fashion: art or usability?

i think that fashion is both art and usablility. we started wearing clothes to keep us protected from the weather and diseases. today, most people see clothing as an art. it certianly takes a lot of time and planning to accomplish a simple peice. people use clothing as a way to express themselves and make themselves look and feel better. fashion can also be used as a status symbol. for instance who is wearing the biggest designers and who has more expensive things to show off. All in all i think clothing and fashion can be whatever you want it to be.

problems facing the fashion industry

The major problem facing the fashion industry is that also facing the country. Our economy is weak and we are going through a major recession. People are not buying high priced designer pieces anymore because they simply dont have the money to splurge on unnecessary needs. With that being said, the designers are then affected and not making as much money. Another problem facing the fashion industry is the environment. People are starting to "go green" which is even more expensive. I personally would not buy something "green" that cost more than something that was the same thing, and wasnt "green"

new developments in retail industry

new developments in the retail industry include smart clothing and AIMEX. aimex is a green friendly fabric being introduced over in europe. smart clothing includes more research towards clothing the military and the medical fields. for example i found this website http://ldt.stanford.edu/~jeepark/jeepark+portfolio/cs147hw8jeepark.html that was really cool and said "Georgia Tech developed a "Wearable Motherboard" (GTWM), which was initially intended for use in combat conditions. Georgia Tech's research was funded by the US Department of Navy. The Sensate Liner for Combat Casualty Care uses optical fibers to detect bullet wounds and special sensors that interconnects in order to monitor vital signs during combat conditions. Medical sensing devices that are attached to the body plug into the computerized shirt, creating a flexible motherboard. The GTWM is woven so that plastic optical fibers and other special threads are integrated into structure of the fabric. There are no discontinuities in the GTWM. The GTWM is one piece of fabric, without seams. Because the sensors are detachable from the GTWM, they can be placed at any location, and is therefore adjustable for different bodies. Furthermore, the types of sensors used can be varied depending on the wearer's needs. Therefore, it can be customized for each user. For example, a firefighter could have a sensor that monitors oxygen or hazardous gas levels. Other sensors monitor respiration rate and body temperature or can collect voice data through a microphone. " i dont think there is anyother way to put it than on that website. i think this could be the start of getting our economy back into shape and having something good to compete with asian countries sending over dirt cheap materials and competing with out other fabrics.

fashion week

Fashion week is where designers debue their new designs and collections for the upcoming season. It is very important to have foreshadowing of what will be in. This upcoming season of spring 2009 ive noticed a lot of metallics and earth toned colors. some of the things i didnt expect but they were beautiful. some day i hope to attend a new york fashion week.

Ethnic influences on apparel design have become more popular recently. A lot of the patterns some retailers and designers are choosing to use are patterns from african, chinese, hispanic, and indian cultures. I think these different patterns are becoming so popular now is because eveyone is tired of seeing and wearing the same old things over and over. I think that these patterns and designs are not completly from other cultures but they have definetly inspired designs for apparel a great deal. I personally like the new patterns and have a few things that have ethnic patterns and I just think its really good to have variety in what you wear and what you see in stores; it keeps things a lot more exciting that way!

environmental friendly clothing

I think that most environmental friendly clothing starts out as being made from a natural fiber. The problems with natural fibers is how they are grown and the finishes that they put on them or other fabrics they may mix them with. To grow natural fibers many growers use many fertilizers that harm our ground soil and ground water. When rain falls and erosion occurs these fertilizers travel down into other soils and contaminating them as well. With organic cotton, the plants are harvested naturally without fertilizers and are done so for over three years in the same location before its classified as "organic". Organic cotton is much cleaner and not factorized, dyed unnaturally, or give off polution when being processed.

my favorite designer

To be honest I actually don't have one favorite designer. I really like Versace, BCBG, Lauren Conrad's recent collection, Christian Audigier, and Marciano. My style changes a lot so I can't stick to one person I really like. Right now im very into the more femeine look. I really like bows but not really ruffles. Some days, I like to be more edgy with my style and have a few peices from christian audigier. BCBG has some really tasteful clothes that still have really cute detail to them so its not so plain and boring. Lauren Conrad has really nice "going out" clothes that i would definetly wear if i had the money. When i was about 14 I stayed in the Atlantis in the Bahamas and they had a Versace store. It was absolutley beautiful and i saw this one really colorful shirt with real crystals all over it and i feel in love with it, (it was like 1,500) so ever since then I can't help to just keep that in my head that if i was a celebrity i would love to shop there. Marciano creates a lot of flashy things but i like how they are still tasteful. I love their handbags, shoes, and some of their shirts, but im addicted to their handbags :)