NOT dead

Hello hello!

I just wanted to say: this blog is NOT dead. Trust me. It’s just that the workload at HKU is pretty terrific and I turned into a hermit living in the library. But soon it’ll be over and I'll start properly posting!:)

fashion: H&M knock-offs

It was about time to do some spring shopping. Though I guess that a black cardigan and a pair of black jeans aren't very springy. Never mind. 

Wandering about the Cityplaza in Taikoo proved to be an "interesting experience". First of all, there happened to be some fire alarm - I say some because I had no idea what was going on (my Cantonese is limited to "m goi") but I know that I was suddenly shut in the mall. At least I managed to run away via MTR (subway). 

Anyway, in the meantime I went to H&M. It's a kind of a shop that was my major shopping destination throughout my teenage years and, unfortunately, I'm still forced to return there. Not exactly forced, but there are not many other options of clothes with prices suitable for a student budget.

Oh, I should get to the point. Ok, now. Is it just me or they really released items "inspired" by Mary Katrantzou? I mean, the fashion show in London was only about 3 weeks ago?! Fast fashion at it's best.

Well, everyone knows the H&M and such heavily derive from designer collections. Nothing new. However, what "worries" me is the fact that... what happened to fashion seasons? Mary's collection is supposed to be Autumn/Winter 2014-15 while high-street shops are already selling its knock-offs? Will the collection remain relevant after all? Or, paradoxically, will it become outdated once it hits the stores? Since it features quite a distinct imagery it's highly possible. Sadly.

(I wanted to take pictures of the items I'm talking about - but there was the fire alarm.)

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fashion: do women want stupid magazines, or not

Why are men’s magazines so better than women’s?

Recently, I had a lazy afternoon and stopped by magazines at the supermarket. Since I’m in Hong Kong and have absolutely no knowledge of Chinese (ok, I can say thank you) I overlooked HK versions of Elle and others, and my eyes fell onto all the Vogues, Bazaars and Elles from Britain, US and other countries. I skimmed through them and didn’t like them. However, that’s not the sole reason that made me write a post on it. I'm aware of the fact that these magazines have become foldable billboards. Even though, I must admit on occasions it makes me sad. However, the reason is that I also skimmed through men’s style/fashion magazines (GQ, Monocle, Esquire etc.). And, o-m-g, I stood there for more than twenty minutes, reading and reading and just enjoying sharp and witty articles - for men. 

I knew that it wasn't me, because even though I'm not a girly girl I'm not manly. At least I believe so. 

The difference is that men’s magazines, those basically dealing with the same stuff - style, were written in anticipation of much more clever audience - men. Just look at the amount of text and even on the size of it! Articles are long, interesting, not much dealing with sex and the font size is often considerably smaller = even more text. 

Come on, is sex the only thing women want to read about? It's getting boring, no? All the time all the same. Not even creative in any sense. Or, diets? Eat less and exercise more. That's it. There's no other secret in it. I want to learn something new from each article, not to read a 'poetic' form of publicity. I want to learn something about the women who rule the world! Haha, ok now I'm exaggerating but it's only because I went to a bookshop today and there was NO biography of a single woman. Only men. (and, beware, I don't consider myself a feminist, it's just that I'm noticing stuff and they make me sad/mad)

Are really women that stupid? I don't think so (hopefully). Or do they see fashion magazines as a refuge which enables them to switch to the mode of no thinking and just "enjoying" advertisements? Perhaps (sadly). But then I don't understand paying for it (Google = free?).

Hmm?

(By the way, has anyone read the Porter? Any opinions?)

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fashion: regular outfits

Do you think about what you wear? 

I know that fashion bloggers who take photos of their outfits basically on a daily basis definitely do. I know that picking an outfit is never a totally unconscious process. So I should perhaps rephrase my question. To what extent do you think about what you wear? Too much? Too little?

Recently, I’ve been thinking a bit about why I wear what I wear. For outfits I consider deliberately picked enables and I’ve realized that in most cases I dress on impulse with not much thinking but lots of laziness involved. This is probably because of my very limited range of choices and no budget for shopping sprees. 

But still it made me think... is it wrong? or right? In a way, I feel under pressure. I know that no one really cares and it's probably only my very inner pressure, but because I absolutely love fashion I feel obliged to create some amazing outfits which would have the power to catch attention of street photographer at all times. (Un)fortunately, I'm not that type of person but it makes me feel as if I was fake. Am I faking my love for fashion? Do I need to prove the world my interest through bold fashion statements? Or is it possible to love fashion but assume a role of a quite observer? 

fashion: power

From time to time life reminds me of what I truly love about fashion, of its true sense. I realize how empowering fashion is. It’s the reason why I consider fashion so important in our lives and why I believe that everyone who dismisses fashion as stupid and shallow has just missed the point. 

Fashion has the power to give us voice in situations we cannot speak or are prohibited to speak. It's the easiest way to express disagreement. After all, fashion has often acted as a very first step of revolutions of any sorts. And coming from an ex-communist country, I can assure you that during those dark days fashion mattered more than you'd think since the government regarded it as a threat. It was a threat because communism didn't want people to think - independently. It didn't want people to express their opinions. And so, one of the ways to suppress any kind of individualism was to control fashion. After all, everything was controlled. Because even though we often aren't aware of that, fashion completely transforms one's personality. It changes the body language, ways of thinking and behaving, and even the way of speaking. But more importantly fashion has the wonderful ability to give us more confidence.  And on top of that, not only that it changes the personality of the wearer, but it also changes the attitude of people towards him/her. The way one expresses oneself determines what other people think about him/her and it has often a lasting impact which is hard to change. Fashion matters.

Fashion can be much more than you think. It's neither shopping nor selfies in the mirror. It's who we are.

(P.S. I'm trying to figure out how to transfer sketches and drawings into digital images so my first efforts are and will be rather ridiculous, sorry, although I don't aspire to make them 'beautiful' either way)

Comme des Garçons: monsters of art

The latest Comme des Garçons collection hardly falls into the category of fashion. Obviously, none of the outfits would be either flattering or merely functional. Unless your desired look is a "monster" - the very name Rei Kawakubo called her collection of bizarre creatures. But what monsters did she mean? The monsters of the real world, of fashion industry, or of our own mind?

The collection is incredible. It’s a transformation of fashion to art.

Therefore, it is impossible, perhaps even inappropriate, to view the collection from the same perspective from which one views Lanvin or Dior shows. Why not? Even though, they all “did the same thing” (the setting was a catwalk at PFW and the performance consisted of walking), they all oscillated on completely different levels. By that I don’t meant that one is better than another. It’s just that Lanvin or Dior is still operating within the realm of fashion and luxury, a category to which they have been faithful ever since. Whereas Comme des Garçons has confidently moved from fashion to the realms of art. Performance art? Not really, Conceptual art? Perhaps. 

But if I dare to call the collection a conceptual art what is the concept? Let have the creator speak:

"The theme of the collection this time is MONSTER. It's not about the typical Monster you find in sci-fi and video games. The expression of the Monsters I have made has a much deeper meaning. The craziness of humanity, the fear we all have, the feeling of going beyond common sense, the absence of ordinariness, expressed by something extremely big, by something that could be ugly or beautiful. In other words, I wanted to question the established standards of beauty."

I believe that later in shops you'll find very different clothes - wearable pieces for which this collection is only a point of reference. Not only that it's a quite common practice, to adjust clothes for retail, but it's also the fact that these pieces are impossible to be worn. It’s hard to think about anyone strong enough to wear such ensembles. They are destined to remain behind a vitrine in a museum. Even though it was only an ordinary catwalk that was turned into a stage, such performance was to be seen only once. If repeated, its power and meaning would be lost. To retail them and actually wear them would mean to strip them off their aura. Yet, it wasn't truly a performance art although I describe it in terms of one. The models who would be normally assumed to have the role of performers became only a mere bases whose function was only to let the clothes speak for themselves. In a way, it's nothing new, models have been called "coat hangers" for a reason. But here their role was exploited to the fullest and they were stripped off any other possible function beyond walking. 

Recently, more and more people have started to call fashion art. Often it’s only because they've mistaken the appreciation of fashion for appreciation of art. However, a mere feeling of “liking” is not enough to justify the equation of fashion = art. The reason for that is simple. The great art goes deep beyond the surface, while in the case of fashion it is the surface what matters the most. I'm aware that some people would object to such a claim. I know that many believe that being a fashion designer is actually being an artist. In some cases, it's possible that an artistic genius decides to devote his/her life to fashion. But to be honest, it'd be usually for economical reasons. Everyone needs money and art rarely pays the bills. Unless you're Damien Hirst, of course. In other cases, designers are skillful artisans with a certain degree of creativity who might have some artistic impulses but their works are mostly driven by the market. They create what they believe will sell. And this belief is not based on mere intuition but on a vast market research, trend forecasting and figures from last seasons. 

Nevertheless, a closer look reveals that both art and fashion go in parallel with the way they reflect their subjects and tackle certain issues. I'm sure everyone has noticed that in art a sense of ugliness has been preferred over beauty (e.g. Tracey Emin's infamous My Bed) lately. The same goes for fashion. Often, you see creations which might be praised by the fashion folks but misunderstood by the rest of the public. The clothes are often unflattering and ugly, but in contrast to Monsters they are still functional. Their surface appearance also gives the wearer a hope of being something more and a belief of understanding fashion more than others. Because after all he/she is going against conventions and that must be for a reason. There might be one, but such cases are rare. Often, the hopes and beliefs are only fake aspirations.

In his latest collection, Alber Elbaz tried to take fashion to extremes but he took it to extremes which were still within the boundaries of fashion. Or rather within his own boundaries. Whereas, here, Rei took fashion out of its boundaries, confidently exploring what the world outside had on offer. As I said before, I believe that the clothes are destined for a museum, not for a real world. In real life, clothes should be a "base" that enables one to showcase his/her very own personality.  However, these pieces would be rather suffocating than empowering. They would say nothing about one's personality because Rei's message is too strong and there's no room for its further development. 

It takes time. I wasn’t prepared to see this kind of collection even though Kawakubo is certainly not famous for being conventional. One needs to swap fashion lenses for the art ones. Then, everything starts to make sense. 

Sorry. I got carried off. But is there anything better than fashion/art that makes you think?

Apparently I miss my regular dose of essays.

film: Mrs. Arris goes to Paris

Sometimes I crave a simple film (with nice costumes) that would not be a pain to watch but also would not demand much thinking of me. With Mrs. Arris goes to Paris I can happily tick all the boxes.

Even though the film, set in 50s Paris, is more like a fairy tale for adults - ok, for adult women, one can still spot some depth in it. That is in the approach towards clothes, towards the proper luxurious clothes. Just watch how determined Mrs. Harris was to get one Dior dress, what she was able to crucify for it, and then think about what Fashion truly meant to people.

That "appreciation" of fashion is what I'm missing today. Or maybe it's the impact of my current environment of Hong Kong. Where else is one more surrounded by luxury brands on every single step than in Hong Kong? What other city can be likened to a huge shopping mall and still it'd not be an exaggeration?  

The world has turned into a consumption bubble that is all about consuming a product in one second, and getting rid of it the another. Sigh.

Anyway, on a happy note, fashion week in Paris has slowly started. Let's go there with Mrs. Harris. Nevermind, if it's just fictitiously.

a fragment of coptic textile

EN: I need to share this fragment of coptic textile. I bumped it into it while browsing the collections of the British Museum and immediately fell in love with it. I love the pattern, the colours and despite the fact that the textile is more than thousand years old it still seems to me in a way modern. If I was a designer I would probably take it as a reference point for my collection. If I was...

CS: Musím se podělit o tento fragment koptské textilie. Narazila jsem na něj během procházení kolekcí Britského muzea a okamžitě jsem si jej zamilovala. Líbí se mi ten vzor, barvy a navzdory faktu, že se jedná o více než tisíc let starou textilii tak stále na mě působí svým způsobem moderně. Kdybych byla designér tak si jsem téměř jistá, že bych jej využila jako výchozí bod mé nové kolekce. Kdybych byla...

Cambodian fashion week documentary

EN: About three weeks ago, I got back from Cambodia. My journey to Cambodia was rather a spontaneous decision, and I had absolutely no expectations and no knowledge of the country. When I arrived I was just shocked. What I saw was way beyond my expectations (OK, I had none, right) and the whole experience was truly eye-opening. So, I was more than delighted later today when I found this documentary on the Cambodian fashion week and its garment industry - it's worth watching. 

The host in the document suggested a disgust over current designers and fashion brands who exploit people like Cambodians and then parade at fashion weeks. I get her point as it's really distressing. But then, a usual reaction to such an issue (and a 'solution' to a problem) is: "I'm not gonna buy that stuff." And trust me, I've heard it lots of times. So I just want to ask one thing: would it be a solution? Wouldn't it only cause people lose their jobs, lose any possible means to meet their ends, and therefore cause even more suffering? I'm afraid so. At the end of the day, Cambodia and therefore Cambodians heavily depend on textile industry. I don't think that the fashion companies are the 'bad' guys here, even though they're neither the good ones. Still, they're employing the people and they're giving them money (although little). I know that the conditions in factories are terrible. But what else would the people do? There's nothing in Cambodia. Cambodia is a poor country and even their cows look completely anorexic. Personally, I think that it's the government to blame. It's the government which approves the conditions within which their people work and which sets the rules of the game.

I should stop it now, I could write an essay on it as there are many points to raise on ethics, morality etc. but, honestly, at the moment I'm fully enjoying a rare momentum of an essay-free period so I won't do so.

Just think about it.

(P.S. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a supporter of the state in which Cambodian textile industry is today. I just call for not putting the blame on designers and brands only.)

CS: Asi před třemi týdny jsem se vrátila z Kambodže. Moje výprava byla v podstatě výsledkem spontánního rozhodnutí, a tudíž jsem neměla absolutně žádná očekávání a vlastně jsem ani nic o té zemi nevěděla. Během své první cesty tuk-tukem centrem Phnom Penhu jsem zažívala šok. To co jsem viděla v mnohém předčilo má očekávání - v horším slova smyslu (OK, neměla jsem žádná očekávání, že) - a celá má cesta po Kambodže mi postupně víc a víc otevírala oči - odhaloval se mi nový svět, třetí svět. Tím pádem jsem dnes byla víc než nadšená, když jsem našla dokument o kambodžském fashion weeku a textilním průmyslu - a stojí to za zhlédnutí.

Moderátorka naznačila jakési znechucení nad dnešními designéry a modními značkami, které zneužívají lidi jako právě Kambodžany a pak se pyšně promenují po fashion weekech. Zcela ji chápu, jelikož je to svým způsobem opravdu znepokující. Ale pak, obvyklou reakcí na takovoutu problematiku (a často 'řešení' problému) je: "Už z tama nikdy ty hadry nekoupím." A věřte mi, už jsem to párkrát slyšela. Takže bych se chtěla zeptat na jednu věc: bylo by to řešením? Neznamenalo by to pro Kambodžany jen ztrátu práce, ztrátu prostředků tolik potřebných k přežití a tím pádem jen a pouze více strádání a trápení? Obávám se, že ano. Nakonec, Kambodža, a tedy Kambodžané, silně závisí právě na textilním průmyslu .Nemyslím si, že módní společnosti jsou ti špatní, i když se nedají ani považovat za ty správné. Jenže, co jiného by Kambodžané mohli dělat? Nic tam není. Kambodža je chudá země a i ty jejich krávy jsou anorektičky. Osobně si myslím, že vina je na straně vlády. Vláda je ten kdo umožňuje práci v oněch hrozných podmínkách a vláda je ten kdo určuje pravidla hry. 

Ale měla bych končit. Mohla bych na to napsat celou esej, jelikož je tady toho spousta bodů jako etika a morálnost atd., o kterých by se  dalo dlouze diskutovat, jenže já momentálně si užívám vzácné chvíle klidu, kdy nemám na programu žádnou deadline a žádnou esej. Takže já zde končím. 

Ale vy můžete pokračovat, popřemýšlejte o tom. 

(P.S. Pro ujasnění: nepodporuji 'způsoby' kambodžského textilního průmyslu. Jen chci, aby se vina nepřikládala pouze na stranu designérů a módních značek.)

no more "I love fashion", please

EN: To be honest, I try to avoid saying the phrase "I love fashion" as much as possible. Mainly it's because I remember the days when I'd watch FashionTV and every possible person in the reach of camera was made to say that phrase. And I hated it - it was obviously fake. I don't know if they still do it because since I went to uni I haven't had any access to TV but I guess they still carry on with this 'signature phrase'. 

But then, in a deeper sense, what else could be my feelings towards fashion than love? I'm not going to make a list of things which throughout my day gravitate towards fashion because it would be endless. It's just that every cell of my body wants to live fashion and one day hopes to truly enter the world and create something big. Yeah, sounds great, right? Little bit naive, but great. And I usually hold on my dreams until they come true.

CS: Upřímně, osobně se snažím co nejvíce vyvarovat frázi "I love fashion". Především je to proto, že si dobře pamatuju dny, kdy jsem sledovala FashionTV a kdokoli, kdo se ocitl v dosahu kamery byl donucen  ji poslušně odříkat. Nesnášela jsem to - celé to bylo jasně falešné a nevěrohodné. Nevím jestli to stále dělají, protože od té doby co jsem odešla na univerzitu tak v podstatě nemám žádný přístup k TV, ale předpokládám, že od toho neopustili. Bohužel.

Ale pak, když se to vezme, co jiného by mé pocity mohly být než láska k módě? Nebudu psát seznam věcí, které během mého dne jasně indikují mojí posedlost, protože by byl nekonečný. Stručně řečeno, každá buňka mého těla chce žít módu a věří, že nadejde den, kdy konečně vstoupí do onoho světa a vytvoří něco velkého. Hah, zní skvěle, že? Trošku naivně, ale skvěle. A obvykle se držím svých snů tak dlouho dokud si je nesplním.

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