Milan Fashion Week: Art vs. Usabillity

In order for a fashion line to be successful the designer and the merchandiser must see eye to eye. They both have equally as important jobs. The designer's job is to create art while the merchandiser's job is to turn that art into wearable fashion available to the mass public. A line must encompass both art and usability to be a great success.

Milan fashion week produces one of the most creative, innovative, and artistic shows to in history. As of late, Italian designers are toning down their over the top artistic designs to compete with the more wearable designs of New York, London, and Paris. Several designers during Milan fashion week brought their "A-Game" and came out on top with more wearable designs than ever.

In Marni's design (directly below), she combines stripes, spots, blurry checks and painterly abstracts with a sophisticated dress mixing elements of tolerable unusual femininity with classic shapes.

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2009RTW-MARNI

New York s/s 2009 trends

New York fashion week is the epitome of American fashion. This September we witnessed numerous trends reoccurring throughout several different collections. The New York spring/summer 2009 fashion week is already behind us but the looks, the trends, and inspirations are leading us to the next season. A few of the main trends included natural skin tones, folk art, blue, little star white dresses, femininity, prints and patterns.

A major trend in the in the Fall/Winter in '08-'09 collections was head to toe natural skin tones that are still a key color palette. Many designers created a fusion of beige and neutral tones, among them Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Thakoon, Tommy Hilfiger and Carmen Marc Valvo. Amongst natural tones every shade of blue from electric to sky were splashing the runways. The trends also represented a summer of love with fun, colorful patterns, floral embroideries, paisley & horse prints, adorned waist coats, lace, elaborate embellishments, oversized features, beautiful butterflies elements, embroidered, printed or appliqué, floral & folk-ethnic prints, abstract figures and geometric patterns. Shapes included soft or structured, creased, ruffled, pleated, draped and voluminous. All of these trends made the New York fashion week unforgettable.

Challenges in Apparel Retail

The retail industry faces challenges similar to those in other industries. Over the past 10 years there has been a decline in employment mostly in the apparel industry. With our economy in a current recession spending is decreasing all over the place. With a fast-paced society and faster-paced technological changes, customers want new, different, and customized goods now retail companies have their work cut out for them.

Retail companies are constantly having to come up with ways to form the best products for the best prices with a demanding and ever-changing customer. The problems we as a nation have been facing over the past decade has not helped. Starting with September 11, 2001. After that date salaries and jobs were cut leading to more jobs overseas. Less jobs in the United States means less money circulation throughout the economy. Unfortunately this creates a vicious cycle.

The biggest problem retailers face today is the current economic situation. I see this first hand working at American Eagle Outfitters. For the past few months it has been an extreme challenge in itself to make day. According to a consulting firm, AlixPartners, "Post-Wall Street meltdown and heading into the winter holiday-shopping season, a wide majority (64%) of U.S. consumers are planning to spend less on gifts this year, tightening their belts in the face of an economic shockdown that almost half (46%) don't foresee ending for at least three years." According to Matthew Katz, head of AlixPartners’ Retail Performance Improvement Practice and a managing director with the firm, “Consumers are going to be trading-down in terms of which products they buy, in terms of how many products they buy, in terms of the brands they buy and in terms of the types of stores they shop in. Everything is under attack as consumers actively and purposefully trade down in retail channels, out of necessity in some cases and out of fear in others. Department stores and specialty retailers, we believe, will be particularly hard hit; but no retailer is immune from this tidal wave that looks to be coming as an aftershock to the Wall Street crisis.” I think as a whole the retail industry has a long way to go before it will ever be back to normal. Which is why personally, I am so glad Obama one the presidential election. Like he says "Its time for a change." :)