We have to be unburdened by what has been to consider what can be. – Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States
Read more
Time Will Tell. The State of Fashion 2021
Diminished, downsized, and discerning is the current normal of the fashion industry. Fashion companies will post approximately a 90 percent decline in economic profit in 2020, after a 4 percent rise in 2019. – BoF and Mckinsey & Company, The State of Fashion 2021 report
Read more
Fashion Culture | Aryanization and the Destruction of Berlin’s Fashion Industry
By 1930, Berlin emerged as an international fashion capital. It’s success even drew Parisian fashion designers. Most of the fashion businesses were owned and operated by German Jews. In their thrust to decimate the Jewish population, in 1933 the Nazis implemented a campaign to force these firms to sell. Signs in store windows read “Germans […]
Read more
In the COVID era keep creating | 5 survival tips not to ignore
Stay focused, slow it down, present scarcity, and invest in a circular system.
Read more
Buy Less, But Better | Study Shows Notable Shift to Sustainable Consumption
As part of the IFM – Première Vision Chair, Français de la Mode conducted a study that surveyed 5,000 consumers in France, Germany, Italy and the United States about their consumption habits of Eco-friendly fashion.
Read more
Are You Listening? Consumer Feedback is King | A How-To Guide
Are you giving your consumer a platform to provide you with meaningful feedback? Do you know why their consumption patterns have changed? Don’t assume anything. Have you asked?
Read more
Fashion Culture | Fashion’s First Black Photographer
Gordon Parks accomplished many firsts, including the distinction of being the first black photographer at Vogue, Glamour, and Life magazines.
Read more
The State of Fashion 2020 | Sustainability First
For the first time sustainability was named the biggest opportunity in this study.
Read more
A Message from the Editor to FIDM graduates and all emerging designers
. . . And to Those Still Trying to Break Through the ‘Noise’. There are no impossibilities. In a world where we are taught to conform, we must be diligent in using our creative power for change.
Read more
Fashion Unknown Fact | 10,000 liters of water. . .grow one kilo of cotton
10,000 liters of water is required to grow one kilo of cotton needed to make just one pair of denim jeans. In comparison, one person would take 10 years to drink 10,000 liters of water. Cumulatively, the fashion industry produces about 20% of global waste water. Source: UN Helps Fashion Industry Shift to Low Carbon […]
Read moreWith 25.5 billion pounds of USE-ABLE textiles thrown away each year (70 pounds per American), there is a lot of waste that can be prevented.
You don’t need to be an expert to succeed in fashion
Expertise is no longer a guarantee in this business and bachelors degrees and awards don’t always take you to the top. Sometimes boundless energy, street smarts, a killer idea and an iPhone are what it takes.
Read more
The State of Fashion 2019 | The Courage to “Self-Disrupt”
The fashion industry continues to hover in a state of flux . . . and we predict that 2019 will be a year shaped by consumer shifts linked to technology, social causes and trust issues, alongside the potential disruption from geopolitical and macroeconomic events. Only those brands that accurately reflect the zeitgeist or have the […]
Read more
Fashion Culture | Alexander McQueen and Fashion’s Firsts
Alexander McQueen will clearly be documented in fashion history as the first most awarded and socially provocative designer.
Read more
Ten Minute Catwalk – Costly, Waste of Time, Once You See It, Forgotten!
A ten minute catwalk? How about a ten month campaign of exposure! Why not leverage this very short window of exposure to maximize your business long-term. Here are 10 steps of keeping your brand prominent in the eyes and buying power of your audience: Tell your story – document your design and development stages by […]
Read moreWe need to shift our consumption values so that the entire fashion system can shift along with it.
– RP Hill –
Fashion Unknown Fact | India, World’s Youngest Emerging Economy
What does this mean for the fashion community? According to a report by Technopak, “in contrast to the increasingly aged populations in the West, Japan, and even China, India is expected to become the world’s youngest emerging economy by 2020, with around 64% of its population in the working age group” – median age 28 [compared to US 38, […]
Read more
Consumers Call the Shots | A Power Shift Away from the Retailers
The future is in the hands of the consumers with a power shift away from the retailers. Shoppers have more control over what, when, how, and how often they purchase fashion, leaving retailers (both online and brick and mortar) with many challenges not the least of which is ‘what to offer’. Plunkett Research, Ltd.’s Keys […]
Read more
Sustainable Textiles? The Textile Community Talks
An industry in transition. How advanced is the textile industry in reducing the carbon footprint while implementing ethical business practices?
Read more
Fashion Unknown Fact | Non-Biodegradable Clothes Take 20 to 200 Years to Biodegrade
Non-biodegradable clothes are manufactured synthetic textiles including polyester, spandex, nylon, and rayon[*]. It may take between 20 to 200 years to fully biodegrade these textiles.
Read more
Hemp Textiles, An Environmental Game Changer | EDGE Talks to Hemp Traders
The biggest challenge for hemp has been its legality. It has been illegal to grow for the last 80 years. Lawrence Serbin, President Hemp Traders Hemp, the cousin crop to marijuana, is a textile wonder that many consumers and industry professionals know little about. Although hemp has been around for thousands of years, today it is making head way as […]
Read more
Fashion Unknown Fact – 85% Workforce Loss in U.S. Apparel Manufacturing
Did you know as late as 1990, the United States apparel manufacturing industry employed nearly 939,000 people? In 1931, the Garment District in New York was home to the highest concentration of clothing manufacturers in the world. But as manufacturing has moved overseas the sector has since lost more than 85 percent of its workforce […]
Read more