The Society Of The Spectacle

Earlier in the month, I stumbled upon an upload of a documentary (on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network alas), of the designer/filmmaker and all round creative bod Tom Ford. I’ve always been impressed with Ford’s visual sensibilities. From the first bold Tom Ford ads (a barn storming collaboration with Terry Richardson), to the exquisite detailing and storytelling on display in ‘A Single Man’.

In this documentary (the opening titles are visual travesty I might add), we see Ford explain his methodology, we get a bit about his backstory, and the whole the story of his meteoric rise within the hallowed halls of Gucci and Dior.

But this gets really interesting when the doc digs into his creative perspective. What drives him, and also, crucially, that he doesn’t just see himself as a fashion designer. Ford understands that creativity as a skill, is universal. As he puts it:

“The clues for everything that’s going to come next are here now. And either you’re a sleuth and you’re thinking about it cerebrally or you feel it. There are no right or wrong answers – it’s intuitive”

With that sentiment, Ford nails what a creative should be about. Seeking experiences and stimuli, but also not just chasing a trend, or a fad. It’s that intuition which makes creating stuff so… good. Think about it, when you’re designing, art directing, directing, drawing or even strategising, there is a moment where the feel is right. You don’t need to over-explain, or over justify. It just feels right. This makes creativity something that really can’t be taught. It’s in the bloodstream. It’s gives you the strength of your convictions and belief in what you want to tell to the world.

It also helps you keep a clear course, when others haven’t seen, or disagree with your view. His aesthetic, his point of view, his perfectionism cross creative boundaries. But they are all bound by intuition. Which is really why watching this doesn’t just feel like a throwaway bit fashion fluff. This is a true craftsman at work.

The lovely Camilla wrote a post about this same doc. I would say she was copying my thinking, but that would be rude . Her words are much more jazzy than mine, (‘rock-hard Branding’, brilliant) and brilliantly bring to life whay Tom Ford’s Brand is so seriously on target. (Desire and attention to detail). But you should take the two blogposts combined might as a clear signal that this video is well worth your time.

You can read her post here.

I was delving back into the archives of the Sartorialist yesterday, and found Scott’s and Garance’s breakdown of the launch of Reed Krakoff’s debut collection at New York Fashion week, way back in February. Now I know some people who work for the brand (an offshoot of the mighty Coach brand), and was interested to how this collection was received. The consensus seems to be very well indeed! A little bit more digging led me to this video on Style.com, which is a collaboration between the filmmaker Steven Sebring and Mr Krakoff himself. It reminded me alot of The Selby collaboration with Louis Vuitton that I blogged about last month, well made, insightful, and a great way of establishing interest and insight into the brand. Take a look.

Up now on Oki-Ni, are some amazing shoes from the super cool and stunningly crafted Mr Hare. Here’s a man with a deep deep passion for great shoes, and great craftsmanship. I also love the resolute ‘anti’ fashioness of the whole arrangement, Mr Hare, who has proudly talks (in his fantastic bio) about his no formal training, these are made for action, for walking, for dancing, for prowling and looking damn good doing it. Here’s a couple of faves (after the jump) from the current season at Dover Street Market and available at Oki-Ni. One day, when I’ve saved up… (more…)

Super imaginative breakdown of the catwalk looks, from the straight down the line, to the truly bizarre. Fashematics let the air out of fashions more pompous moments. It helps it’s seriously funny. Check out a cheeky selection after the jump. (more…)

Trawling through PSFK, I saw this rather strange idea from Swedish designer Ann Sofie Back (and her ad team We Are Group) Spinning the now overused “Pop Up Store” concept (Kingsmill pop up store anyone? Yeah I thought not) into a much more outlandish and provocative concept; the hostage store.

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V Magazine have this month dedicated to exploring, in beautiful fashion of course the Plus Size model. Photographer’s such as the indomitable Terry Richardson and the beautifully high concept Solve Sundsbø have shot some great editorial.

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New Kitsuné film….