Claire McKinney
From Claire McKinney's senior thesis collection.
(Claire McKinney)
From Claire McKinney's senior thesis collection.
(Claire McKinney)
FASHIONREDEF PICKS
Claire McKinney, Fashion's Responsibilities, Everyone's a Critic, H&M in India...
HK Mindy Meissen, curator October 15, 2015
QUOTABLES!
quote of the day
I think in terms of the actual physical pace, it gets very daunting. I just think it doesn't allow enough time for real ideas to become their best. I think the best way is to just carry ideas through. Every collection doesn't have to be a complete new concept and idea.
Claire McKinney, on the problem with the fashion industry's breakneck pack
fashion
rant n' rave
rantnrave://

FashionREDEF's Q&A series returns today with the wonderful CLAIRE MCKINNEY. A promising young designer (and a thoughtful, generous interviewee!), I'll be following her career with great interest... VANESSA FRIEDMAN wonders to what extent fashion designers have a responsibility to ensure their work is politically correct. I think, to borrow a line from KANYE's recent SHOWSTUDIO interview, that designers have a responsibility to "give their truth at that time." To follow through on their creative impulses. But that should not -- must not -- insulate them for criticism or reproach if those impulses end up offending. Producer/DJ TERRE THAEMLITZ once said that music is like poetry in that it's better suited to vague, emotional evocation than nuanced dialogue. I think this applies to fashion, too, and is one of the reasons designers get themselves into trouble trying to make political statements with their work. Take VALENTINO, cited in FRIEDMAN's piece: as a non-African design duo who've chosen to design an African-themed collection and show it on mostly white models, what sort of message did they think they were sending? No matter how appreciative the intent, it was always going to come across as ignorant at best. And ignorance is no excuse. Bottom line for designers: make the want the statement you want to make, but understand what you're saying and be prepared to deal with the consequences... Retailers would do well to read COLIN NAGY's piece on omotenashi, the Japanese art of hospitality, and think about how they might apply its tenets to their business. The "anticipate needs" portion in particular. How can a fashion retailer anticipate the needs of their customers? One boutique that I shop at regularly has learned the kind of clothes I like and alerts me when they've got new stuff they think I might be interested in -- they're usually right. Can you scale that sort of high-touch clienteling?... In which KARL LAGERFELD compares himself to JOAN OF ARC... I'm as glad as CHOIRE SICHA that he never published any of these ill-advised essays, but I am definitely interested in the American chav thing. "I just got back from Berlin and I’m a spider and also I did some p**n” are strong premises for an aesthetic. Just one man's opinion...

HK Mindy Meissen, curator

October 15, 2015