Dualité

I had originally dismissed The Globe and Mail for not reporting any worthy news on fashion other than trends, but I realize that my mistake was that I was looking in the wrong section. If you want some significant news on fashion that excludes trends and top 10 must-haves, you’ll have to venture over to the business section of most newspapers. And there you can find some pretty good articles. Apologies to the Globe and Mail, now I can’t get enough of your Report on Business section!

Which brings me to these very interesting articles that popped up in the last couple of days.

Made in Canada – An in depth look at the advantages and some tips on how to keep a Canadian business going with some examples of some companies who have learned harsh lessons throughout the year. This also highlights that despite China and India’s cheap price, in the long run, it could become more costly to make things overseas as wages will increase over time.

Procter & Gamble links laundry to fashion - Tide, owned by P&G, has come up with a new type of laundry detergent that could be called as the “anti-aging solution” for clothing. Sure it’d be great to have a detergent that didn’t destroy your clothes…but how about buying clothes made of reliable, high quality material instead of the cheap kind if you want them to last?

Sick of Slow Service, Customers Walk -This is an ever growing problem in the retail business as Canadian consumers are fed up with the slow service being offered to them. And here’s another contributing factor of the ailing department store industry:

Department stores lose the greatest amount of business because of frustrated customers leaving empty-handed, with 78 per cent of survey respondents indicating that they have left a department store because of long waiting times.

It looks to me that HBC will really have to put customer service as a priority if they want to lure customers back. It will also need to significantly exceed the kind of service you get at Holt Renfrew (which is to say discriminatory and snooty).

The Gazette (shocking, I know)

Catalogue Yanked -La Maison Simons has decided to pull it’s Fall catalogue from the shelves after receiving numerous complaints of using too thin models on its pages. Although it’s been argued that images of very thin models do not cause anorexia, it has been proven to be one of the triggers that can lead to eating disorders. Montreal has especially been aware of the image it projects to its consumers in the fashion industry and Montreal Fashion Week fully supports the use of not-so thin models. However, from my observations when I’ve been to MFW, some of those girls seemed too thin in my opinion. But kudos to Simons for taking action.

That once in a blue moon when the local English newspaper publishes a meaningful fashion article is indeed a special occasion.

Flattery or Fakery? talks about the dicey situations about the knock off industry and how legal pursuits in Canada are long and drawn out processes. Here’s an excerpt of what Daniel Drapeau, a lawyer for Ogilvy’s, said about companies profiteering of the knock offs:

What he doesn’t like about the “cheap chic merchants” is that “these guys kill true innovators,” he said, citing Montreal’s Salvatore Parasuco as a design innovator. “The Zaras of the world are killing that. Should we be encouraging people like that? What are they contributing to society?”

Though knock offs have propelled some fashions to spin out into their own subculture (like Hip Hop/urban fashion), very few actually become cult-like and command a loyal following.

There is something you can spot especially on the Bape hoody with diamonds. Look carefully and you will see the difference. Take a close look at how the diamonds are placed. The real Bapes have the diamonds “on” the letter. The fake ones have it “around” the letters. Also the quality of the material of the real Bapes does make a difference. The designs look cleaner and clear, while the fakes ones look slightly faded or a little lighter than the real ones. Take a close look at the diamonds!

Here’s a useful site for any of you Bape aka A Bathing Ape fans out there looking for the real deal. How to spot a fake Bape gives you image references as to what makes a piece real or a fake. After being thoroughly brainwashed by a single request from a cousin of mine to purchase a Bape hoodie in Tokyo (where the brand originates from), I’ve come to believe that high end urban apparel do exist. Perhaps it may not be that they’re made of cashmere, but the Japanese know how to package and execute their products flawlessly. My experience at the Bape store in Tokyo was so entrancing, I’m seeing Bape stars and camouflage when I think of urban apparel. If I had to say so myself, if I were to wear urban streetwear, it’d be Bape.

Btw, I’ve actually seen Bape apparel in Chinatown right next to La Maison Kam Fung restaurant in the shopping mall. Most likely they’re fakes, but I haven’t had time to go look and see. If they are, please don’t support the fakes and buy them. Authentic clothing always feels better on you if they’re real right? Why spoil the fun?

Image and text credits: nigobape.com

If you’re still searching the web to see photos and article reviews on some of the shows that have gone by so far, you can check out the following. Magazines have a tendency to come out with their issues when the season itself actually comes around, so you probably won’t get the immediate scoop like newspapers do.

Mode québécoise: les designers de l’heure - La Presse
A look at the rising stars in our local industry. I would have liked to have stayed for Denis Gagnon since I’ve heard so much about him but I guess this time around it was not meant to be.

Montreal Fashion Week in Arts & Life - The Gazette
Lots of photos and some runway reviews from fashion editor Eva Friede.

Semaine de la Mode – Canoe.ca (owner of Le Journal de Montreal, TVA, Clin D’Oeil, etc.)
I couldn’t find any articles or reviews other than the press releases, but Canoe has nice little video coverage of the shows.

The fashion police could use an internal affairs unit – The National Post
For people who love fashion police ripping up the red carpet, there’s an answer to the fashion faux-pas with a new E! TV show called “Naked Fashion.”

MFW Day 1 reviews – The National Post

Montreal Fashion Week website – Sensation Mode
Official photos of each runway look.

Oddly enough I didn’t find anything in The Globe and Mail and it would’ve been nice if Sweetspot could’ve done a little something for Montreal as well.

Besides The Gazette‘s official senior fashion writer, Eva Friede, a shopaholic and trend seeker, I’ve recently discovered a new young freelancer named Maxine Mendelssohn. She’s one of the youngest of the newspaper columnists and sometimes writes with such a sarcastic tone, I often cringe and wonder “Did she really say that??” The girl is gutsy. She grills her interviewees with skeptical questions and we get their responses. Talk about pressure! I love it!!

Take her recent article on La Swiss, a high end watch store.

Maxine: So who’s shopping here at those prices?

La Swiss: The guys who shop here like fancy cars, cigars, suits and boats. They like the finest things. We get a lot of collectors and people who like the prestige of a wonderful watch. We also get people looking for their first decent watch. Which you can get for $1,000.

Maxine: Yeah, that’s a regular bargain.

Ouch!

I haven’t quite located what days her articles are published, since Ms. Friede’s usually pop up on Tuesdays, so it’ll take some digging. But I totally recommend reading her articles, she’s quite a trip!

Image credits: The Gazette