What happened to French fashion designers?

[susie_bubble]

^Yes Lena....EXACTLY! Mikevensel: That is what's wrong with this thread - your opinion just does not have any foundation. Please do elaborate on your 'observations' that have formed this opinion.

 

[mikevensel]

About American designers , how many top designers are actually American born ? Ralph Lauren, , Marc Jacobs , Zac Posen .

All 3 were born in NYC

 

[helena]

Why is it wrong? This is reality ...I am not making this up. Its an observation. I am entitled to make observations and hear peoples opinions ...I felt this way after leaving Paris last and just wanted to share my views - actually I may skip paris next season all together.

ok mike, if i may call you that, can you expand upon the reasons for your views? personally I find Paris the most inspiring place.....why do you think its so unimpressive? maybe if you were to articulate your reasoning, we'd understand where you are coming from

 

[mikevensel]

i've been to Paris, i worked in Paris, i showed in Paris and i sold my collections in Paris..
you obviously had some bad experience there, or you didnt meet the right people , this is not a reason to bash a whole arts & culture embracing country, i regret that this seems like a very narrowminded attitude to me..

I am not bashing it - I love paris - but I think it is very much an illusiuon and a tourist stop - when people think of paris they have romantic ideas of what paris is - I am only stating that its odd that behind the scenes very few people in french fashion are actually french - i think most people have no idea of this and jsut wanted to shed some light on it - i love crepes - viva la france!

 

[PrinceOfCats]

viva la france!

Your fluency astounds me.

 

[fashionista-ta]

ok mike, if i may call you that, can you expand upon the reasons for your views? personally I find Paris the most inspiring place.....why do you think its so unimpressive? maybe if you were to articulate your reasoning, we'd understand where you are coming from

Well, he is coming from Los Angeles, the armpit (as it were) of American culture ...

 

[Caramilla]

I'm French. lived in New York, and covered the fashion scene for 9 years. Back in Paris now. And honestly, my feeling is that no matter what one might think about the fashion scene in one city or the other, Parisians have much more fashion sense than Americans, which transpires into the creativity of the various countries' designers, whether they are French like Ghesquiere or Francophile like Lagerfeld.

Also, mikevensel, the food can be so-so in some Paris restaurants, it's true, but I know some great addresses. If you stop being so "narrow-minded" , I might share them with you.

 

[helena]

'French fashion' is a generic term to describe fashion which emanates from Paris....I don't think its a necessity that anyone who would describe themselves as working in french fashion requires to have been born in Paris (or france for that matter).

 

[Caramilla]

- i love crepes - viva la france!

btw, crepes are considered like fast food here.

 

[mikevensel]

ok mike, if i may call you that, can you expand upon the reasons for your views? personally I find Paris the most inspiring place.....why do you think its so unimpressive? maybe if you were to articulate your reasoning, we'd understand where you are coming from

Sure...id love to...

The first time I went to paris I was not involved in fashion, I loved much about the city, I think its one of the most beautiful places in the world - and the respect paid to history is great - coming from the US our history is quite limited - so it was an amazing experience.

The first time I went to paris for fashion was a few years ago and uppon arriveing at the lourve i spied the schedule of designers and noticed that there were not many french names (mostly japanese) as I had expected and looking around at the press noticed it was about half japanese - and this really perplexed me - I figured well the japanese must want to tie themselves to the culture for its rich fashion history.

The last time I went to paris I was shooting editorial and runway shows, I went to about 25 shows and shot 6 editorials, I contacted PR firms and pulled my favorite designers, among them, C neeon (german), Lutz (german) and gaspard yurkievitch (french) - I then requested models from Ford and Women and it turns out of 6 girls only 2 were french - so I decided to ask some designers and what I learned amazed me.

So this is where I am coming from - this is why I feel as I do - I am just a currious person that asks why - maybe I am wrong about my assumptions but these were my observations.

 

[Caramilla]

Sure...id love to...

The first time I went to paris I was not involved in fashion, I loved much about the city, I think its one of the most beautiful places in the world - and the respect paid to history is great - coming from the US our history is quite limited - so it was an amazing experience.

The first time I went to paris for fashion was a few years ago and uppon arriveing at the lourve i spied the schedule of designers and noticed that there were not many french names (mostly japanese) as I had expected and looking around at the press noticed it was about half japanese - and this really perplexed me - I figured well the japanese must want to tie themselves to the culture for its rich fashion history.

The last time I went to paris I was shooting editorial and runway shows, I went to about 25 shows and shot 6 editorials, I contacted PR firms and pulled my favorite designers, among them, C neeon (german), Lutz (german) and gaspard yurkievitch (french) - I then requested models from Ford and Women and it turns out of 6 girls only 2 were french - so I decided to ask some designers and what I learned amazed me.

So this is where I am coming from - this is why I feel as I do - I am just a currious person that asks why - maybe I am wrong about my assumptions but these were my observations.

Question: why do you think all these people come to Paris?

 

[nanker_phledge]

All 3 were born in NYC

Yeah, that's what I was saying that's 3 designers, not a lot eh ? and I've been giving the names of 6 French designers who are successful.Enough said probably ?

 

[j´adore dior]

actually I may skip paris next season all together.

can i get your tickets?

 

[Lena]

is this Paris against NY? usa fashion culture against french fashion culture?
or is it a nationalistic thing, like who was born where?

what are your issues mike? i'm afraid you got it all mixed up..

 

[mikevensel]

Question: why do you think all these people come to Paris?

Opportunity - there is not much competition and alot of exposure since many people assume paris is the center of fashion in the world. I think alot of people come to paris to attend shows because it sounds chic - but partly for the vacation factor - just like all the conventions in the US are held in vegas - paris is somewhat of las vegas of europe - looks good on the surface but not much substance behind the scenes....

 

[helena]

Sure...id love to...

The first time I went to paris I was not involved in fashion, I loved much about the city, I think its one of the most beautiful places in the world - and the respect paid to history is great - coming from the US our history is quite limited - so it was an amazing experience.

The first time I went to paris for fashion was a few years ago and uppon arriveing at the lourve i spied the schedule of designers and noticed that there were not many french names (mostly japanese) as I had expected and looking around at the press noticed it was about half japanese - and this really perplexed me - I figured well the japanese must want to tie themselves to the culture for its rich fashion history.

The last time I went to paris I was shooting editorial and runway shows, I went to about 25 shows and shot 6 editorials, I contacted PR firms and pulled my favorite designers, among them, C neeon (german), Lutz (german) and gaspard yurkievitch (french) - I then requested models from Ford and Women and it turns out of 6 girls only 2 were french - so I decided to ask some designers and what I learned amazed me.

So this is where I am coming from - this is why I feel as I do - I am just a currious person that asks why - maybe I am wrong about my assumptions but these were my observations.

Ok thanks Mike for that explanation.....but that comes back to my point.....just because someone shows in Paris doesn't require a french passport does it? Paris draws designers from all over the world because Paris is such a beautiful place with a wealth of fashion talent/skill/ideas/inspiration. Thats the way it is. Its like New York being a financial centre....or Houston being an oil town....or LA being a movie town. These places simply draw people from all nations because they are centres of excellence in their relavent field.

 

[mikevensel]

is this Paris against NY? usa fashion culture against french fashion culture?
or is it a nationalistic thing, like who was born where?

what are your issues mike? i'm afraid you got it all mixed up..

Its neither one - its about what happened to french fashion designers over the years, the influx of foriegn born designers and the illusion that paris and french fashion represents...

 

[Caramilla]

- paris is somewhat of las vegas of europe -....

This is such an absurd thing to say! Like Lena said, it sounds like you've been to all the wrong places in Paris. You should come and do an intership here.

 

[mikevensel]

Ok thanks Mike for that explanation.....but that comes back to my point.....just because someone shows in Paris doesn't require a french passport does it? Paris draws designers from all over the world because Paris is such a beautiful place with a wealth of fashion talent/skill/ideas/inspiration. Thats the way it is. Its like New York being a financial centre....or Houston being an oil town....or LA being a movie town. These places simply draw people from all nations because they are centres of excellence in their relavent field.

I guess I just havent seen the french talent/skill/ideas/inspiration that I was expecting - Is paris still the fashion capital? If so how long until it shifts - here in the US i predict LA will overtake NYC in the future because of the influence of hollywood and access to material and production. We already do more $$ in fashion biz then NYC

 

[susie_bubble]

^But does $$ necessarily translate into fashion 'influence'. I am still having problems with how you define fashion influence.