD CAMPAIGN 、刊物、 CATALOGUE 等﹞、 SHOP 、藝術等等各方面設定的模式。要表現這個模式，她便將 INTERIOR DESIGN、PAINTING、PHOTOGRAPHY、LITERATURE 等藝術的品味 TRANSFORM 為她的時裝和美學觀裡。你得先要走進這個「FORMAT」裡面看一看她的裝置，穿穿她的衫、坐坐她設計的椅子、讀讀（對，是閱讀，不只是看）她的宣傳 PRINT AD ，然後你會知道哪是什麼一回事。

「WE WANT THE SHOP TO EXPRESS OUR SPIRIT.」REI KAWAKUBO

探討 COMME 店舖的特色之前，不如先想一想什麼是 COMME 的 SPIRIT？ UNCOMPROMISING、HARDCORE、COUNTLESS REVOLUNTIONARY ACT、POWERFUL & STRONG、ABSTRACT、 ARTISTIC、 UNPREDICTABLE、SENSE OF HUMOUR、NOVELTY & CHANGE、CREATIVE，還有…… 這些就是蘊藏在她位於日本東京、 京都、大阪、美國紐約、巴黎地區的各間專門店裡的 SPIRIT。

每一間 COMME 的專門店是一個空卞間多於一個只供大家選購時裝的地方，這個關於「INTERIOR」、「INSIDE」和「PRIVATE FEELING」 的空間，是由內而外去令大家有所感受，而這感受正如她所說，是PRIVATE的，會因人而異。一如她對時裝的宗旨， COMME 在構思店舖的時候，其中的 CRITERIA 就是要令人有驚喜和 EXCITEMENT 。這道理不難理解，當你走進位她各地區的專門店時，自然會明白她所說的 SURPRISE 是什麼一回事。

COMME 時裝其中的宗旨是要 FUTURE ，不重複，永遠各前。而位於 AOYAMA 的店舖正好表現了那種未來感覺： MINIMAL 的 INTERIOR DESIGN ，強調「MOVEMENT」、「SPACE」的特色。店舖於上年重新裝修，反映出 COMME 的 UNCOMPROMISING 和 UNACCOMODATING 的精神。

去到巴黎，時裝人必會朝一朝勝的就是這間 RED SHOP 。店舖概念圍繞著「MECHANIC」一字，全店分為兩大部份，右邊是擺放男女時裝的地方，左邊則是一個看似無厘頭但第一次睇完會嘩一聲的「CHILL OUT ZONE」。這個長方型的「CHILL OUT ZONE」只擺放了八個會移動以 FIBERGLASS 製造的 REB CUBE SEATS ，要感受這個 KINETIC 的構思概念，就要站在門口企企定定靜觀其變。不要問這個 ZONE 有什麼實際用途，也不要問為什麼 RED CUBE 會如在跳舞般的蠕動， CONCEPT 唔一定要明，亦未必有得解釋，更何況是 COMME 的！

PARIS SHOPLOCATION: 54 RUE DU FAUBOURG SAINT-HONOUR, 75008DESIGN CONCEPT: REI KAWAKUBOARCHITECTS: TAKAO KAWASAKI & ARCHITECTURES ASSOCIATESCUBE SPACE: AB ROGERS & SHONA KITCHEN AT KRD, LONDONSQUARE FOOTAGE: 400 sqm.
NEW YORK SHOPLOCATION: 520 W. 22nd STREET, NEW YORKDESIGN CONCEPT: REI KAWAKUBO，TAKAO KAWASAKITUNNEL DESIGN: FUTURE SYSTEMSSQUARE FOOTAGE: 450 sqm.
AOYAMA SHOPLOCATION: 5-2-1, MINAMIAOYAMA, MINATO-KU, TOKYODESIGN CONCEPT: REI KAWAKUBO INTERIOR DESIGN: TAKAO KAWASAKIARCHITECT/FACADE: FUTURE SYSTEMSSUPERFICIE: 167 mq.

「CREATION IS NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE CALCULATED.」 REI KAWAKUBO.

位於京都的 COMME 新店是近期時裝圈一個 TALKING POINT 。其特別之處不在於它的「新」，而是它是 COMME 和 ARTIST CATHERINE WAGNER 藝術的結晶品。我覺得今次的震撼力反而是來自 CATHERINE WAGNER 鏡頭下的 CONCEPTUAL IMAGES ，她那張以層層疊疊鐵箱為主角的相片就成了店舖的 WALLPAPER ，驟眼看如一個貨倉，散發著一種很 RAW、很 POWERFUL 的感覺。

CATHERINE WAGNER 來自美國，她善於捕捉 OBJECTS 來帶出文化和社會的變遷，探討 ART 和 SCIENCE 的相互關係，她的作品多以物件的 COMPOSITION 、 FORMS 和 DETAILS 出發，而其 CONCEPTUAL 的表現手法和 CONTEMPORARY 風格正好跟 COMME 的相當接近。從 COMME 這間新店的裝置可看出 REI 對這位 COMTEMPORARY ARTIST 的欣賞程度。
KYOTO SHOPLOCATION: 378 KAMEYACHO GOKOMACHI DORI OIKE AGARU, NAGAGYO-KU, KYOTODESIGN CONCEPT: REI KAWAKUBO ，TAKAO KAWASAKIPHOTOGRAPHY BY CATHERINE WAGNER SQUARE FOOTAGE: 363 sqm.

「I WANT TO DESIGN CLOTHES THAT HAVE NEVER EXISTED.」REI KAWAKUBO

有人形容 COMME 是一個很 ENIGMATIC 的 DESIGNER，有人話她夠 RADICAL，有人又說她不甘於平凡，設計每每不是比人行前一步，便是令你意想不到。她的 CLOTHES 強調 SHAPES 和 FORMS ，以 BODY 作為設計的基礎，不斷發掘各種不同的可行性。她不以衫的 WEARABILITY 為先，也不要會重覆她自己所做的。這就是 COMME。

在未穿上 COMME 的時裝之前，先是接觸她的 AD CAMPAIGN 或時裝 CATALOGUE 。即使你未必找到一個這些 AD CAMPAIGN 跟當季時裝的一個直接關係時，還是會看會閱讀，因為它比一個普通的 VISUAL AD 吸引。或者因為它們是在 COMME 的 FORMAT 裡，一切都來得不普通。

COMME 很 ARTISTIC。看她的每季 COMME DES GARCONS SHIRT 的PRINT AD 、以前一年兩季推出的刊物《SIX》，就她又積極參與舞台劇活動，在 1999 年便為 MERCE CUNNINGHAM 的 BALLET SCENARIO 設計服飾。 MERCE CUNNINGHAM 對 COMME 有極高的評價，形容她設計的服飾是 「PART OF THE MOVEMENT」 。她在質料和顏色上運用就成了觀眾和舞者的其中的溝通橋樑。

就是因為 COMME 的作品常常跟 MODERN ART 和 ARCHITECTURE 扯上關係，愈來愈多人視她為 ARTIST ，多於一位 FASHION DESIGNER 。然而，REI自己則說：「THE BEST WAY TO KNOW ME IS LOOK AT MY CLOTHING。」

TEXT: JOANNE

from City Magazine

Rei Kawakubo

Rei Kawakubo (川久保 玲 ,Kawakubo Rei?, born 1942-10-11 in Tokyo) is a Japanese fashion designer, founder of Comme des Garçons.


She is untrained as a fashion designer, but studied fine arts and literature at Tokyo's prestigious Keio University. After graduation, Kawakubo worked in a textile company and began working as a freelance stylist in 1967.

In 1973, she established her own company, Comme des Garçons Co. Ltd in Tokyo and opened up her first boutique in Tokyo in 1975. Starting out with women's clothes, Kawakubo added a men's line in 1978. Three years later, she started presenting her fashion lines in Paris each season, opening up a boutique in Paris in 1982.

Comme des Garçons specialises in anti-fashion, austere, sometimes deconstructed garments. During the 1980s, her garments were primarily in black, dark grey or white. The materials were often draped around the body and featured frayed, unfinished edges along with holes and a general asymmetrical shape. Challenging the established notions of beauty she created an uproar at her debut Paris fashion show where journalists labeled her clothes 'Hiroshima chic' amongst other things. Since the late 1980s her colour palette has grown somewhat.

Rei likes to have input in all the various aspects of her business. Rather than just focussing on clothes and accessories. She is greatly involved in graphic design, advertising and shop interiors believing that all these things are a part of one vision and are inextricably linked. Her Aoyama, Tokyo store is known for its sloping glass facade decorated with blue dots. This was designed in collaboration between Rei and architect Future Systems and interior designer Takao Kawasaki.[1] Rei published her own bi-annual magazine, 'Six' (standing for 'sixth sense'), in the early 1990s. It featured very little text and consisted mainly for photographs and images that she deemed inspiring. In 1996 Rei was guest editor of the high art publication Visionaire.

Rei is known to be quite reclusive and media shy, preferring her innovative creations to speak for themselves.

Junya Watanabe, Kawakubo's former apprentice, started his own line in the early 1990s and has attained much attention in the fashion business in his own right. Her designs have inspired many other late designers like the Belgian Martin Margiela and Ann Demeulemeester, as well as Austrian designer Helmut Lang.

Kawakubo is a member of the Chambre Syndicale du Pret-a-Porter.
Kawakubo created the 2008 autumn "guest designer" collection at H&M, designing men's and women's clothing along with some children's and a unisex perfume. [2]

Principal lines
Comme des Garçons
Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons
Tricot Comme des Garçons
Comme des Garçons Robe De Chambre (discontinued)
Comme des Garçons noir
Comme des Garçons Homme
Comme des Garçons Homme Plus
Comme des Garçons Homme Plus Evergreen
Comme des Garçons Homme Deux
Comme des Garçons Shirt
Play Comme des Garçons
Comme des Garçons Parfums

[External links
Dover Street Market - Comme des Garçons London store official web site
Comme des Garçons Guerrilla Stores official web site
NUMBER 3 is the former COMME des GARÇONS Guerrilla Store +30210 Athens

References
^ "Rei Kawakubo". Architecture Now! II. 2. Taschen. 2002. ISBN 978-3822815946.
^ "Meeting of two worlds - H&M/COMME DES GARÇONS debuts today in Tokyo". http://www.hm.com/gb/__prfashion.nhtml?pressreleaseid=702.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rei_Kawakubo"
Categories: Japanese fashion designers 1942 births Living people

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Deconstruction

Deconstructivism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the architectural style or movement known as deconstructivism. For the philosophical idea, see deconstruction. For other uses, see deconstruction (disambiguation).

Libeskind's Imperial War Museum North in Manchester comprises three apparently intersecting curved volumes.

Deconstructivism in architecture, also called deconstruction, is a development of postmodern architecture that began in the late 1980s. It is characterized by ideas of fragmentation, an interest in manipulating ideas of a structure's surface or skin, non-rectilinear shapes which serve to distort and dislocate some of the elements of architecture, such as structure and envelope. The finished visual appearance of buildings that exhibit the many deconstructivist "styles" is characterised by a stimulating unpredictability and a controlled chaos.

Important events in the history of the deconstructivist movement include the 1982 Parc de la Villette architectural design competition (especially the entry from Jacques Derrida and Peter Eisenman[1] and Bernard Tschumi's winning entry), the Museum of Modern Art’s 1988 Deconstructivist Architecture exhibition in New York, organized by Philip Johnson and Mark Wigley, and the 1989 opening of the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, designed by Peter Eisenman. The New York exhibition featured works by Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind, Rem Koolhaas, Peter Eisenman, Zaha Hadid, Coop Himmelb(l)au, and Bernard Tschumi. Since the exhibition, many of the architects who were associated with Deconstructivism have distanced themselves from the term. Nonetheless, the term has stuck and has now, in fact, come to embrace a general trend within contemporary architecture.

Originally, some of the architects known as Deconstructivists were influenced by the ideas of the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Eisenman developed a personal relationship with Derrida, but even so his approach to architectural design was developed long before he became a Deconstructivist. For him Deconstructivism should be considered an extension of his interest in radical formalism. Some practitioners of deconstructivism were also influenced by the formal experimentation and geometric imbalances of Russian constructivism. There are additional references in deconstructivism to 20th-century movements: the modernism/postmodernism interplay, expressionism, cubism, minimalism and contemporary art. The attempt in deconstructivism throughout is to move architecture away from what its practitioners see as the constricting 'rules' of modernism such as "form follows function," "purity of form," and "truth to materials."



Deconstruction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Deconstruction is a term used in philosophy, literary criticism, and the social sciences, popularised through its usage by Jacques Derrida in the 1960s[1].

Deconstruction involves the close reading of texts in order to demonstrate that, rather than being a unified whole, any given text has irreconcilably contradictory meanings. As J. Hillis Miller, an eminent American practitioner of deconstruction, has explained in an essay entitled "Stevens' Rock and Criticism as Cure" (1976), "Deconstruction is not a dismantling of the structure of a text, but a demonstration that it has already dismantled itself. Its apparently solid ground is no rock but thin air." Deconstruction defines text as something whose meaning is known only through difference. Language is arbitrary; truth claims and intentions of a text are undermined by its own contradictions; meaning is finally indeterminate. The purpose of deconstruction is that it allows you to see through the alleged stability of textual meaning; textual meaning is not finite; close attention to the play of language yields pleasure. Derrida developed the term "deconstruction" to engage with the phenomenology, structural linguistics, politics, aesthetics, feminism and literature of the 1960s, and the usage of the term has since expanded. Deconstructionism is also related to the critical tradition of hermeneutics as it treats interpretation and immanent critique as demonstrating contradictions already operating within the text.

Profile of MMM

Martin Margiela‘The Outsiders - Paris’Photography by Ronald StoopsFeaturing Martin Margielas’ collectionsThe High Spirits Issue no.78 March 1990

Martin Margiela
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Martin Margiela (born April 9, 1957 in Leuven, Belgium) is a Belgian fashion designer. He studied at Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts along with the legendary avantgarde fashion collective the Antwerp Six. Martin Margiela was only temporarily associated with the group before he retired and was replaced by Martina Yee. Many still consider him to be the "7th" member of the collective.


Life and work

Martin Margiela presents his L'Incognito Sunglasses, 2008
After graduation in 1980 he worked as a freelance designer for five years. Between 1985 and 1987 he worked for Jean Paul Gaultier, before showing his first collection under his own label in 1988. In 1997 he became, despite his non-traditional design, the chief designer of Hermès women's line.

L'Incognito Sunglasses, 2008
During the 1980s, the Japanese avantgardists, with Rei Kawakubo—creator of the label Comme des Garçons—had turned the fashion scene upside-down with their eccentric and ground-breaking designs. Martin Margiela and the Antwerp Six would carry on the work, revolting against the luxurious fashion world with garments of oversized proportions such as long arms, and with linings, seams and hems on the outside. The concept of deconstruction, also embraced by the aforementioned Rei Kawakubo, is important for the understanding of Martin Margiela's fashion statement. Mr Margiela famously redesigns by hand objects such as old wigs, canvases and silk scarves into couture garments.
Throughout his career, Martin Margiela has maintained an extremely low profile. He has never had his picture taken and remains backstage after his shows. All media contact is dealt with via fax. Maison Martin Margiela’s ultradiscreet trademark consists of a piece of cloth with the numbers 0-23 (see table below). The badge is attached to the inside with its four little white pick stitches, exposed to the outside on unlined garments.
An article in New York Times dated October 1, 2008, gave many in the fashion world their first glimpse of Margiela's face, as well as breaking the news that he allegedly offered to hand the reins of his company over to Raf Simons, who appears to have declined the offer. Margiela's brand was acquired by the Diesel brand in 2002 and industry insiders quoted in the article suggested that Martin Margiela may desire to leave due to creative differences, or simply, "... a desire to enjoy his life outside the insistent glare of the fashion world." [1]

Ranges
0 Garments redesigned by hand for women / Artisanal
0 +10. Garments redesigned by hand for men / Artisanal
Artisanal garments by Margiela have been part of his collection since the fall/winter 1989-90 collection. Made by hand at the firm's atelier in Paris out of vintage materials, the Artisanal collection is limited in quantity.
1. The collection for women
The original Margiela collection, which eschews the numbered tag for a blank, white label. This is Margiela's primary pret-a-porter line for women.
10. The collection for men
Introduced in 1999, 10 is made of disparate garments of equally high standards of material and construction, to be freely combined. A T-shirt, jeans, and suit jacket could be worn together.
4. A wardrobe for women
First shown for spring/summer 2004, 4 is a line of garments expressly meant for comfort and intimacy.
14. A wardrobe for men
Introduced in spring/summer 2005, 14 is meant to "evoke timelessness." To emphasize how 14 bridges the past and the present, each season Margiela produces a set of replica items. These resemble the original as closely as possible and are labeled with their origin and period.
11. A collection of accessories for women and men
22. A collection of shoes for women and men
MM6. Garments for women MM6 are more casual garments for women, generally less conceptual than the avant-garde 1 line.
8. Eyewear for men and women
13. Other objects and magazines

Stores
In his stores, salespeople wear white lab coats. Deconstructed store in unusual locations away from expensive fashion streets.
23, rue de Montpensier Paris 75001 France
114, rue de Flandre 1000 Bruxelles Belgium
2-8-13 Ebisu Minami, Shibuya Tokyo 150-0022 Japan
1-9 Bruton Place Mayfair London W1J 6NE
803 Greenwich Street New York 10014 USA
9970 South Santa Monica Blvd Beverly Hills CA 90212
3F, N°300, Sec.3, Jhongsiao E road, Taipei Taiwan (formerly a Burger King)
Via della Spiga, 46 20121 Milano Italy
34, Maximilian str 34 Munich, Germany

Trivia
Nicolas Ghesquiere, the designer of Balenciaga, has said on several occasions that he is a fan of Margiela and often wears Margiela's clothes.[citation needed]
In October 2008, Maison Martin Margiela celebrates its 20th anniversary. For this occasion, the Fashion Museum Antwerp presents the unique exhibition, MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA ( 20) The exhibition. Conceived in close collaboration with Maison Martin Margiela, this exhibition takes place at the Antwerp Fashion Museum from 12 September 2008 through 8 February 2009. http://www.momu.be/

External links
A Magazine curated by Maison Martin Margiela
Biography from ArtandCulture.com
Unfinished dress pattern by Martin Margiela
Martin Margiela's Ligne 6 duffle bag featured on JCReport.com
Martin Margiela line 22

References
^ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/fashion/shows/02MARGIELA.html?_r=2&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink&oref=slogin
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Margiela"
Categories: 1957 births Living people Belgian fashion designers Haute couture People from Leuven