So we had a Lecture from the legend that is Ronald Klein... Someone who has had such a great portfolio of jobs and is as down to earth as him - can it be? After having such an amazing carer working for the likes of Dior and MaxMara and in the designing of his own collections modeled by the likes of Naomi Campbell.
He describes couture as " the craft of making clothing all by hand" and the importance of being "aware of women and men's body's" he said the only problem he finds in the designing of women's clothes is that he cannot actually try them on himself to see how they fit.
Designers and other creative people today, often say that Couture is dead - something which Klein does not agree with. He say :today couture is all about " promotion of a brand" in creating aspirations for millions of women world wide. Although it is very expensive, couture today is more about an investment of something beautiful: like a piece of art - People want to invest in the craft of couture. Klein suggest that this is the reason for the modern importance of vintage...you can't go down the street these days without there being one or more vintage shop and they are highly valued in the fashion industry, amongst others. Vintage is not just about the clothing but also to do with beautiful interiors that are a far stretch from the "common" high-street fashions which every girl and her friend is wearing. Vintage is a chance to wear something new - which is actually rather refreshing.
With Couture like with anything, it is changing and will continue to change. Nothing ever stays the same - and thats what we all love - right? If things stayed the same forever there would be nothing left for designers to do. Innovation is key.
Klein explained how his inspirations come from everywhere; " Fashion is a reflection of everything that is going on in the world at the certain point in time" Like everything changes so does fashion. He stated that " In order for everything to stay the same, you have to change" a very important point and maybe a highlight of everything that he said. A pearl of wisdom so to speak.
What I found fascinating about the work of Klein is that he has designed clothing for the likes of Lady Di - A true Icon in my opinion.
When it came to questions - of corse there were many! One which was particularly interesting was one which was around the subject of logos and branding. Klein highlighted that " clothes give you an image" which is true of the 21st century. Gone are the days where you simple stick on something without giving it a second though. It's not just about covering yourself nowadays. However he also highlighted a very important point " if you are confident with yourself you don't need a logo". Is this really true - or indeed is this what others really believe...what about all of those people who spend £1000 on a bag? It is true that we all like nice things, who doesn't love a new bag and who wouldn't kill for the latest chloe dress...but really is it the be all and end all. Does your life depend on it. Ill let you decide, but ill take the chloe dress.
Which brought us to the next question: do you think we all live in a fantasy world? Klien said " you need to fantasies and clothes are a way of doing it - they are about who you would like to be & the world you want to live in" this comment I 100% agreed with...If we didn't fantasies then what in fact would we have to look forward to, aspirations and fantasies are something that we look forward to and aim to achieve and why not? Life would be so boring otherwise.
In terms of high-street - Klein pointed out the obvious - they don't actually create anything new, they simply copy the designers, and thank got they do right? In Topshop for example you can buy clothes and look good for cheap, brilliant.
A point of focus was;
" money is not as important today as it was yesterday"
With this comment I was slightly shocked? But surely money makes the world go round. But does it, really? but his next comment was what made me laugh. " you can spend a lot of money and still look like a bag" but isn't it true, just because you spend a lot of money on something doesn't always mean that you will look fantastic, quite the opposite actually in some cases - take a look in any magazine and you'll see a page on celebs with the title "When bad clothes happened to good people" or "the worst dresses". And with this I totally agree. My ethos - if it looks good it doesn't matter how much it costs of in fact where you got it from.
And with that he the lecture was over - with the round up statement...
"Fashion is a big world" and isn't it just!
I have had many great opportunities to be involved within a number of different fashion shows over the years. Several being held in Newcastle, one which included the FTV 2008 fashion show held at Tup Tup Palace.
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