Third Floor Publication - Battle of Technological Countries; Asia vs America

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 21^st 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 21^st 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 21^st 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.

My First Article as a Fashion Contributor for Hail Style.com

LCM: Another Handsome Week for Menswear

Season 4 of London Collections Men went in with a bang and came out with one, sounds like the reaction when watching a DVD box set of Homeland. The garments spoke wonders of the new and existing talent that graced the white surfaces inside the three London venues including Victoria House. A thrilling feeling of emotion when on a shopping trip links together well with the venue layout, jumping from one venue to the next and seeing some spectacular collections and wanting to buy them now there and then.

Like I said it’s only the fourth season of LCM, and it seems that every season that comes and goes, women appear to wear more of the masculine trends; matching suits, brogues and top button shirts, I personally love that as well as probably 50% of the fashion population do too. At some point in our lives, I’m sure we all have raided our brother’s/boyfriend’s wardrobe and worn a sweater, it’s all part of the fun with fashion right? Androgyny has been noticed in the press as a huge storyline and sometimes a shock, but now I think it has gradually become accepted in a ‘normal’ way for women to dress in menswear and the other way around. Some men love the floral statement recently! Whether women are wearing Nike high tops, rucksacks or a luxury tux jacket, we can’t help but steal ideas when wearing garments from the opposite sex everybody loves experimentation!

Some played it safe so to speak and opted for the straight lines and structured silhouettes, but others took the bull by the horns and created some fun and fabulous outfits (Bobby Abley with his pink Disney inspired outfit, Mickey Mouse eared cap included), sadly which I personally don’t think will feature much on the high street, but hey someone could prove me wrong? New talent is one of the extraordinary aspects of fashion, but when it comes to the familiar faces each season, on the 8th January 2014 at 2pm Christopher Bailey was THE designer that every celebrity and folk put down in there diary’s as one of the must see shows of the fashion week calendar. Burberry’s FROW is always a pleasant sight for all; David Gandy, enough said I think. Giant totes, oversize knitted shawls and the cityscape prints were the key feature of Mr C. Bailey’s A/W 14 extravaganza.

LCM has proved that in each of its seasons, it is here to stay and evolve in the coming years. Which makes us wonder why this wasn’t discovered before, but we can only be grateful that it is here now and we look forward to seeing more beautiful lines and shapes of the men’s silhouette. Here’s to wearing more of the men’s wardrobe, (even without permission of the boyfriend!).

Check out this blog post on: Hail Style.com

Third Floor Publication - Fusion of Genders: X vs Y

Fusion of Genders looks into the uprising trend of androgyny in fashion, the catwalk and street style. It is becoming increasing popular for women to wear men's clothing, but I also discovered Andrej Pejic; the transgender model who has built up an amazing portfolio of working with the biggest brands in the world. I write about how we are becoming more acceptable to the thought of using transgender models for catwalk presentations and what are the possible future aspects for gender in fashion. 

Fusion of Genders: X vs Y

In recent seasons, we have started to see the emerging appearance of the sharp masculine shapes of the male silhouette and the slipping withdrawal of the female day dresses. In your own experiences as a fashion bystander have you seen women taking the ‘gender-bending’ plunge more than we have seen in the 21^st century? More and more women such as Visual Merchandiser Elpida Magkoura are ditching the feminine guise and peaking through the wardrobes of their male friends/partners and choosing their inventive style of jacket, trouser or suit, “I personally as well as other girlfriends of mine have several men’s items in our wardrobe, as well as for ever been borrowing our partner’s clothes”. Designers have noticed the modern take of the androgyny trend that entails a rule-break between the male and female outlines, across the streets of the biggest fashion capitals and have bombarded us with the latest creative invention to continue the melding of men and women styles.

Masculine couture has graced our viewing sources of the latest fashion arsenals since the trend originated from the 1950’s, traditional values of the working class male returned in business suits and ties, articulating the amount of power men had in the employment sector. The masculinity returned in the 1980’s with a new modernism, the trouser became straighter and colours more submissive, embodying the 1950’s relics of the male and female gender roles in society but with a more powerful alternative. Androgyny has continued to be the prominent look in today’s market; garments that were once designed for a gender specific are now combined to define both masculinity and femininity. 2010 foresaw the future of the ‘gender-bend’ when Bottega Veneta’s A/W 2010-11 collection presented mannish blazers and suits in black leathers with sharp shoulders, combining this with feminine chiffon fabric and bursts of bright pink and red, whilst creating discord with free flowing silk dresses that vision hints of leather. Paris Fashion Week 2013 likewise reinstated this invigorating vogue, Stella McCartney’s A/W 2013-14 collection saw the use of her superior fashion logic to create the latest twist on ‘gender-bending’. The classic pin-strip outline was the prominent attribute for the audience to feast their fashion-hungry eyes upon. Oversized jackets with prodigious lapels, easy-moving jumpsuits and voluminous dresses screamed a new invention of masculine-feminine assortments. Today’s fashion creators have re-emerge androgyny as a key style within the industry, pioneering fashions of the mini skirt, power suits and colour blocking patterns have been renovated to represent the current political state of society, with women becoming more acknowledged in the business environment, these 21^st century designs are an exciting approach to define their new powerful status.

The idea that clothing is an important characteristic in pinpointing somebody’s chosen identity, puts into perspective how the assortment of male and female styles is changing the way we see the future of gender, fashion and identities. There appears to be a sight emerging of an egalitarian society within fashion, Diana Crane, author of ‘Fashion and Its Social Agendas: Class, Gender and Identity in Clothing’, voices her opinion that clothes are made to define an individual’s gender as a means of outlining their social position and status, “fashion is available to people at all social levels, both for creating styles that express their identities and for adopting styles created by clothing firms”. Fashion has shown a different kind of ‘gender-bending’ through its first compelling exposition of transgender model, Andrej Pejic. The Bosnia-Herzegovina model has been the face of fashion androgyny since his fame engaged with the industry in 2010. Andrej has since modelled for Jean-Paul Gaultier in his men’s S/S 2011 catwalk show and campaign, Marc Jacobs fashion campaign in the same season, as well as being the face across front covers of many fashion magazines, including Style:men and Romeu magazine to name but a few. Another representation of an androgynous model in fashion is Casey Legler; the woman who works as a male model was founded for her distinctive looks to be the face of the All Saints S/S 2013 campaign, arraying both women’s and men’s garments. In a recent video interview with Daily Beast, Casey spoke of how she has always felt more comfortable in a men’s shirt as opposed to wearing a women’s shirt and it’s a matter of personal choice to wear what wardrobe she wishes. This comes from her opinion of there being a limit to which men or women can identify themselves particularly in clothing, how there are specific garments that a man and woman should wear.

Today, most of the high street stores appear to provide a lot more clothing options for women. From girly day dresses to boyish logo t-shirts, flowing skirts and masculine structured jackets and trousers, women can explore a more exciting variety in their wardrobe now. With this in mind, more men are resulting to wear elaborate prints and mirroring the fashionable woman; Kayne West notably wore a printed shirt from Celine’s Spring 2011 collection and women wearing the masculine suit; Kate Moss for Mango A/W 2012 is a prime example, there appears to be a role reversal in society and a blurring of gender boundaries, are men wanting to look more feminine in today’s society, or are they suggesting they would like to have the same opportunity women have today wearing men’s clothing? We know that fashion likes to surprise us with the latest extreme must-haves of the season, but in was no doubt the most prodigious display of 2011, Lady Gaga appeared at the years Video Music Awards dressed as her idol, Jo Calderone. Sporting a casual jacket and white t-shirt, with slick backed John Travolta style hair, she gave a new lease of life to androgyny and what it means in fashion. Speaking for MTV Gaga stated, “I hope people take the fearlessness away [and] the creative notion that we constantly push boundaries, that we're not followers”. There appears to be differing levels of androgyny in today’s society, with men seemingly wanting to look as fashionable as their female counterparts by wearing clothing that represents femininity. If people continue to push the gender boundaries in fashion, what will men and women look like in the future?

Fashion designers appear to be taking more risks in their collections, leading to a suggestion of new social status within fashion, Yves Saint Laurent’s Unisex collection, inspired by his men’s Spring 2009 collection shaped a unique gender-bending innuendo. It seems to be ever more acceptable for individuals to choose garments from the opposite sex, the androgynous trend appears to revive, with its enduring popularity season after season. The launch in the 1950’s has come across as the beginning of its popularity, every decade since saw a contemporary reaffirmation of ‘gender-bending’. The 60’s portrayed a subtle hint of androgyny with a cropped haired, boyish look of ‘Twiggy’, on-going to the explosion in the 80’s with punk-inspired Vivienne Westwood fashion and the 90’s grunge look, finally with the appearance of the skinny jean in the 2000s which carried on the idolisation of fusion of gender. At what point will this gender evolution stop, or will it remain and we all look the same with only our facial features to define whether we are male or female? Modern science has increased chances for humans to enhance their gender appearance, Ivana Milojevic who wrote “Gender Issues: Futures and Implications for Global Humanity” stated, “the rates of plastic surgery in the western world – mostly to enhance one’s desirability and appeal to the other sex – have been continuously on the rise”, so what’s not to suggest that the small percentage of surgery could be to enhance opposite sex features on a human?

Sneaky peak of some new content

It seems that my hard work of finding jobs, and looking for a breakthrough in fashion feature writing is slowly paying off. I have recently been given a role of Fashion Contributor for fashion blog Hail Style.com, and it's great that I can start writing again knowing that it will be featured on the blog. So now I can hopefully be recognised and progress on further with my writing. So here is a sneak peak of a draft of my first article for Hail Style, don't worry I will post the final finished piece soon!

Thank you Hail Style for having me on board and I can't wait to write more for you!

Happy writing!! 

Third Floor Publication - Human Enhancement

'Human Enhancement' concentrates on the scientific form of prosthetics and how creators of this inspiring human form have made these a fashion trend. Using sources from TED and i-D magazine, this article brings an interesting and exciting aspect to human prosthetics and fashion and what the future holds for these two counterparts. 

Human Enhancement

The University of Oxford defines human enhancement as “the use of medicine, technology and techniques to improve the capacities of people beyond what we would consider normal or healthy.”

Medicine and Technology are two subjects that continue to display a vast progression each year, with new developments that are available to the present human being; perhaps there is a question of how the provoking of change will affect our future of living. 2012 saw the announcement of a new drug that would help the performance of individuals in the work place, by using the ‘Cognitive’-enhancing drug would see an improvement in a person’s ability to work longer, harder and to become smarter in their profession. These drugs are not just designed to help the human body’s performance in a working environment, but also enhance physical disability; this would be seen in a new discovery of bionic limbs and exoskeletons. The future of being expresses the continuing renovation of the enhancement of human activity within disabled individuals, by modern creations of prosthetic limbs that are now being designed with the idea of these becoming statement pieces, Jennifer Maloney has stated on her Pannone blog that prosthetics have been given ‘an arty twist’ within the fashion industry. To make the individual feel more worthy of their body, selected designers have constructed prosthetics that generate a sense of inventive unorthodox that their limbs no longer look unadorned and unattractive to the eye. Humans now have the opportunity to feel a sense of rejoice when beholding their new limbs and feel as confident as a fashion-forward individual, who would lead the dare-to-wear trends of monochrome and neon prints featured in the latest designer ranges, revivifying the cobbled streets of London, or the suave overlays of Paris or New York.

After countless trial and errors over the future of human prosthetics, an advancing step has materialised in the construction of the bionic suit. The exoskeleton comprises a computer system that monitors the individual’s weight and balance from each limb, initiating the beginning of movement and enabling the individual to stand, walk and climb stairs that is powered by a battery source in a backpack. The ReWalk production has instigated the future of mobility technology for humans and has made a statement on the fashion catwalk. Most recently in Ecuador, ‘Bionic Fashion Day’ saw sixteen models all who had survived cancer, take to the catwalk in garments created by Ecuadorean designers proudly showing off their bionic limbs, sending a message to the world that they are just like everyone else but with a unique guise. Another successful breakthrough where disability is widely accepted within the fashion industry, exemplifies with activist Aimee Mullins. Once speaking for TED, Aimee redefines what the body is capable of and the benefits it can bring to an individual who has prosthetic limbs. She stated that she wanted to have a “conversation in potential”, the potential to look beautiful with a prosthetic limb is as easy now than ever before. She expressed her potential to be noticed by the likes of the late Alexander McQueen, who since she has modelled for on his runway show and has also had her own cover in ID magazine titled ‘Fashion-able’. There is the initial feeling of misfortune for someone who has prosthetic limbs, but there is also a gift Aimee has been given since losing her limbs, to have all of the possible opportunities she has had. The expression of ‘two sides of the same coin’ is represented more clearly with future developments of the bionic limb, the same chances of a disabled person breaking into the fashion industry is now more equivalent. The future of technology and human enhancement sees the possibilities are endless for all walks of life to achieve their goals. These and many more events that declare the success of new developments for human form, express an exciting forthcoming for the disabled within the fashion industry.

Prosthetics have more than one terminology, one that is not often acknowledged enough is that these artificial limbs are considered a work of art. Scott Summit is one designer that creates prosthetics; along with an orthopedic surgeon he creates 3-D printing over basic prosthetic covers to enhance the human body and design human sculptures that bring back a feeling of normality in the body shapes of his customers. In a recent interview with Scott, when asked whether he thinks his 3-D prosthetics will be replaced with something different in the future, he stated that “3-D printing is largely experimental, I envision a day when a leg may comprise a variety of technologies and materials, some 3-D printed, others created traditionally and some created organically”. Scott’s creative prosthetics are currently made out of some materials that include; 2013’s favourite contemporaneous leather which allows customers to express their personal style, by having the option to swap their customary designed fairings to suit different fashion occasions. There appears to be an air of encouraging future for amputees and the development of prolific prosthetics. Other pioneering artists include CJ Munn & Andre Masters, individuals who express a significant worth in contemporary art with an array of captivating unaccustomed sculptures of the human body. Their innovative visions use delicate paisley motifs and floral output, with the use of the prosthetic limb as their canvas. These and many more artistic creations were involved in the ‘Spare Parts’ Exhibition in London, an exhibition that forms a variety of artists that use the prosthetic as their main focus. CJ Munn and Andre Masters have already been well deservedly recognised from within the fashion industry, David Bailey and Manolo Blahnik are just some of the names that have used Munn and Andre’s groundbreaking designs in their work. ‘Spare Parts’ continue the future provoking of the prosthetic reaching new levels of recognition within the fashion industry. The new development of visionary prosthetics continues the increasing potential a disabled human would have in achieving success of becoming the same as every other human. Whilst an addition potential in the future prosthetic being sighted across more designer catwalk shows as accessories or as beautiful adornments within the homes of the top fashion designers, making the prosthetic widely accepted within fashion. Without these artists, the future of prosthetics would become awfully bleak for the future human being. Boundaries need to be broken to continue this evolution of human enhancement, taking the traditional and turning this into a modern beauty that will make the individual feel normal again. The word ‘inspiring’ is widely used when discussing a disability issue, we say that it is ‘inspiring’ that a disabled individual can do the same activities a non-disabled person can do, we can also say that it is ‘inspiring’ for a disabled individual to look fashionable because future developments in prosthetic limbs are now becoming a fashion statement. These developments themselves are enthusing, as the future generation of disabled can look forward to persisting the trend of fashionable prosthetics further.

Many theories have been tried and tested over the years to create an evolution of the disabled human body. For example, British researchers are developing a wireless bionic where by prosthetics can connect to the nervous system purely with wireless implants that are fitted directly into the amputation of the limb. Up to now, Professor Fawcett has stated that since this new stratagem began, there have been tests on rats and mice and no problems have been identified so far throughout the 12-month testing period. Elsewhere in Italy, in 2011 researchers found a break through in their trial of a wireless bionic hand fitted to the nervous system of a man that was controlled purely by his thoughts. Prosthetics had the initial perception as scientific functions that were made to return some movement back to the lost limbs of the human being, today with modern technology, prosthetics have also shown the ability to create a new identity whilst also becoming a futuristic fashion statement piece. A fantastic memoir for the future development of fashion and the human form can be exemplified with the avant-garde fusions from artist Bart Hess. His collaboration with artist Lucy McRae and stylist Alister Mackie saw a surreal exposure of a different kind of prosthesis. A combination of Alister’s A/W 2010 collection and animal coatings saw an array of tremendous extensions of the human body, that was captured through the eyes of famous photographer Nick Knight for the A/W 2010 issue of Another magazine. Bart is known for his eccentric materials when creating different human forms for the new world, he is another example of the future artist that can create elaborate pieces of art that mix well with the futuristic fashion, whilst creating a message of extreme prosthetic style.

In 2009, Luke Staniland from the Office of Disability Issues had found that a disabled person can now be considered more ‘able’ than their non-disabled counterparts, “people were also more likely to think of disabled people as the same as everybody else”. This is a desire that disabled individuals wanted, mirroring the desire ordinary people have when they seek the latest fashion craze. Over 10 million people in the UK are dealing with a disability and 6 million of them are suffering from mobility problems. With the incredible scientific technologies that are being designed and made more available to the next generation, the future looks more appealing than ever before, with more opportunities being presented for disabled people to work in their desired profession without being judged on their appearance. The ever increasing developments in fashion and the human form is becoming equally extreme as technology in fashion. Original seems to have taken over traditional, with the future looking more scientific and less human like, fashion houses will have to adapt to these revolutions in the near future if they want to continue in the industry.

Third Floor Publication - Age Issue

"Age Issue" concentrates on the mature lady, how they influence us within the fashion industry today. From fashion forward individuals to celebrity inspiration, I look into how the older generation have their natural identities taken away from them just to meet the needs of today's fashion brands, I also look into the future for these inspirational women. Will they continue to feature as often in say 20 years time? 

~ Age Issue ~

No matter which high-end fashion magazine we choose to buy, at some stage the latest advertisement campaign for a fashion brand will surprise us with the choice of models used in their cutting-edge commercial. This leads us to question how long can a models career last for in this day and age? Models such as Valerie Pain, who have had a longstanding career in the business, continue to feature across many styles of fashion campaign, for example when Valerie featured in the Debenhams 2010 ‘The Style List’ campaign. Daphne Selfe is another model who has resumed her fashion livelihood with the likes of Dolce and Gabbana since her career started out in the 1950’s, when she won a local competition to be on the front cover of a local magazine. The dazzling longhaired model continues to mix with the typical adolescent, brandishing her silver locks across magazines spreads and catwalk expositions to voice her belief, that people can be any age to model and there shouldn’t be an age limit to persist their desired profession. Daphne voices her views through her involvement as an ambassador for the All Walks Beyond the Catwalk organisation, “variety is the spice of life and in the All Walks campaign there is an opportunity for everyone to be represented”. All Walks, founded in 2009 by Caryn Franklin, Debra Bourne and Erin O’Connor celebrates the right for more diversity within the fashion industry, the right for more variety of age, size and skin colour inside all fashion professions. For Daphne’s prolonged career in the modelling business, her beliefs of the use of traditional beauty products and keeping to a natural regime, are her fundamental logics to have retained her recognisable status and seen her to feature for current fashion campaigns, including contemporary designer brand Wunderkind.

Tziporah Salamon; whose career as a fashion dresser is another inspirational representative, of someone from an older generation who’s eccentric style speaks wonders to the world, that older woman deserve the right to feature more widely in the fashion and modelling industry. When asked in a recent interview if more mature women should be used in fashion campaigns, Tziporah declared, “Absolutely, women want to see that because they can relate to the older women”. Tziporah also states how she hopes older women will be favoured more extensively in today’s fashion advertising campaigns, since they are the generation who can afford the designer labels, as opposed to the younger women who cannot afford but are still chosen to be sprawled across the billboards in the fashion cities. It seems more logical, but it appears younger models are chosen because the campaign may look more appealing with a young fresh-faced model in replacement to the likes of Tziporah. Perhaps there could be a hidden secret as to why younger women are used much more than the mature woman currently.

Plastic surgeons from the University of Toronto have suggested, that the increasing use of cosmetic surgery including botox is seen as an approach to look younger, with consumers looking an average 7.2 years younger than their real age. This is perhaps an important incentive to stay in the limelight of the ever-changing fashion business, models could therefore lengthen their career into their 50’s and 60’s and beyond. Samantha Rose from Fashion Industry Today stated that women are finding that taking care of their skin is becoming extra important, to retain in the competitive world of looking young. Future developments in cosmetic surgery could actuate the longevity of a models career; Cleveland Clinic stated, “fewer people are growing older gracefully”. Daphne does not believe in the beauty enhancing methods, “I’ve never had anything done to my face,” she told the Daily Mail recently, her beliefs that her natural beauty was the inference for her permanence in the modelling industry. This has been established through her multiple photo shoots, with Mario Testino during the Dolce and Gabbana Fall 2008/2009 campaign and Nick Knight in 2009 for a black and white shoot to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of i-D magazine. With today’s market wanting to look youthful, it would be important for the next fashion campaign to tick all of the boxes, including the correct choice of model in order to meet the market’s needs. In today’s society, the age of the model determines the popularity of a fashion brand, Daphne once asked Nicholas Coleridge, “will I ever get on the cover of Vogue?” And he said: “Darling, you just won’t sell”. This pops the question whether age does become an issue when the older woman is featured in a modern day advertising campaign. Will fashion brands suffer declining sales as a result of a debateable issue? Older woman have more options now than ever before to make radical measures to their external natural beauty in order to continue their career, but does this subtract the main reasons why models are chosen for the latest high-end fashion campaigns? Tziporah avowed her sadness that “women aren’t aloud to age anymore”, we live in an illusion of wanting to be one beauty and she hopes that “we can turn the pendulum back” so the future doesn’t become an unwanted pressure.

The age issue does seize another opportunity for the older generation of models who still play a significant part in fashion. Mature women can dress just as fashionable as the younger individual, as it has become recognised with many younger people taking inspiration from the older female. Silver or white blonde has become the new white and grey when it comes to recent hair trends, Fashionising.com has prompted this as a revival trend for 2012/2013 season. Lady Gaga and Kelly Osbourne are just some of the celebrities who have taken the risk of changing their hair appearance, to look like their older counterparts in Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep; everyone remembers Helen’s appearance on the red carpet in her black floor length Ellie Sab dress at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. More commonly Meryl’s powerful character; fashion queen Miranda Priestly in ‘A Devil Wears Prada’. Without these women, there would be no inspiration for the up and coming youth. When we think of today’s society and where they get their inspiration for their day-to-day outfits or beauty tips, people such as fashion blogger Martina Manolcheva, who’s fashion-friendly blog ‘Marta’s Fashion Diary’ looks back to the iconic women from past decades, to find her inspiration that constitutes the person she is. Martina states many reasons why the 60’s trend continues to become popular with the younger individual through her blog post, ‘The Fashion Icon of the 60’s – Twiggy’. Martina as well as many other fashion bloggers are sometimes driven by current fashion trends and perpetually research back to the fashion-thriving decades, this states the importance of keeping the older woman engrossed within fashion. From Twiggy to Naomi Campbell, these iconic personalities represent fashion at its best. They might not be in the eye of their audiences as much as they were when they first appeared on the fashion scene, but they continue to show their ever lasting love affair with fashion by being involved in projects that see them not being in the public’s attention as often as they were when they were modelling. Twiggy has been the face of two extremely successful collections with Marks and Spencer since 2012, A/W 12 being her most recent collection designed for the more mature woman; this comes after her persistent involvement in the fashion and modelling industry. The 60’s pin up, amongst many other mature models of her decade express their opinion that fashion should not have to stop for the older women of any generation, it should merely continue to thrive. These beautiful women started a career with their recognisable natural perspective about them, and since a newfound surgical procedure to make the older feel more youthful has surfaced, a supplementary number of younger models are using this as a method to cultivate their career in the business of modelling. Celebrities such as Heidi Montag, who has gone from a TV personality to glamour model, are a classic example of today’s juvenile generation who have the worrying fear of growing old and exposing to the world a face occupied by wrinkles. Before Botox or other surgical procedures came onto the fashion scene, models and the adolescent had no choice but to let nature takes it toll on their bodies. Daphne Selfe and Valerie Pain are compelling models that convey a message of a long and healthy career in the business by conceitedly showing off their natural beauty. The success they have had as a result of this fulfilled manifestation, sees them pose for high-end designer brands and still continuing within the industry. This creates a message that the younger generation do not have to go down the cosmetic surgery route to lengthen their career in modelling, there is this overloading pressure of looking young that could be a growing problem with future development in the fashion industry.

It is not just the physical mending of the human form that is sending the natural image of our models into nihility, but the incessant debates on how Photoshop has taken over the editoral world and the augmented digital manipulation of today’s models, that grace the magazines, billboards and websites across our technological world of fashion. Many faces of natural beauty today for example, Alexa Chung and Kate Moss are persistent targets to be look ‘perfect’ to enhance a brand’s image, if there is such a thing as perfect. Models are being made to look slimmer, the smallest hint of wrinkles and beauty blemishes are removed whilst perfection is enhanced. There have been numerous cases where the most beautiful have been transformed into something that can merely be described as un-human, responsibility held on the modern technology and development of Photoshop. Technology has shown its fast-paced development through many ways such as social networking, however in another light Photoshop and other image enhancing programmes are now destroying the future of natural human form. ‘Self’ Magazine editor Lucy Danziger once stated, “photo shopping is an industry standard”, which affirms that enhancing the natural beauty is becoming an every day normality, creating an invented future for the editoral industry. Flicking through the pages of Marie Claire and seeing the same look over and over again in different advertising campaigns, rather than seeing different natural looks could become the future of fashion.

The age issue is becoming part of the false advertisement that is perceived in the editoral industry, when magazines search to find the ‘perfect’ model to feature on the front cover of an magazine, they are in fact creating the impossible and devising a ‘perfect’ model with the use of Photoshop. Lindsay Adler stated, “It’s essential for retouching and creative effects… and has also become an invaluable tool to help many photographers present fantasy.” Surely creating the impossible fantasy would push models to say no to technology and let their natural appearance shine through, before technology becomes essential. What is perfect? Perfect is merely a word that is used to describe someone that is ideal for someone’s particular project, so everyone has their own perception of this over-used term, will the natural face of a beautiful model be featured more in editorial, or will the un-human trend continue? The older model looks to becoming a distant memory with the future developments of the perfecting tool on younger models. It is only organisations such as All Walks that models of an older generation are still beyond the eyes of fashion experts; with or without surgery or Photoshop the future existence of the older female is continuing to loss its battle against the imminent younger female model.