Oh great. Instead of getting to watch the Gucci SS10 fashion show live from Milan (with my e-seat, 8180H), I got this error message:

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_VARIABLE, expecting T_FUNCTION in /srv/gucciconnect/sites/production/public_html/application/controllers/signin.php on line 37

It works!! Here are some stills from the show!

I confess, I am a Teen Vogue It Girl. Sure, I may be just a bit outside the demographic. But when I applied (while doing a project for Dollhouse and Teen Vogue), they accepted me! So now I get to attend this Gucci e-fashion show! I got my e-ticket with a "seat assignment" and everything. I'll probably sit in my own chair, I'm guessing.

I have no idea how this will work. This will be my very first e-fashion show. I'll let you know everything I get to see!

The 5th Avenue display window of the new Gucci flagship,
with "resurrected Gucci crest" front and center. The crest is a
recurring visual symbol throughout the store.

The women's collection on the third floor looks spacious in this photo,
but the dark carpet and the low ceilings make the space feel ponderous.
I just did not get that "exhilarated" shopping feeling.

The fixture choices -- gold racks, black and white striped walls -- are not
exactly a neutral backdrop for the clothes. What if a collection was composed
of cool tones and silvers?

The men's shoe collection on the second floor with the city as a backdrop.

Can you believe that Daniel Saynt of Fashion Indie apparently complained his way into the Gucci party at the UN? If I had only known that were an option... According to WWD, when Saynt "complained on his blog, to broad pickup around the Web, that actual New York-based bloggers had been shafted," he received an invite to the lavish party and attended a bloggers-only tour of the store hosted by chief executive Mark Lee. I decided to take a trip to the new Gucci flagship today, uninvited. Here are my observations, unsolicited.

After viewing the new store, I would like to say this: bring back the sleek, sexy, clean lines of Tom Ford's Gucci. The new flagship, which occupies the south-west corner of Trump Tower on 5th Avenue and 56th Street, employs design details that are reminiscent of the Miami in the 70s, and are rather, well, garish. I can't help but feel that the aesthetic of the Trump brand seeped through the walls and into the store; but I think the preponderance of gold is just a coincidence.

Three elements repeat throughout the store: gold, lucite, and high-shine dark wood. Gold and lucite tubing accent the back stairways. There are free-standing gold display cases accented with high-shine dark wood, the same dark wood that lines the inner walls. The ceilings seem to press downward. There are only three floors of retail space. (I expected five. That seems to be the minimum number of floors for flagships these days.) Access to the fine jewelry store through an elevator on the 3rd floor is convoluted. The only time I got a feeling of excitement about the Gucci brand was is in the shoe departments, which are bright with views of the street.

At a time when luxury retail design favors a blend of technology and innovative materials, high-shine white, glowing light boxes, flat panel screens, and etched glass glowing partitions, the dark Gucci flagship feels of the past. As I recall my experience of the store, it becomes more and more like a labyrinthine cave. For me, the store did not convey that feeling of optimism or excitement or exhilaration. I had no shopping high.

The back stairs: dark grey marble treads, alternating gold and lucite
vertical tubing give a glimpse into the selling space. The stairs at
Chanel were much more exciting.

Mannequin (no comment) and a closeup of the ubiquitous tubing.


The handbag collection display on the first floor is too dark.
The flat panel screen doesn't even add any light.

Gucci has created a Website especially for the opening of their new 5th Avenue Flagship (725 Fifth Avenue opens this Friday, February 8) called Gucci Loves New York. The page that fascinates me is the one pictured above, "Fashion Bloggers Love New York," featuring five fashion bloggers who have been selected by Gucci and billed as "the hottest international fashion bloggers." The fab five: Cory Kennedy, Style Bubble, La Coquette, Fashion is Spinach, and Openers. Wow. Good for them.

I clicked through to each of the five blogs. I have to say, La Coquette won me over with this post. She has a great voice, and doesn't write strictly about fashion, and what she wants to buy, or what she has bought, because frankly, that can get a little tedious, n'est pas? Check out the five blogs on Gucci Loves New York. I am sure you will find some new favorite weekly reads.

People often ask me what designers I like (Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld), and then after they have listened politely to my answer, love to get into the fine points of the designers they love or have heard of, or who are selling at H&M. For me, fashion is not only about the clothes, but also about the psychology, the packaging, the branding, the marketing, the mixing of pattern, color and texture and the resulting unique juxtapositions one can create, and the mining of cultures, time periods and other art forms for inspiration.

I am interested in Marc, Tom and Karl for the brands they have built, the style they create, and for what they have to say. I was sorry to hear when Marc checked himself into rehab, and was rooting for Tom to find new backers and design under his own name after he left Gucci. To read or listen to a Karl interview is a thrill. Did you read the March 19, 2007 in-depth article about Karl in The New Yorker? It is fantastic. I savored every word. Here is one outlandish quote, which gave me food for thought:

“I throw everything away!” he declared. “The most important piece of furniture in a house is the garbage can! I keep no archives of my own, no sketches, no photos, no clothes—nothing! I am supposed to do, I’m not supposed to remember!” He smoothed a gloved hand over the empty page in front of him and visibly relaxed.

I follow a lot of brands, and naturally a lot of trends; but I am most interested, as a designer myself, in the moments of inspiration before the final product. Sure, I can find inspiration in some clothes in some stores sometimes, but I get consistent ideas and creative excitement from the urban landscape, from art and sculpture, from the textures, materials and patterns in architecture, and in the juxtapositions of all of those things that cause me to pause, write in my notebook, take a photo, or publish my musings in the blog.

Whether you are new to my blog, or have been reading since my first entry on December 18, 2005, you can begin to understand from my various entries what interests me most about fashion and the world around me, and what makes me tick as a designer, writer, and assimilator/processor/re-processor of stimuli. I guess I am interested in the creative process in general, and the moments that lead up to the creative product. I am interested in other creative people's stories of what drives them to make what they make. For me, that happens to be clothing and accessories.

I am interested in the specific artfulness of clothing, but also in the artifice of clothing, or the manner in which people choose to present themselves publicly. But that is another post for another day. Suffice it to say, clothing gives the wearer a layered power of expression. And what specific personality or qualities about ourselves are we attempting to communicate with the facade we choose each day? Food for thought.

When it comes to fine design, it is a pleasure to get lost in the sumptuous details. Take note of the leather tassels, topped with studded chrome and bamboo toggles, with each strand accented with a tiny chrome stud. Each strand! I love how the tassels appear to bloom like a flower or spill like a waterfall from the Moroccan-inspired hexagonal embroidered design. Take note of this 'INDY' bag by Gucci this season. I am sure you will see many of its fine details 'borrowed' by other companies in the coming months.

Remember the good old days when Tom Ford was head designer at Gucci? It has been 3 years since he left the Gucci Group. What ever happened to Tom Ford? Where does he show?

It seems that the designer is soon to launch his Menswear Collection, Spring 2007, along with his first free-standing Tom Ford store at 845 Madison (at 70th Street) in New York.* The initial distribution of his collection will be exclusive to the 9679 square foot shop, with expanded locations in the following year. He is also doing a Beauty line, available at NeimanMarcus.com. And an Eyewear Collection, available at Saks and Henri Bendel in New York, and many locations worldwide. But sadly, Tom is not designing Womenswear. For now. I will keep you posted.


*I have read conflicting reports that his collection will be self-funded or funded by Ermenegildo Zegna. I think I will take a walk over to the space this week and see how the project is progressing.

'Romi' Boot from Gucci [image: gucci.com]

Nine West's current campaign [image: ninewest.com]

Remember that warm crackle finish of Marc Jacobs' matte silver handbags last Spring? If you want to be up-to-the-second, you may want to retire that bag for the moment.* When it comes to metallics, there are more than a few high-shine silver and gold offerings on the horizon for Spring. From Gucci trickling on down to Nine West.


*For the record, I am not an advocate of up-to-the-second dressing. Plus, I prefer the silver with the warm crackle finish.

This is one of the more beautiful sites I have seen.

It always interests me to learn about new partnerships, acquisitions and brand extensions in the fashion industry. I thought I would share my list of companies that surprised me when I found out who owned what. (or a more cumbersome sentence) Here is a good site that will keep you up to date on brand profiles. Use the pull-down box at top right. So far so good on Tsubo. Still independent!

Royal Elastics. Acquired by K-Swiss for $3 million in 2001.
Cole Haan. Owned by Nike!! No, it is not just the G Series.
MAC, Aveda, Stila (to name just a few) owned by Estee Lauder.
Gucci Group owns many high-end fashion houses.
LVMH Moet Hennessey owns the rest, including 34% of the Gucci Group.

Isn't there an Angela Adams or a Hable Construction acquistion just around the corner? I smell it. Afterall, they both did the design for the new lobbies of all the W Hotels (owned by Starwood). That was quite a deal to broker!