Leave it to Cathy Horyn to speak some truth about the state of fashion and the industry, or to find someone who can. Enter: Louise Wilson. I wholeheartedly agree with most of her criticisms, and of course, have been guilty of some of them at times too. I could quote all my favorite parts, but that would essentially be the entire piece, so it makes more sense for you to go read it yourself. Here are a few choice excerpts:
“For years, fashion wasn’t fashionable. Today fashion is so fashionable that it’s almost embarrassing to say you’re part of fashion.”
[Newcomers] do the work so well, and so diligently, but who cares? There are loads of people already doing it. They take no risks about anything, not even the way they go up against the industry or show their clothes. It’s all about being professional.”
“You’re never going to have all the skills but you have to have a skill…It’s not [all] about working hard. It’s about feeling sick and waiting for the idea and not knowing what to do but making sure you have the skills so that when you do get the idea, you can do it without relying on other people.”
“It might be very good for fashion if fashion goes out of fashion, and maybe nothing does happen for awhile and a few companies shut down. When the light turns away that’s when the new work will be done.”
Louise Wilson, interviewed by Cathy Horyn for The New York Times
Tags: advice · cathy horyn · louise wilson · new york times · quotations · the industry5 Comments
That second quote scares the sh!t of out me, even though I’m not a fashion designer. It’s applicable across all creative fields and it’s intimidating to think about it applying to me.
@jaka merriman
i think it’s inspiring. sometimes you really do have say fuck it, and do what you WANT not what you think you’re supposed to do. someone recently reminded me of this (a little heavy, but still applicable)
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
That’s all fear is. I don’t know if that helps, but it’s been stuck in my head ever since, and make all the risks in the world seem way less scary.
“For years, fashion wasn’t fashionable. Today fashion is so fashionable that it’s almost embarrassing to say you’re part of fashion.”
All I can think about is The Hills hahaha.
I think there’s definitely lots of merit in going out there and doing your own thing without giving a flip for what other people think. There’s also the counterbalance of seeing so many people do well by following a similar pattern. Fear definitely factors into it (ouch, pun), but I’m not entirely sure what fear it is.
Love the acronym, though. I might just have to put that on my wall.
Attractive would be an understatement. That dress looks great.