Beyond the Brand
Bliadhna Mhath Ur from my atelier in the Scottish Highlands.
Working alone as an artisan, I find quotes and editorials, a very reassuring way of reminding and encouraging me, that I'm engaged in the craft of slow fashion.
Giancarlo Giammetti, Valentino’s long term business partner, on recently receiving a life time achievement award, admitted “We left, because the industry changed and meetings were all about money and not design. Sales forecasts decided what got created. The conglomerates made each label work to the same model. WE COULDNT LAUNCH TODAY. If we did, we would be doing slow fashion, inviting fewer people to buy, at the highest quality. You dont have to be judged on the number of dresses you make. Sustainability must be everyone’s
pre-occupation right now”. Michael O'Flaherty in the FT.
Alas, I have been following that sustainable code since 1976, using exquisite top of the range fabrics. I'm able to restyle if necessary, as our taste evolves. More recent pieces, I consider heirlooms.
Lisa Armstrong, of The Times recently wrote.
“Balenciaga alone is a couturier in the true sense of the word. Only he, is capable of cutting material, assembling a creation and sewing it by hand. Others are simply fashion designers”.
No, he isnt the only one with such skills. What I would add, is that one can become a so-called fashion designer at any age but to become the “true sense of the word” artisan of hand needlework, takes a lifetime.
I recently created the unique Ae Fond Kiss timeless coat-dress in Burns tartan. Starting with a sketch, I drafted the bias cut pattern, hand stitching it and embellishing it with black grosgrain ribbon. It has an overlay of black French flocked tulle. I am now waiting to see who will be it's custodian, to treasure.
We live in a different fashion world from the one Cristobal inhabited in Paris. For those of us, below the fashion journalist’s immediate radar, it is increasingly difficult to gain and retain visibility, above the billion marketing spend of the Conglomerates.
I hope to continue to “invite fewer people to buy, at the highest quality” and not “be judged by the number of dresses” I create.