What happened to French fashion designers?

[Lena]

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....

when i stop being annoyed i may start having fun with your posts.. you dont make much sense you know much more for someone who claims to be working in the industry..

if there is much competition in Paris, then it makes it harder for 'opportunists' right? so why should they flock there? they could have a better chance in LA or NY right?
look, people who go to Paris to attent the shows go there because they either work for the press or they are buyers, they dont go for vacations during fashion week.. apart from showing my work during Paris fashion Week ,i happened to cover the shows for the Press and its no tourism.. trust me.

no much substance behind the scenes? ahh please save yourself the airtickets next time, stick with LA darling, suits you much better

 

[Caramilla]

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

I get it now. Mike is confusing fashion talent and fashion business... Which are 2 very different things. Maybe it's the LA influence.

As I said, you really need to come and do an internship in Paris.

 

[PrinceOfCats]

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

Sources please.

 

[nanker_phledge]

Well, I repeat there are French designers who are successful now : Jean Paul Gaultier, Vanessa Bruno , Isabel Marant, Nicolas Ghesquières, Christian Lacroix, Agnès.B,Sonia Rykiel , so thank you for your concern but it seems that the French fashion scene made by French born designers is still somehow important.

Actually, most of your arguments are only based on your experiences in Paris not about French designers, so that's not really objective and a bit off-topic anyway.

 

[grainwave]

I agree with an earlier post, Italy is the European country that is no longer relevent in contemporary fashion. You may argue that France is not exporting designers at the same pace it once did, that is because of the influx of talented young designers from the rest of Europe and the world. French designers still think in contemporary terms, whereas it seems that Italy produces fashion those incapable of forward thinking.

 

[fab_fifties_fille]

I think alot of the people who you'll find here at tFS who have been to Paris are in it for the culture, not some romanticised views of the place. I find there is alot of substance to Paris, not all smoke and mirrors, personally as of yet I have not worked in fashion in Paris. I think after the first couple of times you go to Paris, you most benefit from actually just getting lost in the place...there is so much to see and do that isn't publicised. I personally am absolutely in love with the city, and all it's undertones not just what is on the surface. Fashion that is not created by french fashion designers is still french if it's in France, it's like speaking a language imo, you may be from a different country but if you're there and you're speaking the language...it's their language not yours, it's just that you may have a different accent.

Also something you might find interesting to read since you presume it's easy to make progress in Paris in terms of a fashion career...
http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/f90/struggling-succeed-paris-young-designers-33608.html?highlight=paris

 

[mikevensel]

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

Well influence is all subjective and hard to measure - we could poll everyone in the world and see what designers they like most, but the reality is that 90% of the world probably dosent know any of any designer, definately not the ones we speak of, if you live in the world of TFS and you submerge yourself in fashion mags from europe surely you will have a skewed view of the world, how do you define influnece? I think its pretty well established that the two most influential designs cam from the us - the tshirt and the jean - all I am saying is what is franch fashion producing besides a place to have a chic office and runwayn with lots of press.

 

[tott]

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.

There was the "Japanese invasion" in Paris during the 80's... And I think they did a lot of good by providing a different viewpoint. Any country or culture gets influenced by what goes on in the rest of the world, for better and for worse... It's a strange thing, but even as people and cultures around the world seem to blend into each other, they still manage to keep their own flavour and even enhance it... It's sometimes very subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, but it's a reality.

As far as the press goes, fashion is news all around the world. You might single out the Japanese/Asians, but can you spot the difference between German/Dutch/Belgian/Swedish press? Also factor in that there are people of Asian descent living in the US as well as all other countries around the world.

 

[helena]

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....

I disagree fundamentally here ....why is there not much behind the scenes.....how can Paris possibly be likend to Vegas? Paris has been at the centre of the civilised world for well over a thousand years...its is steeped in history (if you'd like i can recommend a few very good books on Paris's history), culture (classic and modern), philosophy, integrity and realism.

Next time you go to Paris may I recomment the following (in order to scratch the surface

-a visit to Belleville on a saturday morning;
-a walk through the Place des Voges on a summer day when clasical music is being played and well dressed children swarm;
-sitting in a small cafe watching the world go by;
-listening to a string quartet in La Sainte Chapelle built by Saint Louis (with Parisians not tourists);
-a trip to the catacombes (which gives a glimpse of Paris's rich history.

^^To name but a few things. I think you might struggle to see/do thes ethings in Las Vegas. I guess it depends upon how you 'scratch the surface' and what you are loooking for when you do so.....
-

 

[mikevensel]

when i stop being annoyed i may start having fun with your posts.. you dont make much sense you know much more for someone who claims to be working in the industry..

if there is much competition in Paris, then it makes it harder for 'opportunists' right? so why should they flock there? they could have a better chance in LA or NY right?
look, people who go to Paris to attent the shows go there because they either work for the press or they are buyers, they dont go for vacations during fashion week.. apart from showing my work during Paris fashion Week ,i happened to cover the shows for the Press and its no tourism.. trust me.

no much substance behind the scenes? ahh please save yourself the airtickets next time, stick with LA darling, suits you much better

I ment to say there is less competition in Paris.....people go to vegas to work also - being in paris for fashion week is more than being at the shows - its more about a certain ambience that paris lends - well I do live in LA and I do love it - if I didnt not I would move =)

 

[nanker_phledge]

Ok , I quit , this thread is about French designers and people including me have answered about the importance of French designers nowadays. Mikevensel only wants to blab about his bad experiences, and apparently knows the names of three French designers, no need to argue really.

 

[mikevensel]

There was the "Japanese invasion" in Paris during the 80's... And I think they did a lot of good by providing a different viewpoint. Any country or culture gets influenced by what goes on in the rest of the world, for better and for worse... It's a strange thing, but even as people and cultures around the world seem to blend into each other, they still manage to keep their own flavour and even enhance it... It's sometimes very subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, but it's a reality.

As far as the press goes, fashion is news all around the world. You might single out the Japanese/Asians, but can you spot the difference between German/Dutch/Belgian/Swedish press? Also factor in that there are people of Asian descent living in the US as well as all other countries around the world.

Oh I am sure there are more asians in LA than in Paris - but you dont see them as much at fashion week. One or two here or there but not hundreds.

 

[PrinceOfCats]

Next time you go to Paris may I recomment the following (in order to scratch the surface

The fact that mike would fail an eye test in French based on the evidence of his current pearls of linguistic excellence may also hamper his 'backstage' knowledge...

I still see no sources.

 

[tott]

-a walk through the Place des Voges on a summer day when clasical music is being played and well dressed children swarm
-

One of my favourite places...

But seriously, mike isn't answering any questions or meeting any challenges, is he?

 

[mikevensel]

I disagree fundamentally here ....why is there not much behind the scenes.....how can Paris possibly be likend to Vegas? Paris has been at the centre of the civilised world for well over a thousand years...its is steeped in history (if you'd like i can recommend a few very good books on Paris's history), culture (classic and modern), philosophy, integrity and realism.

Next time you go to Paris may I recomment the following (in order to scratch the surface

-a visit to Belleville on a saturday morning;
-a walk through the Place des Voges on a summer day when clasical music is being played and well dressed children swarm;
-sitting in a small cafe watching the world go by;
-listening to a string quartet in La Sainte Chapelle built by Saint Louis (with Parisians not tourists);
-a trip to the catacombes (which gives a glimpse of Paris's rich history.

^^To name but a few things. I think you might struggle to see/do thes ethings in Las Vegas. I guess it depends upon how you 'scratch the surface' and what you are loooking for when you do so.....
-

Oh I think paris is wonderful - its history is grand and beautiful - but modern paris is somewhat lacking due to its "center of the fashion world" reputation.

 

[Lena]

there is less competition in Paris? which Paris have YOU been at?
there is no fashion capital in the world with MORE competition than in Paris, i wont even bother replying here anymore.. this discussion makes no sense whatsoever

vivre la LA

 

[fashionista-ta]

Well influence is all subjective and hard to measure - we could poll everyone in the world and see what designers they like most, but the reality is that 90% of the world probably dosent know any of any designer, definately not the ones we speak of, if you live in the world of TFS and you submerge yourself in fashion mags from europe surely you will have a skewed view of the world, how do you define influnece? I think its pretty well established that the two most influential designs cam from the us - the tshirt and the jean - all I am saying is what is franch fashion producing besides a place to have a chic office and runwayn with lots of press.

Too right, we all need to get to LA so we can get our heads screwed on straight, and realize that there is nothing more important in fashion than ... jeans and a T-shirt???

I think I know why I've never heard of your magazine ...

 

[PrinceOfCats]

which Paris have YOU been at?

Maybe, to display his intimate aquaintance with French culture, mike's 'experience' is in fact an extended LSD trip in Los Angeles where he imagines he went to Paris, in a witty parody of Sartre's La Nausee...

Maybe not... but the thread doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast whatever the case.

 

[nanker_phledge]

Is this thread really about French fashion designers ? I really doubt so.

 

[helena]

Well influence is all subjective and hard to measure - we could poll everyone in the world and see what designers they like most, but the reality is that 90% of the world probably dosent know any of any designer, definately not the ones we speak of, if you live in the world of TFS and you submerge yourself in fashion mags from europe surely you will have a skewed view of the world, how do you define influnece? I think its pretty well established that the two most influential designs cam from the us - the tshirt and the jean - all I am saying is what is franch fashion producing besides a place to have a chic office and runwayn with lots of press.

....I guess fashion which is 'influential' is fashion which influences people......and there are certainly differnet levels on which this influence may be measured. You are right, if you ask the 'man on the street' about fashion designers, he'll talk about Gucci and Ralph Lauren, but if you talk to someone who is interested in fashion on another, arguably higher, level (which is how I'd describe most of the members here) then you'll get the names of the japanese, the belgians, the french and the Brits coming up more.

I am not sure that the t-shirt and the jean are the only two most influential designs - two others that come to mind are - the little black dress - french; the trenchcoat - british.