Weekend Reading: January 6, 2017
- Words Grailed Team
- Date January 6, 2017
"Weekend Reading" is a weekly rundown of our favorite stories from around the web.
How Factory Records inspired decades of fashion
"The bands they represented, such as Joy Division, The Durutti Column and latterly New Order and Happy Mondays, were imperious in their sonic approach, but Factory Records was in many ways defined by its radical aesthetic as much it was by its musical output. Drawing heavily from the Situationist movement of 1968, the label’s praxis and artwork often served as an elegant and often minimalist riposte to the haphazard years of punk that had preceded it. Even Factory’s systematic numbering of all its output, from music releases to objects, felt decidedly contrarian – not unlike the product categorisation used by Martin Margiela (a Factory Records fan, according to his former Music Director, Frédéric Sanchez) some years later."
via: Dazed Digital
Meet the People, Trends, and Items That Will Rule Fashion in 2017
"The disruption that shook the fashion world in 2016, from designer departures to the hubbub around see-now-buy-now fashion, is likely to continue into 2017, with brands questioning how to make fashion stick in an ever-increasing digital age. Even amid the confusion and chaos, though, there are constants we can count on, like the people who will dictate the trends of the year to the trends that are likely to dominate fashion on and off the runway."
via: Vogue
Why Alexander Wang's Adidas Collection Was Sold In Unmarked Trucks And Trash Bags
"While meant to mimic the surprise drops of high-profile albums lately, there were actually clues posted around New York days in advance. Posters appeared that were emails between officials at Adidas Originals and Alexander Wang, discussing the collection and the use of the logo. The names and brands were blacked out, except for one of the email addresses with an Alexander Wang URL. On the day before Wang's show for his own new collection, someone went around and stamped the name of someone at Alexander Wang on the posters. Then, on the day of the show, just hours before the news of the Adidas collaboration went public, the Adidas Originals' logo was stamped on the posters."
via: Fast Company
Louis Vuitton Goes From Lawyering Up Against Supreme to Collabing With Them, Maybe
"Of course, luxury labels like Louis Vuitton have always been big in the streetwear world. Look no further than someone like Harlem legend Dapper Dan, who threw the LV monogram pattern on jackets in the ‘80s. Or the popularity of the label’s belts among rappers. They caught on because the logo is an instantly recognizable symbol of luxury — as my colleague Eliza Brooke put it, they’re basically memes at this point: signifiers immediately understood that communicate a clear message. But this love affair was long one-sided."
via: Racked
Best-performing companies for fashion, luxury come from US, says BCG
"The behavior of millennial men is driving the market, leading 7 out of 10 top performing fashion and luxury companies to hail from the United States and has put increased focus on apparel and footwear, according to a report from the Boston Consulting Group."
via: Luxury Daily
How High Fashion Has Begun Colonizing Canal Street
"But fashion’s incursion into the area isn’t just an artistic one. Industry people have begun to turn one of the blocks into a mini–Garment District. Two facing buildings, on 264 and 265 Canal, have become a hotbed for the city’s indie talents to set up shop — the brands Area and CG; stylists Mel Ottenberg, Chris Gelinas, George Cortina, and Katie Mossman; and magazines Document Journal and Office, to name a few. Attracted by the cheaper rent, Gelinas relocated his studio this summer from the slice of midtown that makes up the city’s shrinking (but eternally relevant) Garment Center. He says he appreciates the extra space and the remove from the fashion Establishment. 'The day that Canal Street would ever seem like a reprieve from the chaos is crazy to me, but it totally is,' he says."
via: NY Mag
From customization to DIY handbags – how customers became designers
"A varsity jacket covered in patches. Jeans frayed to their wearer’s liking. Trainers with their owner’s initials printed on the heel – customisation was one of 2016’s strongest trends in fashion. It’s set to take flight in 2017 as the consumers – once dictated to by the industry’s all-powerful designers – becomes the designers themselves."
via: The Guardian
How Customers Perceive a Price Is as Important as the Price Itself
"Price wars have broken out in consumer industries around the world. Retailers such as ALDI and Walmart have used price to position themselves against traditional competitors in their markets, pinching margins all around. Financial asset managers have been out-price-cutting one another in exchange-traded funds in a bid to gain market share. Major U.S. telecommunications carriers now compete fiercely on price as they try to win new customers. And airlines are gearing up for a price war on trans-Atlantic routes as some low-cost carriers plan service between the U.S. and Europe."
The Most Influential Colour Palettes for Spring/Summer 2017
"Flicking through the pages of a fashion magazine can often feel like wading through pages of glossy advertisements. What is the real and what is fantasy, a less familiar reader may ask? The answer is simply irrelevant. Fashion advertising is an art form in itself – an unbridled communicator of a brand’s vision and the mood of a collection. Fashion is nothing if not lustful, and this is a chance for brands to stun us into hysterical desire and make us ache for something that we’ll never need, but need to want; one only need look to Tom Ford’s 1990s Gucci campaigns to understand that."
via: Another Mag
The Great British Break-Up: How Brexit Will Impact Fashion in 2017
"While most signs have suggested that Britain’s conservative government favours a hard Brexit, UK Prime Minister Theresa May has remained stubbornly vague on the matter, using platitudes like "Brexit means Brexit" as opposed to laying out a clear exit strategy. Last month, May struck a different tone by declining to rule out whether the UK would continue to pay contributions into the EU budget after Brexit. Some have interpreted this as a signal that Britain may attempt to maintain access to the EU’s single market, further clouding the matter."