The Duchess Effect

Catherine Walker & David Emanuel were among the hand selected few that were once household names in terms of fashionable attire for the Royal Family of England. Diana the Princess of Wales was a huge patriot to these designers and their apparels become iconic looks for the Princess. Sadly, the death of Diana was a huge loss for not only to the United Kingdom but to United Kingdom’s fashion at that time.

What must be understood is that when a “Royal” such as Diana donned a British designer’s clothing the fashion house propels in status and this is what we have called “The Duchess Effect”. When we talk about status it just does not mean publicity … it means worldwide publicity and a great acknowledgement for the level of craftsmanship for these garments and an instant following to their name.

Now, as of recent England has welcomed The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. She has become an instant focus for the fashion industry as a whole. She is under great scrutiny to become a style icon like her predecessors. We must give her immense credit for her style, like Diana she is representing the flag of England and Great Britain, she has regularly been caught wearing UK fashion designers such as Irish fashion designer Orla Kiely, London designer Jenny Packham and not forgetting the dress of the century by Alexander McQueen.

It seems that Kate Middleton has become a style icon in her own right and has adapted fashion for “The Royals” as of recent. Kate Middleton has appeared in charity balls, film premiers and even the odd horse races in clothes which will be deemed as un-royal like (as in high street clothing and even the ex-stock brands)

Either way, we appalled the Duchess of Cambridge for her thrifty selection. Why? When most girls given the opportunity to attend such events would opt for the not so thrifty selection but more of the mega-bucks gown, but not Kate Middleton.   

article written by: www.frontpose.com

Another fashion house in with another law suit!

It was only yesterday that we had heard that Gucci and Guess are under a legal battle, but now we find out Dolce and Gabbana have filed one as well suing a South-African seaside jewellery store called “Dolce and Banana”

The quick kill nature of the Luxury fashion line had not shown any remorse for the African business that has been running for 12years and has forced them to remain to just “Banana”.

Owner Mijou Beller pleaded “Dear Stefano, please let us be,” Beller pleaded via Twitter. “And visit us in Cape Town. I have always admired your famous sense of humour so present in your brand and in your designs. And although I appreciate that Dolce & Gabbana is a very successful commercial enterprise, I fail to understand why Dolce and Banana is a threat.”

Our note: We empathise with Mijou Beller that it may have taken him years to create his brand awareness for his company “Dolce and Banana” at the same time we feel companies should follow the unwritten code of not copying ones name of brand image. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have spent decades building the brand “Dolce and Gabbana”, and we feel that any business owner in any shape or form will try to ensure their image is attained to just them.

H&M and Luxury Fashion

The headline in the fashion world today is that H&M clothing is entering into the luxury fashion sector. Could H&M have an instant hit on their hands or could it be detrimental to the company if they are to enter into this sort of market?

There a number of reason to suggest that H&M could have a hit in entering the luxury sector, they have already have acquired a mass following on their current H&M label, but it must be said whether they can follow through on creating a brand awareness on their new luxury venture.

Could H&M be over their heads when entering into this market? We can understand the thought process of wanting to enter this sector, as they have had a number of collaboration success with the help of Marni and Versace. Could H&M’s sight be a little clouded after seeing their H&M collaboration success, we think they are. H&M should realise that their collaboration success was only down to the fact that Versace and Marni are both international renowned fashion houses and they can both wiled in a huge amount of people and this is due to the fact that they are key figures in the upper spectrum of the design world where as H&M are not…

Well whether H&M are truly going to enter into this sector we give them the best of ALL luck cause to be frank they may need it.

article written by: www.frontpose.com

Mischa Barton and fashion is a no no...

It seems that Mischa Barton has ventured out from her abysmal acting career as of late and has ventured into the fashion world. Her debuting clothing, cosmetics, accessories and bath products all come under the name “Mischa’s place”.

However this isn’t her first nor second attempt that she has had to put her foot into the fashion industry having already put her name on her line of headbands and handbags (all which have failed to make any impact in the fashion world) should she not just give up… this rant is not aimed at Mischa Barton exclusively it is a rant that is aimed at budding actors, actresses, singers and etc, who feel that they can make an impact on the world of fashion by just slapping on their name on products and hoping it sells.

We need more designers such as the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs who have had or are having a great impact on the world of fashion and they should rightly so … as they have worked from the ground up (unlike some).

article written by: www.frontpose.com

Problems of a Fashion House!

Alexander Wang has come under fire from former employees of his New York factory that they have been working in “sweatshop” like conditions. Although Alexander Wang spokesperson have said “The claims regarding sweatshop conditions are completely untrue,” however it seems that these 30 or so employees have issued a number of claims to support their statement such as “working 16-hour days without overtime pay.”

Lawyer Ming Hai who will be representing the cause on behalf of these employees has issued a statement in regards to working conditions at the factory and the type of people that Alexander Wang is hiring “A lot of the workers are new immigrants and they don’t speak English. They work long hours. It’s like a new kind of slavery.”

We at www.frontpose.com are greatly disheartened that a company of great economic value can resort to such form of labour, it seems that this form of labour is downright wrong, not only do we find this unfit but we find it to be against any human right, ethically and morally unjust. Our stance is from the view point of any employee whether minute or major in a workforce and that is not to have their human rights breached.

This brings us to the question if working conditions can be in such a disastrous state in New York, America imagine how working conditions can be like for 3rd world countrie’s workforce were a lot of these big shot companies produce their garments. Although it must be said that even a small factory in these countries can produce countless jobs, but we feel that big fashion houses must understand that they too have to be ethical in working conditions and pay.

article written by: www.frontpose.com

Gucci Vs Guess

Well this has been boiling for a number of years, but we’re guessing Gucci has had enough of Guess infringing Gucci’s signature “G” design; they have finally issued a legal battle which has been issued to the New York federal court. This isn’t the first time Gucci has sued Guess for using the Gucci motifs, Guess has used the combination of green and stripes on a number of ad-campaigns and also on certain clothing, it must be noted that Gucci has been using the green and red colour scheme well for donkey’s years.

Gucci have stated that “This case is not about following fashion trends,” said Gucci attorney Louis Ederer. “It’s about a massive, complicated scheme to knock off Gucci’s best-known and iconic designs.

Our note: CREATIVE DESIGNER at Guess you’re more than well known (do you seriously think you’d get away with this) and also you have people working round the clock to make your company different from the rest, how about finding out what you’re paying them for…

article written by: www.frontpose.com