Q&A: What does Donald Trump’s Presidential victory mean for the economy?
Retailers should ditch “men’s” and “women’s” departments and embrace genderless fashion
Gendered fashion is on the way out. Fashion designers are mixing menswear and womenswear on the runway. Parents are pushing for genderless clothing that allows little girls to, say, wear science-themed t-shirts instead of princess dresses. And Quartz fashion writers are asking: “Sex and gender aren’t perfectly binary. Why should clothes be?” To be sure, retailers like Gap, the North Face, and American Apparel have sold unisex clothing for years, though sizing is still typically cut across gender lines. But moving toward a less gendered retail experience could also be a “business opportunity for retailers who create a comfort zone for people who don’t want to subscribe to one category,” writes market researcher NPD Group in a new e-book (pdf). Still, the argument makes sense. Some retailers are already moving in that direction. The store’s experiment hints that the appeal isn’t limited to women who want to escape the stylistic confines of conventional femininity.
WGSN | Creating Tomorrow | Trend Forecasting & Analytics
What Technology Will Look Like In Five Years
Diomedes KastanisCrunch Network Contributor Diomedes Kastanis head of technology for business unit support systems, leading Ericsson’s long-term technology vision and innovation across media, OSS, BSS and m-commerce. How to join the network As a driver of technical innovation for a software company, a huge part of my job depends on forecasting how current tech trends will play out, merge, dissipate or expand. Revised Notions Of Ownership Think of the things you use every day: your smart phone, your computer, your desk and so on. However, in the future, you’ll probably share most of them. We’ve recently seen a huge rise in the sharing economy; not only can you stay in someone else’s house via Airbnb, but you can sail in someone else’s boat through Sailo, fly in someone else’s private plane via OpenAirplane and go snowboarding with someone’s else’s board via Spinlister. This is only the first wave. Five years from now, companies will have to go glocal if they want to survive. “Mind Power”
The best budget personalisation services
We've got a taste for high-street monogramming thanks to Whistles, we think everything looks better with a personal stamp - which is why we've hunted around for the chicest personalisation services which don't cost silly money. BY Phong Luu | 13 March 2013 Julia Sarr-Jamois in Whistles's personalised jacket Photo: Bridget Fleming Not every day a high-street bag gets the accolade Arm Candy of Fashion Month, but Whistles's Delilah clutch won the bag-off by a whisker. It comes in a knock-out salmon-pink colour, is the perfect size (not too small that it fits jack-all, but not too big so that it's cumbersome), but the real deal-sealer is you can personalise it with your initials (trying to work out the names of the fashion editors based on their stamped bags was a diverting pastime while waiting for the shows to start), and on the cheap. READ: Whistles bring their monogrammed clutch bags to the masses CAMBRIDGE SATCHEL COMPANY The item: Satchels, of course. POPLIN The item: Pyjamas.
Menswear and gender fluidity: Fashion fad or retail reality?
rom headline-grabbing fashion stories to S/S16 fashion campaigns to your local high street store: the great genderless debate is everywhere. A quick scroll of Instagram shows male models rocking floral print kick flared suits as well as pussy-bow blouses and skirts, and women in loose fitting, over-sized trousers teamed with a men’s suit jacket. How did we end up here? With gender fluidity in fashion being one of the biggest conversations of 2016? Well, it’s not that surprising actually. With artists and fashion designers expressing notions of fluid sexuality and non-binary gender in their work, these ideas are gradually homogenised from the persecuted fringes of society and translated for mass consumption by magazine editors, fashion bloggers and stylists, keen to celebrate this new diversity with shoots, editorials, articles and blog posts a go-go. Why does this matter?
how does social media shape our perception of beauty?
A male friend of mine who considers himself "big on Tinder" claims the winning five photo formula is this: front-on photo, side profile photo, photo showing teeth, body photo and height photo, involving a casual scale prop such as Kylie Minogue. If you're not better looking on Tinder than in real life, you have failed. It's the most gratifying, terrifying, humanity-destroying platform ever created. But then again it's responsible for actually quite a lot of nice loving relationships… While Tinder must be the worst offender, the impact of social media on perceptions of beauty is inevitably positive and negative, depending on which way you look. Dove recently found time to conduct a survey which revealed that 82% of women believe that social media does indeed impact our definitions of beauty. Of course, it's all a matter of perspective. Nick Knight also photographed paralympian Aimee Mullins for SHOWstudio some years ago.
Design your own Gucci personalised jacket | Global Blue
This summer, Gucci has announced the second phase of its Do It Yourself service at its flagship store in Milan’s Via Montenapoleone. Under creative director Alessandro Michele, Gucci, one of the world’s most covetable brands, has discovered a new-found free-spirited approach that appeals to discerning fashion lovers and celebrities alike. The start of the summer saw Gucci launch its new DIY service, which gave clients the opportunity to add a uniquely creative personal spin to the brand’s Dionysus bag. The service moves on to its next phase this month with an extensive programme of customisable menswear, unisex jackets and shoes for men and women. Customers can choose from a wide range of fabrics and buttons, as well as a host of monogram lettering options. Bomber jackets are another key piece to customise in both silk and leather.
Zara introduces gender-neutral collection
he conversation around gender fluidity has never been as hot as it is now. From the Pantone colours of the year 2016, to the recent genderless AG jeans campaign to what we are currently seeing on the AW16 catwalk, it’s clear that the traditional gender boundaries are breaking when it comes to fashion retail. It’s interesting timing then for high-street retailer Zara to launch a gender free collection as part of its TRF range. The collection, which features a mix of basics and active wear in plain grey and white colourways, is pitched at no specific gender and is listed on the website as ‘UNGENDERED’. The pieces also come with an accessible price point with the items, ranging from 9.99 to 29.99 GBP. For those who are shopping on the Zara site though, and expecting to see unisex floral skirts or pinstriped shirts and suits for both sexes, you will be disappointed, the range currently just offers these plush unisex t-shirts, hoodies and jeans.
