Identity "theft"

[Kimkhuu]

Which designers in your opinion has no IDENTITY? Like you just look at their collection and it has no personality whatsoever.... ...no particular trait that can help you identify who the designer is... Or it is too influenced by other designers....

While other designers, you can just look at their clothes and know it's by them....... signature...... And it has nothing to do with liking or not their stuff, it's about identity (not speaking of personality of the clothes....)......

 

[Kimkhuu]

In my opinion.... designer shows that are the most identity less are esp : Stella McCartney, Paco Rabanne, Perry Ellis.......

Though awfull (some) those with strong identity would be : Versace, Missoni, Pucci, Gucci, YSL (thanks to Stefano Pilati), Marni......

 

[Scott]

No identity...no distinction...

Calvin Klein? Bland,so bland. Narciso Rodriguez....as I said once before,his entire look is one dress in different colours.

Indentifiable: Dries Van Noten,Ann Demeulemeester(though I'd say Rick Owens would often be confused with her work),Bernhard Willhelm,Boudicca,Marc Jacobs(nostalgia)and Commes des Garçons.

 

[rach2jlc]

Despite the fact that each season I like what he is doing, I don't think that Costume National (especially Costume National Homme) has much of an individual identity or something that really strikes me as individual to the brand.

As I said, as individual seasons, they are fairly interesting, but I don't really notice much of an overarching philosophy or image (at least for the menswear). One season might be heavily military influenced, one season is more musically oriented, another season might be very dark... but there isn't a unifying element that screams "Costume National." Just my opinion, of course. Aside from them, I agree with the others about Stella McCartney.

Those brands with the strongest identity: Yohji, Jil Sander, Raf Simons, Hedi Slimane (both during his time at YSL and, of course, Dior).

John

 

[mb117]

Unidentifiable- Calvin Klien, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan, Bill Blass

Identifiable- Dior(sometimes thanks to impecable design, other times thanks to logo head to toe), everything Marc Jacobs touches, Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler, and Chanel

 

[rach2jlc]

I definitely don't love Armani, but how is he NOT identifiable? It seems to me that his silhouette, love it or hate it, is impossible to miss. I'm just curious to see your reasoning, of course... not trying to be argumentative.

John

 

[jssy4eva]

I love Proenza Schouler, but i think that their collections depend way too much on that structured cami look, that they sometimes add a bit more fabric to and it then becomes a dress, and the tops themselves may have a slight change here and there, but it's all basicaly the same...

 

[mb117]

I just don't see anything eye catching in his work. Also, the fact that he featured close to 100 models in his fall/winter rtw show makes me feel as if he couldn't just let his clothing due the talking, he had to put on a circus. I will say his couture line is fairly decent, it just doesn't stand out, once again.

 

[rach2jlc]

I just don't see anything eye catching in his work. Also, the fact that he featured close to 100 models in his fall/winter rtw show makes me feel as if he couldn't just let his clothing due the talking, he had to put on a circus. I will say his couture line is fairly decent, it just doesn't stand out, once again.

I see what you mean now, thanks for clarifying. And of course he can't let just his clothes do the talking, he has an EMPIRE to conquer!

John

 

[frugalsquirrel]

most definitely identifiable: Carolina Herrera. As you might expect, since she said she designs to suit her own taste.

 

[Kimkhuu]

I definitely don't love Armani, but how is he NOT identifiable? It seems to me that his silhouette, love it or hate it, is impossible to miss. I'm just curious to see your reasoning, of course... not trying to be argumentative.

John

Agreed.....

 

[TheSoCalledPrep]

I didn't look at the forum name, and I thought this was going to be about Identity theft.

In my opinion, I think that Gucci and Dsquared, however tacky, are very identifiable labels. Even without logoing, you can spot their distinct style. Same with CDG and Ann Dem.

Versace and Armani are very lost of an identity to me... Balenciaga as well...

 

[Ella]

rach2jlc, I agree about Costume National. I also think that labels like Bill Blass and Stella McCartney have no identity. I disagree about Ralph Lauren though, I think he definately has his own distinct look.

 

[morgan38]

Stella McCartney for sure.

Donna Karan and Calvin Klein also aren't very identifiable for me.

 

[Phaeton]

I have to disagree with a lot of these picks, because a lot of the times I find that blandness can be just as identifiable as something tacking and flashy like DSquared2's blatant A&F rip-off look.

For instance, Calvin Klein. To me these looks are total signature Calvin Klein, although with some definite similarities to what Prada was doing back around 1997 (esp. in the first one with Gemma...)

(from style.com)

And I find this even more so with the last seven or so Ghesquiere Balenciaga collections, because there are so many signature ideas he has been working with:

-cropped jackets that bulge out in the upper portion near the shoulders most likely with a lot of buttons
-navy/military pieces in a highly refined, tailored fashion
-the very high-waisted cut of his pants (Chloe did this prominently for one season, but with Balenciaga it has been consistent for a long time)
-the scuba, underwater ocean-life prints, electro-yellow neoprene theme stuff
-futuristic, architecture-inspired tailoring, especially in larger coats
-not to mention the one off collections that become very recognizable like the patch-work with army green cargo pants (S/S 02)

Anyway, just my thoughts. I tend to find stuff very easy to recognize when a designer sticks with some basic silhouettes or themes throughout most of their collections. It's part of the reason why I find Simons, Slimane (those small collars and skinny pants alone,) Helmut Lang, Ann Demeulemeester, Marni, etc so distinctive and easy to spot!

 

[mb117]

Versace and Armani are very lost of an identity to me... Balenciaga as well...

I would say Balenciaga is very identifiable. Ghesquiere uses different volumes than most other designers, and uses many irregular fabric choices.

 

[Someday]

Least Identifiable-
Donatella Versace (Versace has a strong image, but she has contributed nothing), Zac Posen, Narcisco Rodrigues, Stella McCartney (I am not going to be the only one not to mention her), Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs.

Most Identifiable- not that I necesarily would wear them-
well, obviously the old school desginers-Lagerfeld at Chanel, Christian Lacroix, Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano, Gianfranco Ferre, Valentino (you can spot it a mile away), Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler and Geoffrey Benne.

 

[Kimkhuu]

^ Mcqueen is becoming VERY unidentifiable...... they're morphing into some versace princess stuff.......

 

[Someday]

^ Mcqueen is becoming VERY unidentifiable...... they're morphing into some versace princess stuff.......

Yeah, it is kind of scary if you look at it too long. I meant the classic McQueen, the stuff until this year.His work at Givenchy, to me, built the entire houses' (modern) image.
Not exactly on topic,but it seems confusing the direction he recently took with the stuff. Most people say he is under pressure to be commercial and profitable, but the same pressure produced an entirely different result at Balenciaga.
Is he getting greedy, lazy, whipped, or is he just running out of ideas?

 

[kimair]

i think it's too soon to tell about paco rabanne...but old paco rabanne (designed by the man himself) definitely had an identity...

stella mccartney, to me, has no continuity whatsoever. sometimes her pieces seem very express, then other times very chloe...

azzedine alaia is very identifiable, along with the other older designers mentioned by someday...

out of the newer designers, i'd say proenza schouler, marc jacobs, calvin klein (with klein and the more recent costa collections), balenciaga...