Week 4 of Michelle Newey Editorial features, an interesting look on technology and two of the most powerful countries who have adapted to the ever-changing objects that surround most of the worlds population. Asia or America, Samsung or Apple, Yamamoto or Wang, I talk about the various battles that are currently happening or have happened. From a fashion perspective, I also research into who has become the techno-genius when it comes to technological fashion, and of course looking into how Britain is adapting to the future creations from the first computer.
Battle of Technological Countries - Asia vs America
For many years, humanity has been provided with an enduring
source of the latest technological craze. In the 21st century, the
worlds biggest companies compete year in year out to increase their profits but
perhaps more importantly, to obtain an increasing amount of consumer adulation
to mark their country as the most powerful state in the world. An utmost amount
of consumer products most knowingly have the ‘Made in China’ tag imprinted,
which perhaps has become slightly obvious to the consumer of where most
products are manufactured in today’s industrial society, this explains as to
why Asia is one of the few states that have an industrial advantage, but with
America closely behind them, there appears to be a rivalry between the most
powerful. The constant competition
between Apple and Samsung most recently stated by the BBC News sees, “smartphone rival Samsung
is now seen as equally ‘inspiring’ in the US”. This encounter between America
and Asia is looking extremely likely to continue to materialise in the future,
providing the future human with more options to blend in to the continuing
modernisation of technology. Who will surmount the technical industry, but the
imperative question stands, who is and who will remain to be the most powerful
nation in the future biosphere? But from a fashion perspective, which state has
been influenced more by technology?
With the latest figures showing that in today’s society, it
is rare for the 21st century human to not have a mobile phone in
their possession; the BBC News state
that Samsung have “sold 64.5 million
smartphones to Apple’s 43.5 million”, indicating the increasing trend for the
latest Asian electronic devices over the former tech leader Apple. It has become apparent that
America and Asia are also adjacent opponents in the fashion industry. Asian
designers have slowly but surely got their recognition they have deserved, with
the likes of Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto exploding onto the
fashion scene with their unique interpretation of the wearable fashion garment.
Yohji’s creations span a career that has seen the audience witness an
incredible vision of avant-garde invention, his famous collaboration with Adidas brought a new aesthetic to
fashion, ‘Y-3’ is an enrichment of
sportswear that brings “elegant and chic” qualities to the Japanese brand. Y-3
Spring/Summer 2013 combines “Adidas’ sports technology and Yohji Yamamoto’s
style aesthetic”. This campaign reveals an element of futuristic flourish with
bold and graphic motions that “study the movement, distortion and
transformation” of the brands 10 year celebration. Another uprising to the Asia
take-over is Japanese designer Issey
Miyake, his well-known ‘A-POC’
line in collaboration with Fujiwara
introduced to the fashion assembly the meaning of “a piece of clothing” that
expresses a technologically-driven line that responded to an abiding
permutation; “the delicate balance between high art and a commercial success”.
The innovatory collection merges together the production of “computer
technology and the creativity of the consumer” that transforms an item of
clothing from a single piece of thread, using a knitting machine, Issey Miyake combined traditional
methods of dress making with modern programme technology to bring a fresh
novelty to the fashion industry. Technology plays a huge role in any industry as
we have seen in electronic and the retail sector, which begs the question, what
would people have done if technology did not exist? After Issey Miyake declared in an interview, “I do not believe that any
discussion of art is possible without bringing technology on-board”.
On the opposite side of the globe, the American state has
already grasped similar territory with their Asian competitors. In 2010, Ralph Lauren expanded their approach to modern
day technology that is sweeping the fashion brands off of their designer heels;
the launch of ‘Ralph Lauren 4-D’ saw
an emergence of video mapping, so consumers have an insight into online fashion
shows and a creative story into the brand of Ralph Lauren, as well as various applications that include ‘Ralph
Lauren collection iPhone’, and QR codes. David Lauren, Senior Vice President of
Advertising at Ralph Lauren stated, “While celebrating 10 years at Ralph
Lauren.com in the US and the launch of e-commerce in the UK, we look forward to
exploring new ways to tell our brand’s story through innovation and technology”.
It appears that the Asian market has become a huge influence on the America
consumer, Tai-Wan born designer Jason Wu
designed for America’s First Lady Michelle Obama in January 2013. The garments
have included a “ruby-coloured chiffon velvet” dress and a white ball gown,
wore by Michelle Obama in 2009 and 2013; a great supporter of Asian fashion
designers then? These functions represent how 21st century
technology has taken over the way consumers shop and the way clothing is made
and how there appears to be constant competition in who can create the better
and more technically advanced breakthrough. It appears that these two
competitive countries use technology to represent different revolutions within
the fashion industry, Asian designers are using technology to create the future
garment and America is changing the way consumers shop.
It is fair to say that there has been a continuous battle between
Asia and America within the technology industry, but it appears that both have
made a stamp in each other states within the fashion industry. What with Jason Wu that appears to be Michelle
Obama’s favourite designer of the moment and American-born Chinese fashion
designer Alexander Wang who has taken
over as Creative Director at Balenciaga,
there is a surrounding question of whether the Asian state will take over the
American state in fashion, as well its current take over in the technology
realm. In a recent article from CNN.com,
Lara Farrar stated, “China’s once almost non-existent fashion industry is on
the verge of exploding. New domestic brands pop up seemingly everyday. Chinese
models, like Liu Wen, who has shot campaigns for Calvin Klein, Dolce and
Gabbana and Estee Lauder, are increasingly becoming a hot commodity on foreign
runways, while domestic designers, such as Richard Wu who debuted mainstream
VLOV menswear brand at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York, are piquing
the interest of the international fashion elite.” The blending of these two
most powerful countries, has created a new dimension within fashion, Suzy
Menkes from the New York Times stated
“the current Asian designers are the definition of America’s famous ‘melting
pot’ the blending of American-Asian designers recently”, Alexander Wang is the clear example of this collaboration that puts
forward a confusing argument in debating which state is more influenced by
technology, how can individuals justify whether one is more powerful than the
other when designers come from either background?
From these resources listed, it appears that European and
American brands are heavily relying on Asian groups such as China to help
increase profits for their company. China has ultimately become a new space for
fashion companies to invest in; the change in society has transformed
individuals’ fashion norms. The rest of the world has noticed this and has
since wanted to become apart of the revolution. China has quickly proved that
they are the ones to watch for the future in both designer and consumer activity,
in most recent fashion weeks it appears that Chinese spectators are in full
force more than ever, after it was announced that they account “for more than a
quarter of the global luxury market”. Today, most European and American brands
have acknowledged this ever-growing dominance of the Asian market and have
industrialised their brands by venturing into this powerful market of
fashion-friendly consumers to gain more brand recognition. After British brand Burberry produced a recent fashion show
that presented a seam of holographic models and then going onto launch a
flagship store in Beijing, there was an unfortunate surprise in 2013, where Burberry’s stock price dropped as a
result of China’s ban of advertising luxury possessions, it brings attention to
the scale of reliability a brand has on the Asian market to improve their
leading success. Chinese designers appear to be raising their profile to break
into the fashion capitals; their fashion hungry minds want to deliver to the
fashion audience, a future provocation of excitement. Latest up and coming
fashion futurist Haizhen Wang graduated
from Central Saint Martins in 2005,
his first collection in London boutique Browns
sold out within one month of release and has said “we are really trying to
learn and show people what are capable of”. Haizhen is just one of many
exciting prospects of the future of fashion. China has shown to all fashion
eyes that they have the potential to one of the leading international countries
and with Europe and America already venturing into this new state of fashion
opportunity, the thought of Asia being emperor of the fashion realm in the near
future is looking ever more likely.
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