Gothic chic has risen from the grave. This is a unisex and multi-generational trend. From this summer into fall 2006, gothic influences (predominantly the skull) dominated the fashion industry all over the world. Ranging from a prêt-a-porter and haute-couture collection to the Wal-Mart chain, gothic symbols have become the zeitgeist.

Designers such as John Galliano, Versace, Alexander McQueen and Viktor and Rolf had models stomping down the runways in black leather coats and pants, black lipstick, black boots, leggings and drainpipes, skull and cross bone prints, black bandanas, oversized silver crosses, smoky eye make-up and black fingernails. These were no ladies, they were tough-girls!

John Galliano created a $19,385 diamond-encrusted skull for Dior fine jewelry. Deakin & Francis director Henry Deakin reported to USA Today that he sold his gold and diamond skull cufflinks for $3,900 at Bergdorf Goodman at “close to thousand in 18 karats” and says that he can’t make them fast enough. Barney’s spokesman Timothy Elliot tells the New York Times that his hottest selling item is Alexander McQueen’s $210 skull print silk scarf. “We have sold 400 since May… we sell them as fast as they come in.”

This trend is not only seen in prêt-a-porter, but also all over the mass market. Urban Oufitters offers over a dozen of skull-stamped products with prices ranging from a $20 dopp kit to an $88 piece of luggage. Because of the overwhelming press and success from Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney has been a leading force behind the gothic chic trend. They currently sell skull t-shirts, necklaces, rings and belt buckles at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Target for $12.99. Disney even created a “couture” line of Pirates of the Caribbean jewelry with prices ranging from $150 to $4,000. At Bloomingdales, you can buy a Grail t-shirt with either an old rock band logo or one with a skull and cross bones for $75.

This is not a new trend. Gothic subculture has its roots in the 1970’s and 80’s. In the summer of 1975 in London, the designer Vivienne Westwood co-owned a store with Malcolm McLaren called Sedionaries, which displayed all punk- and goth- inspired clothing and accessories. She even created the infamous “Bondage Suit,” made up of the following:

• Bondage pants, which hobbled the legs together with a knee-strap and covered the bottom with a flap
• Parachute shirt, hung with four straps attached with D-rings and an oversized plastic ring
• Obscenity-stamped t-shirt, and finally
• Multi-buckled bondage boots.

Gothic fashion cannot be apprecaited without its partnet and life-line, the music industry. Several British artists in the 70’s like David Bowie helped set a mood sufficiently dark for gothic culture to develop. The founders of Goth were former punks known as the Siouxsie and the Banshees. The mid 80′s saw the coming of the epitome “goth-rock” band, Sisters of Mercy. They wore all black clothing, long coats and oversize dark sunglasses. They were followed by the Mission, the Cure, and many more punk bands and created a well-publicized Goth subculture.

However, this new Gothic chic is infiltrating global culture with a new attitude. It stands not only for youth culture and rebellion but also for romance, which communicates a strong and powerful message. Gothic chic is no longer threatening; it demonstrates a new woman in control. This tough, new woman, loaded with confidence and attitude, stands loud and proud. Goth now stands for glamour. Who would have thought?
- Sarah Perpich

There is a great controversy about the relevancy and need for couture today. It is running rampant among fashion historians and reporters, as well as in the design houses. The latest craze among fashion designers (and their premier clientele) is a new form of couture: “Demi-Couture” or “Demi-Monde.” By embellishing the original title, designers are re-affirming its presence and importance in the fashion industry.

“Demi-Couture” bridges the gap between ready-to-wear and haute couture. Harvey Nichols was a step ahead of the game in September 2005 when he opened “Demi-Couture” which featured mainly eveningwear. The buying director at the time, Averyl Oates, explained this customizations service in an interview with the Telegraph. “It’s the antithesis of mass manufacture… If you like a dress but want it with a cap sleeve, we can speak to the designer and make it happen.”

A new type of “Demi-Couture” is present in the Fall 2006 collections of design houses such as Balenciaga, Rodarte, Bottega Venetta, Rochas, Yves Saint Laurent, and Lanvin, as well as Prada and Dior. Designers are embracing this new form of couture internationally.

“Demi-Couture” differs from haute couture because it is not created for one particular client. However, it still imbues the wearer with an ambience of exclusivity. In fact, this new couture can be purchased by any woman.. at least, any woman who can afford the extravagant prices. Don’t be fooled by the fact that these pieces are seen hanging on a store rack just like anything else. You can now find a Rochas stretch-satin dress for $19,920, a Rodarte white cashmere and chiffon coat for $24,125, and even a Balenciaga velvet ribboned and glass embroidered dress for $101,370 (!). However hard to fathom, these pieces are selling… and if you think that’s steep, keep in mind that a haute couture dress can carry a price tag as high as $1,000,000.

The hefty price tag is due to the considerable amount of time and effort required for a designer to create it. The piece can take anywhere from a hundred to six or seven hundred hours of manual labor to complete. According to American Vogue, these designers “make no apology for the cost of these looks, because it is, they say, directly commensurate with the expense of production and rarity of the work.” Demi-Couture is taking luxury to an entirely new playing level.

With the high level of attention (not to mention superior craftsmanship) given to each piece, a designer really benefits. In addition to having a venue to express their creativity and skill, they can attach these incredible price-tags without being scoffed at. In fact, these clients have been very satisfied, and the design houses have shown a marked positive response as well as a tidy profit.

Never before has there been such a willing, demanding clientele for the products in the new “Demi-Couture” collections. This select group of designers finally has the chance to share their artful imagination, fashion curiosity, and endless creativity with the world. They have broken all the records for luxury and exclusivity.. we can only look on in wonder.
-Sarah Perpich

This summer, the Designer Ready-to-Wear showed every short skirt or tunic dress with leggings. For Fall, this look was not exaggerated or overdone. Instead it has become the quintessential garment parading down every fashion show runway, from New York and L.A. to Paris, Milan, and London. Leggings are the perfect compliment to the zeitgeist of the Fall fashion shows: layering. Whether you’re wearing a long sweater or a short bubble skirt, the ultimate rule is to cover up with leggings (ultimately accompanied by a sculptured heel or bold bootie).

The legging trend is taking the fashion world by storm. People just can’t get enough of the legging look. Even before the Fall Ready-to-Wear shows started, the fashion editors, buyers, stylists, and celebrities were wearing leggings . The Fashion Director at Barneys New York, Julie Gilhart, appeared for a show in leggings that stopped at the ankle, along with red high heels and a knee length coat. The whole front row became a sea of thin, primed, freshly waxed, properly crossed legs.. all covered in black tights.

Everyone agrees that leggings are back, from fashion designers and stylists to fashion buyers and editors. According to an article in Harpers Bazaar for Donna Karan, “they’re a way life.” Donatella Versace says, “leggings are much more chic and elegant now…Those sleek, clean lines and smooth, straight silhouettes can be interpreted in a variety of ways, and they make women’s legs look great!” And Derek Lam claims that the very foundation of his collection is leggings. “It’s a way of looking at what is sophisticated and edgy… it’s probably our best-selling look.”

The 21st century is reviving looks popularized by 80’s designers such as Azzendine Alia. He introduced leggings in his 1981 collection of “body-conscious stretch garments.” And don’t forget the 1985 hit movie “Desperately Seeking Susan,” where a tight-clad Madonna graces every shot. Today, she’s being photographed mixing her leggings with various designer tops. Even Lindsey Lohan (and many other young celebrities) are embracing the legging look.

Mary Quant

Mary Quant, infamous for her mini skirts way back in the 1960′s, created a plethora of opportunities for leggings to thrive. Leggings replaced stockings in many textures, fabrics, patterns and colors, and made the leg the new focal point of the woman’s body and her silhouette.

The sales of leggings affirm their dominance in the fashion scene. According to Shop Etc. magazine, companies ranging from Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Ave, and Nordstroms are all increasing their leggings orders to keep up with popular demand. Mimi Merkin, Director of Design for legwear at Kayser–Roth (the parent company of Hue and No Nonsense brands) applauds the return of leggings. “We’re happy that [designers] are addressing legwear again on the runways.” She gladly reported that Hues sales in footless tights from Fall 2005 to Spring 2006 has grown by 1,477% (!). Danskin saw their legging sales triple in a single year. Even Spanx has reversed their policy of selling footless tights only in certain seasons, and offers them year-round to meet demand.

Leggings can work into any outfit. This Fall, designers were sending out a message and we are certainly listening. Leggings are here to stay. Stand loud, stand proud, and make sure you are always standing in leggings.
-Sarah Perpich

* photo from Urban Outfitters

Do’s:

• Black or neutral tones
• Make sure they cut off at the thinnest part of either your calf or ankle
• Best with ballet flats
• Match top, darker color on top-darker leggings

Don’t’s:

• Wear with stiletto heels
• Wear with skimpy top or tank top
• Cut off at widest part of your calf

Outfits:

• Wear under floaty dresses
• Wear with belted tunics and puffed sleeved blouses
• Wear with ankle boots under trapeze dress
• ALWAYS wear with mini skirts and ballet flats/cowboy boots

Leggings Shapes:

• Leaner Look:
• Dress head-to-toe in one color
• Tunic top with ballet flats and leggings cut below calf

Trimmer Thighs:

• Worn under dress with platforms

Flatter Stomach:

• Full length with round toe and heeled bootie
• Long wrap sweater

Create Curves:

• Cropped, ruched leggings
• Sleeveless blouse and mini
• Ballet flat

“We have reached the point in that, number one, denim is being viewed as an investment like jewelry and handbags, and number two, like women with a shoe fetish, there are now women with a denim fetish. Everyone, woman and man, is in the quest for the perfect jean and will be for a long time.”

I would go so far as to declare jeans to be the most essential item in your closet. It is certainly the most popular item to hit the designer runways and the city streets. Yes, denimania has hit the world with a bang!

No longer only for tooling around on the weekends with a tank top and flip-flops, jeans are now dominating the fashion scene at bars, clubs, cocktail parties, and even the workplace. They have even become acceptable at red-carpet affairs. When did a pair of jeans, the all American classic, become a global high-fashion “must have” item forevery man, woman, teen, tween, and even infant?

The original patent granted to Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis in 1873 was for the riveted denim blue jean and waist-overalls.  Jeans were first invented for a utilitarian purpose: metal rivets on the jeans reinforced the pant’s seams for coal miners uniforms. Denim then became weekend wear in World War II for soldiers, and then reigned supreme for Hollywood and teenage rebels.  They were probably most widely popularized by James Dean in the 1950’s.

Denim continued to thrive with each generation. It hit the USA with full force when Brooke Shields collaborated with Calvin Klein for the infamous campaign, “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins.” It was thus the designer jean was born.

The original price?  A mere $1.50 for Levi Strauss.  But in today’s society, the price point for most jeans begins at a bare minimum $100, and the sale of premium denim continues to escalate.  According to the NPD marketing research firm, premium denim usurped 18% of denim sales in 2005, up from 12% the year before. Meanwhile, women’s jeans sales were 7.4 billion pair, a 12% increase from the previous year.

Designer labels are now offering jeans that cost anywhere from $300 to $4,000. High-end designers worldwide have incorporated intricate embellished denim into their collections. Designers offer even more expensive jeans in their couture lines.

How high can these prices go?  For reference, in October 1998 the Italian design house Gucci introduced the jean that Guinness World Records reported as the most expensive jean on the market. These distressed jeans, ornamented with African beads, checked in at $3,134. But today, American design house Escada sells riveted jeans studded with Swarovski crystals for $10,000.

Each new day brings with it not only a greater variety of denim labels and designer jeans, but also this apparently never-ending increase in price. At the same time, sales and prices of designer jeans are continuing to thrive because they are becoming more acceptable in every situation and occasion.

Marshall Cohen for the NPD group states “this is a trend that has been hot for almost five years now, which in fashion is very rare. Denim has become not only a staple in the wardrobe, but it’s become a premium product. It’s at an all-time high in price and in prestige.”

Although at an all-time high, this escalation has no end in sight. Denim continues to thrive for men, women, and children all over the world. Denimania simply won’t go away. As Cohen remarks, “Until something really comes along that can take its place, it’s here to stay.”
-Sarah Perpich

Bags are everywhere, and bigger than ever. They are taking the fashion industry by storm. Never before has there been such a presence and variety of bags, both on fashion show runways and the tar-stained sidewalks all over the world.

Accessories are becoming so influential that they are becoming the zeitgeist of each fashion season. A single accessory now defines the times. Not only is it fashion’s strongest symbol of security, but as View of the Times magazine declares, “We could almost say that today’s fashion industry is in the bag.”

According to a May 2005 report conducted by market analyst group NPD, 44% of women over age 13 bought a handbag. That number in previous years was only 26% at best. In 2004 the average woman purchased three handbags, and admitted to owning at least six.

Some women see handbags as an investment. Marshall Cohen, chief analyst for NPD, tells us that “Handbags have become a signature item. Women are purchasing them to make a statement…they carry them for the day not just one day a week like apparel. They look at handbags as investments in their wardrobes.” But not all shoppers agree on this. Carlos Falchi, a handbag designer, has said that “It’s an instinct item you fall in love with and then decide whether it’s practical.” And Coco Chanel would agree: “Luxury is a necessity that begins where necessity ends.” This begs the question, ‘Do I really need a $3,600 handbag?’

Although the idea of an “it” bag began in the 1950’s with Grace Kelly, today’s “it” bag dominates the fashion industry’s profits. Julie Gilhart, the senior vice president and fashion director at Barneys New York, attributes Marc Jacobs as one of the key designers who created this notion. “When he started with accessories, it was like ‘boom’ – he created a signature bag in record time. He has definitively been a player in this new world of handbag mania.” Marc Jacobs notes the impact of the accessory and how it turns a fashion “look and slant[s] it in a way that gives it an attitude or an image, a finish.”

He commented in an interview with WWD on the history of the accessory, saying that the influence a handbag can have over an entire look has always been powerful, “but now it seems there’s an almost casual, haphazard, ironic, perverse role that the accessories play in terms of an overall fashion image, which is very different from when one’s ancestors coordinated handbags and shoes.” Michael Kors comes to the same conclusion : “There’s no question that we’re living through times when people are dressing more casually and experimenting with mixing things, and accessories have become more important to women because of that…bags, glasses, shoes, and so on have to allow you to express your personality.”

Once upon a time, runways simply showed clothing and accessories were nowhere in sight. But now the accessory often takes most of a fashion director’s effort and attention. Simply put, the accessory completes the outfit. It polishes the look. It can sophisticate a plain dress into a fashionable, complete image. It makes a statement that speaks for itself. Marshall Cohen agrees in an interview with USA Today, saying of the handbag “It’s a conversation piece, it’s a status symbol, it’s a fashion statement.”

The power of the handbag is vigorous, and not just in the sense of how it speaks to both the owner. It speaks just as strongly to observer. But moreover, designers are experiencing newfound demand and positive feedback for these bags. Handbag styles (and sales) are surpassing that of any other product in their collections, most significantly ready-to-wear. And although the media and runway shows emphasize the fantasy of a collection’s clothing, the reality is that the design house reaps the majority of their profits from the handbag.

In today’s market, approximately 70-75% of designer’s total revenue is generated from accessories. According to market analyst group Mintel, handbag sales have increased 146% between 2000 and 2005. In this same time period, overall accessory sales increased by 68%.

According to View of the Times, handbags account for 80% of overall sales for the house of Gucci. For Salvatore Ferragamo, 97% of their overall sales income originates from accessories, with 30% generated from their handbags alone. Even for Chanel, only 25% of sales come from their actual clothing. Out of $250 million global wholesale for Michael Kor, $167 million of the brand business is accessory-driven. He is even opening up a new accessories-only boutique in Dallas this year.

Because many shoppers see the designer handbag as a status symbol, dangling the latest Chanel or Gucci patent leather pouchette ironically makes them feel fashionable regardless of the price or style of their clothes. So long as they have the latest “it” bag, clothing plays a sloppy second. Query: does a customer buy the handbag to feel she is partaking in high fashion and to substitute for the dress that sells for quadruple the price? I would surely answer affirmatively. A designer handbag is more accessible yet still evokes brand identity.

Regardless of reasons, handbags are bigger and better than ever. Whether it’s a big bag or small, in traditional shape or modern, in lizard skins or leather, embellished or embroidered, they dominate the fashion scene. Bags add vivacious color and ornament to our lives. Tom Ford puts it best: “If a bag is attractive, it makes you feel good by default. It’s about shape, line, finish, fabric, balance. If all of that is pleasing, it will sell. More than that, it’s like you’ve gotta have it or you’ll die.”
-Sarah Perpich

* Bags shown above are (from top-right clockwise): Dolce & Gabbana, Yves Saint Laurent, Chloe, Luella

“The profession of fashion designer for me is simply a job like that of an artisan who attempts to introduce taste and proportion into the object he is creating, exactly in the way an architect tries to build harmonious structure…If the function of art is to bring joy through harmony, color, and form, perhaps we can, after all, by dressing a woman to feel younger and to participate fully in life, bring her joy comparable to that she experiences in contemplating a painting.”
-Andre Courrege

In the past 40 years, the definitions of fashion and art have changed so dramatically that many today see them as one and the same. Fashion, like art, is all about perception. Various clothes evoke different emotions and intrigue different people in different ways. Fashion is also similar to art in that it is greatly influenced by recent history and contemporary culture. Fashion is neither created nor perceived without a cultural, political, social, and economic context.. and the same goes for art. According to Understanding Fashion History, dress is “a crucial expression of ideas and principles, which shape the individual both physically and mentally…clothes produce effects that give the body meaning and place it within an intellectual context.”

The fashion designer has become synonymous with the artist. Both are brilliantly creative and imaginative. They flirt with the boundaries of established norms, and experiment with a wide variety of materials. In our everchanging technological age, fashion materials range from silk-screening for dresses, to using metal, wire, wood and feathers to create couture and ready-to-wear-garments.

Look at the Parisian designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, who began to experiment with nonconventional materials from the very beginning. For his first womanswear collection 40 years ago he used second-hand market find, reproduction tapestries, Indian silk, and braided straw. He continues to test new and unusual materials in every collection ever since. He is a craftsman, an artisan, and certainly an artist. Just a single one of a designer’s garments can change the rules about fabric and its use, and raise the bar for a new level of craft and consummate skill.

Although the notion of fashion designer as artist has spurred such interest in the 20th century, the debate was popular as early as the 19th century. Art historian E.W.Goodwin held a lecture at the Costume Society in 1882, where he discussed the relationship of fashion to art. He stated, “As architecture is the art and science of building, so Dress is the art and science of clothing.” The designer has to be an expert in their field, especially in today’s competitive market.

The designer creates every piece as a unique entity ; there is no cut-and-paste here. Fashion then becomes an object to be observed and studied (and, of course, collected). Valerie Steele, Director of the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum in New York comments, “of all the methodologies used to study fashion history, one of the most valuable is the interpretation of the objects…object based research provides unique insights into the historic and aesthetic development of fashion.” A scholar of impressionism can go to a Monet exhibit in the same manner as a scholar of fashion can go to a clothing exhibit.

When the Metropolitan Museum of Art created its Costume Institute in 1937, one of the first exhibits was called “The Art of Fashion.” The first executive director of the museum recalled that, “Fashion costume documents the taste of time in the same manner as do painting, sculpture, and other works of art.” Fashion exhibits are becoming one of the most popular attractions in museums around the world. Their attendance is rapidly catching up to that of a more traditional exhibition. One of the most internationally and nationally reported exhibitions in recent time has been “Anglomainia” at the Costume Institute. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the exhibit explores British fashion. The opening night was the museum’s largest fund raising event, bringing in a staggering sum of $4.5 million. The Costume Institute held a similar exhibit in May of 2005, solely devoted to the house of Chanel.

The latest issue of fashion magazine Issue One records worldwide fashion exhibits and their attendance. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 2001 “Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years,” had over half million visitors, making it the third most visited exhibit in the world for that year. Also in New York City, the Guggenheim Museum’s Armani exhibit recorded 300,000 visitors, making it the 13th most visited exhibits in the world in 2000. This exhibit traveled the world, from the Neu National Gallery in Berlin to and the Royal Academy in London.

Similarly, one of the most popular fashion museums in the world is the Victoria and Albert Decorative Arts Museum in London. In 2002, its exhibit “Radical fashion” drew nearly 100,000 visitors. Later that year, they outdid themselves when their Gianni Versace retrospective brought over 160,000 visitors. And their 2004 Vivienne Westwood show pulled in 170,000 admiring attendees. We can see the popularity continue to grow today.

Fashion has evolved beyond mere function and uniform. No longer just clothing, it develops new aesthetic dimensions each year. Our growing knowledge of ourselves as cultures and a people predict a bigger role for fashion in the art yet to come. As Valerie Steele notes, “fashion has a new acceptance as a path of cultural enquiry.”

* photo from geminola