With many collaborations happening this monthly, the main event that was mostly talked about this month was the passing away of a very loved Creative Director Virgil Abloh, the news that devastated the fashion industry. 

1. Smart Textiles: Generating Electricity from Body Movement:

2. Stella McCartney 'The Beatles' Capsule Collection :

Stella McCartney announced a new line of clothing inspired by The Beatles, evolving the legacy of her father Paul McCartney,  a Beatle member. This collection is directly connected to the release of "The Beatles: Get Back" documentary.

3. Missoni x Supreme:

Missoni, known for its innovative  knitwear, are partnering with the street wear brand Supreme. The collection includes Missoni's signature knit patterns made on jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts..

4. Saint Laurent x K-Way Bomber jacket:

Saint Laurent launched a collaboration with the outdoor brand K-Way. Saint Laurent's creative director worked with K-Way to reinterpret the bomber jacket with tiger print and graphic touches. Sold for around 800$ on Saint Laurent website.

5. Supreme x Tiffany &Co.:

 

Supreme and Tiffany & Co. announced the release of a jewelry collection titled "Return to Tiffany". The collection goes in line with the new direction that Tiffany & Co. has taken since aquired by LVMH.

6. Frame Introduces Biodegradable Denim:

 

Frame Introduced jeans that are made of material that is 100% biodegradable and doesn't leave behind harmful substances. The jeans are also interfaced with sustainable QR codes that provide customers with environmental impact report.  The brand is clearly taking a step to decrease their carbon footprint and emphasising transparency.

7. Stefan Cooke Creates The Sims' Virtual Collection:

With the fashion industry entering the metaverse, digital fashion is now dominated by luxury  brands luxury brands (Balenciaga for Fortnite, Gucci for Xbox...).

Stefan Cooke designed a 4.99$ collection for The Sims that enable players to purchase 23 pieces. Entering the metaverse is the next step for fashion. Players from all over the world will spend over 100$ billion on virtual goods.

8. The Passing of Virgil Abloh:

Founder of Off-White and Louis Vuitton men's designer passed away on November 28, 2021 due to a rare case of cancer. The industry was devastated by the news.

Virgil was a pioneer in bringing streetwear aesthetics to luxury.

The fashion industry is about people. Clothes are the closest things to our skin. Psychologists can identify problems caused by this industry. Clothes can affect the way we and behave. Their is a symbolic association with certain outfits that can create a shift in identity. So, here are a few tricks that sellers do to maximize retail space and make you buy.

img src: https://www.dovile.co/personal-branding

Promoting Novelty:

There's a reason that people would sleep outside certain stores like "Apple" waiting for to buy the new product. According to neurological studies, being exposed to something new and novel will increase how much dopamine is released into our brain.

 Stores add new products every few months to keep displays fresh and exciting.

Create a Sense of Reciprocity:

Stores, especially grocery stores, offer samples for free. This will probably make you feel a little obligated to buy that item; after all they gave you something for free, so you should give back, right? This powerful tool is the principle of reciprocity.

Build a Community:

People, especially shoppers, like to feel like they belong to something. Brands have the opportunity to make every shopper feel like they belong to something bigger than just a sale. For example, retail company 'Revolve' gives customers a chance to be featured on their Instagram account by using #REVOLVEme hashtag. This creates a sense of belonging to this brand and makes you feel a part of the group.

Invoke Urgency:

People don't like missing out on things. Urgent situations promote quick decision making which is handy in marketing.  Words like "Flash Sale", "limited edition", "few items left in stock " make buyers think that they must take immediate actions.

Telling a Story:

Studies show that reading stories activate neurological senses, including oxytocin which powers trust and empathy. Telling a story behind an item create value. Brands explain to where the item came from, who made it, its history; which creates transparency for people.

Luxury brands uses this a lot especially heritage brands with long history and story behind it.

Power of Exclusivity:

It starts with "Scarcity Principle" which implies that the more rare or un-attainable something is, the more valuable. 

Luxury brands create limited quantities and set qualification for people to buy. 

Hermes has mastered this concept, you can't buy what you want even if you are a millionaire. They decide what you can get and when, they create a wish list and a waiting list for their costumers. People need to build up credit to be able to get an Hemes bag. First you buy accessories and spend 8000$-11000$ to be able to buy a Birkin bag (worth 12000$).

Disclaimer:

Photos are not mine, they are sourced through different sites.

A question I've been asking others a lot, what are your habits to make things happen and be successful? Everyone has his own inspiring advise. The way others approach life is really inspiring to me.

1.Set Small Goals That Will Lead You to Bigger Ones:

We all have goals. That's a known fact, but are we really working toward what we want? Your goal may be 100 mile away, but the one thing you can do is walk the first mile. For example, your general goal is to read 3 books about a certain subject, you can start by reading small chunks, say your small goal is to read 10 pages per day. 

2.Planning is Your Best Friend:

Put a plan for your day from morning till night, include everything from doing homework, replying to email, to even taking out the garbage. By doing that you will clarify and organize the things you have to do that you keep thinking of . First, you are taking the load of your brain in remembering this and that., and it is good for remembering little things that if not written will be forgotten. At the end of the day you would check out what was done and plan for the next day.

3.Be Realistic in Setting Tasks:

This goes hand in hand with the previous point. I mean what's the point in writing a long  to do list if you can't do it. Setting realistic simple tasks will motivate you to get things done.

4.Dress Up Nicely and Rock Your Look:

You may have hear of the saying: "Dress for the job you want and not for the job you have". Putting that extra effort in your look will really lift your confidence and reflect that you care , it will show that you know what you want and that you have your life together. You are dressed to make things done! One thing show successful stylish people will never do is being under-dressed. 

5.Be More Healthy:

I'm sure you've noticed that most successful people are healthy, they eat right and they seem to find time to workout. Wake up, workout, eat something healthy, go to work, work hard(and smart), come home work harder, sleep, repeat. Anyway the main reason is that eating right and working out will boost your energy and let you be ready to perform through the day.

6.Learn and Expand Your Knowledge:

Read and keep up with what's new. Wether in a newspaper,  scientific magazines,  business articles, fashion magazines.. Whatever field you like or you work in, it is really important to keep up-to-date. Plus reading more and expanding your knowledge has its own unique pros. Most importantly, it will ahead of your game, which is a key to be successful. 

7.Keep a Tidy House/Declutter:

Organizing your work space and your house will help in organising your life. You know where every thing is,  and you don't waste time searching for them. Plus it will reflect in a clear brain and thoughts, because messy spaces is really annoying and stressful to everyone. 

8. Stop Believing in Luck and Start Believing in Hard Work:

Waiting for life to turn up for you is rather intoxicating and time wasting. This is really my own belief.  Things won't happen if you don't make them happen. Waiting for the lottery to announce your numbers or for Mr Right to lift your life or for the perfect job to turn out.... is really an  illusion. You have to get things done for yourself, don't wait because time is running!

9. Stay Motivated and Encourage Yourself:

Motivation is the leader for success and hard work . It is the main thing that made you start. So you need to find your inspiration and keep going back to it. Plus, you have to always encourage yourself to keep moving. A saying that caught my eye:"Believe in your dreams and you Might achieve them. Believe in yourself and you Will achieve them"

10. Practice then Practice:

Practice makes you perfect chores and assignments. Needless to say how important it is to practice in order to improve  your capabilities. Plus it will give you that confidence of being well prepared.

Ps: I would like to thank my friends for their own thoughts on the matter.

I've been thinking lately of creating more posts about fashion, not a typical outfit-ideas-type of posts, more like information about the culture, business and academic of the industry. So I am publishing this post first to give you an idea of how this fashion world twirls.

Fashion Levels:

1. The highest level of fashion is Haute Couture. It is the most advanced form of clothing, where every piece takes a lot of craftsmanship and many hours(sometimes 6000hrs) of work. It is definitely the most expensive(100,00$ and up) and the most scarce. Haute Couture focuses mainly on reflecting the artistic and innovative side of each brand.

        There is certain rules Haute Couture houses have to follow. Some of the Haute Couture brands are Elie Saab, Chanel, Christian Dior, Maison Margiela, Ralph and Russo..

                                        Zuhair Murad Fall Couture 2018

     2. Second level comes as Pret-a-porter, or Ready-to-wear(RTW). It is a more wearable and available to people. It is still considered luxury. Pret-a-porter is the most profitable for a brand, because it is more selling and less costable. 

     Pret-a-porter brands are much more than haute couture ones ex: Saint Laurent,  Isabel Marant, Off-White... Some Haute Couture brands produces RTW also like Chanel, Elie Saab,  Versace , Christian Dior.

 

Elie Saab Ready-to-wear  Spring Summer 2019

     3. High end high street/Premium  and Diffusion Brands. Diffusion Brands for example Marc by Marc Jacobs,  Mosccino Cheap and Chic are developed by luxury brands but are cheaper for people to buy. High end high street (Coast, Ted Baker, Reiss... ) have a defined style and a more premium quality. Affordable but of a higher price than high street.

 








Ted Baker

Reiss

       4. High-street and mass market , this is the most affordable level. With brands like Zara, H&M, Top shop, ASOS... These brands in general focuses on producing as much as possible to as many people as possible. Pieces are produced in factories usually by machines. Quality is sometimes sacrificed due to more affordable price tags. 

Fashion Calendar:

Haute Couture brands showcase their pieces in January and July of each year in Paris which is why it's called Paris Fashion Week (PFW).

   July is when they show the following Fall/winter collection, and January is when they show the following Spring/Summer collection.

Pret-a-porter brands showcase their Fall/Winter collection in March and their Spring/Summer collection in the end of September. RTW fashion shows happens in New York, London, Milan, Paris.

So if you love fashion and want to stay up to date with the shows, look up for these 4 months.

From the runway to your closet:

The Fashion shows are usually the hub where designers set trends for upcoming seasons. High street brand sends their people "Fashion Buyers" to identify trends so that they can create something similar or inspired by the runway and display in stores.

For example, animal print was seen multiple times in Ready-to-wear  F/W 2018 shows,

Victoria Beckham F/W 2018

 
Dolce and Gabanna F/W 2018

If you go now(Fall 2018) to stores like Mango, Zara, H&M, Bershka... You will spot many pieces that are animal print and it is not a coincidence.

  Zara Fall 2018

Bloggers and fashion magazines always state the trends for each season and translate them into affordable options.

So there you have it, a small insight into the giant world of today's fashion.

(Photo sources:InstahauteCouture/ Vogue.com /Zara.com)