Dario Vitale - Designer

[Frederic01]

I would him Love him even more if he was able to take versace back to being something very unique and less commercial.

Yes, agree in theory this is a great approach, but Prada will never allow it. Look at what they turned their own brand into: overpriced nylon and crappy basics with the triangle and little to no visibility of the runway collections anymore. Unfortunately the identity of the brand evaporated alongside its commercial ambitions.

They are clearly in it for the $$$ and not anything else. Gone are the glory days of Prada being a major influence on the wardrobes of people. The people that can afford Prada now are the richest of the rich. Which is a problem because:

Every time they increase their prices (which they just did again omg the price of their shoes now is a major lol), they eliminate another tier of clientele. And that means, by effect, their reach becomes increasingly more narrow. My point is, because of their post-Covid pricing strategy, they eliminated an entire group of clients. The very people that made the brand influential and culturally relevant.

The relative accessibility of Prada (before the aggressive price hikes) meant that you saw Prada in the wardrobes of people in major cities, and it was really inspiring to watch them. They were just regular people who could afford the clothes and wore them in an inspiring way that made you want to be part of that Prada world. Now, even the die-hard Prada fans are moving away from the brand, and the only time you see the clothes now is when it's paid for or when they gift the clothes to influencers just to wear to the show. It's completely vacuous and soulless.

And honestly, it's a really depressing outcome for a brand like Prada that used to be basically the most influential show of the Milan, if not the entire fashion week. Their influence has waned completely for the sake of $$$. I guess Miuccia doesn't really care about making an impact anymore like she used to and she just wants cash money. Let's not pretend like the reality is something else. They will do the exact same thing with Versace. Dario was too niche in vision and appeal.

 

[tricotineacetat]

While I particularly like Blazy and don’t subscribe to this idea of constantly talking about something we don’t like as I prefer writing essays about things that I like…I think it’s interesting to see some different opinions to mine.

And there’s also this funny thing on TFS where literally nobody loves things that are now but over praise the past, with sometimes a lot of revisionism, there’s something interesting from my POV of enjoying some of the work of those designers.

Going to the stores, enjoying fashion outside of the screen, meeting and chatting with my industry friends also help me to shape my perception of things.

I think with a lot of critics around Blazy, there’s this underline elephant in the room where people who don’t like his work have this feeling that he is stealing the job of someone I would rather not mention and therefore are using some critics that could have been used to critic that someone work.

But you got to take it as a good sport.

It’s easy to not respond. It’s easy to not engage. It’s just an opinion. People are passionate and it’s keeping the forum alive.

And I’m sure you have common opinions on things too.

Since I belong to that group of people, I feel very much in the need to respond, even if I already did it in my other post, where I commented on the seemingly lacking focus and editing in the work of Ghesquiere and Blazy.

I admit it's true that I look with a frame work of perhaps 20 years ago at fashion where designers were praised for a sense of restraint and focus in their work - the thing that allows us to easily recognize the style of certain designers and fashion houses. The sympathy we give to a designer like Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford comes from that place, he perfectly represents the qualities that made all the better designers in those times. Haider's body-of-work remained consistent over the years with a clear penchant for certain cuts, proportions, colors etc.

Regarding the idea that Blazy 'stole' the job from other designers - I won't deny to have entertained that thought a few times, always to the conclusion that his appointment is part of a larger change in the industry, something that made me feel at odds and greatly estranged from it's present shape.

I do feel like a broken record on this forum from time to time, much in the way as when I see an interview with Yohji complaining about the changes in today's fashion industry - Yet at the same time, if we don't uphold our convictions in a discussion forum, where elsevwould we do that?

 

[Lola701]

Since I belong to that group of people, I feel very much in the need to respond, even if I already did it in my other post, where I commented on the seemingly lacking focus and editing in the work of Ghesquiere and Blazy.

I admit it's true that I look with a frame work of perhaps 20 years ago at fashion where designers were praised for a sense of restraint and focus in their work - the thing that allows us to easily recognize the style of certain designers and fashion houses. The sympathy we give to a designer like Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford comes from that place, he perfectly represents the qualities that made all the better designers in those times. Haider's body-of-work remained consistent over the years with a clear penchant for certain cuts, proportions, colors etc.

Regarding the idea that Blazy 'stole' the job from other designers - I won't deny to have entertained that thought a few times, always to the conclusion that his appointment is part of a larger change in the industry, something that made me feel at odds and greatly estranged from it's present shape.

I do feel like a broken record on this forum from time to time, much in the way as when I see an interview with Yohji complaining about the changes in today's fashion industry - Yet at the same time, if we don't uphold our convictions in a discussion forum, where elsevwould we do that?

I totally agree about upholding convinctions in a discussion forum.
That’s why in my post I made the point to say that you got to play the game and take it as a good sport.

I have come to the conclusion that for me, it’s quite easy to not engage, to not respond when I feel like I won’t help the conversation move forward.

Because there’s this fine line where you are trying to express yourself, to make a point and then in a blink of an eye, you find yourself « battling » with someone’s opinions. I always try to learn something from comments of you all so when I don’t feel like I do, or laugh or can question my POV I just move forward.

And I don’t try to dismiss TianCouture’s frustration but even if we are on the Internet, there’s a filter of anonymity, I try to approach debating about those subjects like I would IRL.

But ultimately, we simply judge fashion from a different standpoint.
I look at all the angles now. I used to look at the collection from a seasonal standpoint and in how it inserted itself in the body of the designer. Because I know the challenges and expectations of designers today, that are much more different than even when I was in the industry, I had to evolve in the way I appreciated things. Context still matters to me.
And even when I judge, I sometimes emphasize on the brands I’m a customer at because I know I look at it from a different angle with that layer.

What I expect from NG at Vuitton is ultimately different from what I expect from Haider. I love Haider’s work but it was always from afar. The fact that he is working at a house I like and I have clothes from changes again my perspective and my appreciation of his work. And I’m still very much into looking at the evolution of a designer’s work so I enjoy the bumpy roads and things like that.

My favorite designer had a 50+ years career. So I always look at the experimentations, the success, the failures, the choices of houses or not in that long game.