By Frédérique Renaut

Paris Fashion week is finally over and now is the time to determine the “Forrest Gump” Model of the season. I see a look coming out of the model agencies. A face with highly sculpted hard angles with hollow cheek bones and jaws protruding that are accentuated by make up and pulled back straight hair. Magdalena Frackowiak is a perfect example of “The Face”.

However this trend can lead to a very unhealthy and extremely skinny look. When I see how thin Fei Fei Sun has become (I mentioned her as part of the Rising Generation of Asian Models piece I wrote), where her face is looking gaunt and has lost its attractive roundness. Looking at her recent Polaroids should raise a red flag.

Some publishing groups are already taking action and are banning extremely thin models from their editorial pages. This new directive also affects established top models. It is in my opinion a step in the right direction, however I am not sure that the brands and designers will follow suit as a small head mounted on a pin like silhouette proportion tend to match the sketches that designers render for their creations.

The New Forrest Gump

Monika Jagaciak a.k.a. “Jac” at IMG is the girl of the season. I would be curious to know how many miles she covered if we add all the fashion weeks of the season she was featured in. This Baby Top Model with Avril Lavigne features is not listed as part of the Main Board of IMG, but still considered a “New Face” as a result of her age. I guess the fact that she was banned from previous Paris Fashion Weeks due to her age, has made her even more appealing and thus in greater demand this season. (London Fashion Week has banned under-16-year-old from its catwalks and, in France, a licence is required before an under-16-year-old can model).

Born in 1994, she was signed by IMG at the age of 13 and turned 16 in January. Last year, Vogue Australia editor Kirstie Clements decided to pull the plug on using “Jac” when they discovered her age and suggested that Australia follow Europe’s lead and impose a minimum age requirement of 16 years old for models.

Monika Jagaciak has previously appeared in ads for Calvin Klein and Hermès.

This happened in the past with ex Super Model: Brooke Shields who also represented the Calvin Klein brand at the age of 15.

Walk, Monika! Walk!

Some of the shows she was featured in Paris for the Fall-Winter 2011 Collections

Some editorials with “Jac”

Jac during Fall-Winter 2009-2010 Fashion Weeks

The Marathon Runners of the season

Abbey Lee Kershaw @ Next
Alla Kostromicheva @ Women
Anja Rubik @ Next
Anna de Rijk @ Viva
Anna Selezneva @ Silent
Constance Jablonski @ Elite
Fei Fei Sun @ Elite
Freja Beha Erichsen @ IMG
Frida Gustavsson @ IMG
Heidi Mount @ IMG
Iris Strubegger @ Women
Jacquelyn Jablonski @ Elite
Karlie Kloss @ Next
Karmen Pedaru @ Next
Kasia Struss @ Women
Lara Stone @ IMG
Liu Wen @ Marilyn
Magdalena Frackowiak @ Elite
Maryna Linchuk @ Viva
Mirte Mass @ Women
Natasha Poly @ Women
Olga Sherer @ Nathalie
Patricia Van der Vliet @ Elite
Sasha Pivovarova @ IMG
Sigrid Agren @ Elite
Siri Tollerod @ Marilyn
Tao Okamoto @ Women
Vlada Roslyakova @ Women

By Frédérique Renaut

You might have read the recent interview of Hedi Slimane by Dirk Standen titled “The Future of Fashion” posted on www.style.com, where he shares his vision on the Future of Fashion. I found his article interesting enough to write about it. Hedi Slimane has a very interesting perspective on the fashion industry. A thought came to me and that was did he become conscious of this radical change  and paradigm shift since leaving Dior Homme or was he aware of this change but felt incapable of sharing is view point while in the center of the storm? Now that he is no longer associated with Luxury Holding Group, his shackles have been removed.

This is the first time I have seen a world renowned fashion designer and fashion photographer with such a high profile sharing his views on how the Internet and social networking have revolutionized irreversibly the industry of fashion, as well as the fashion media business. It is also interesting to note that he believed that this change is not only a good thing but is necessary.

How do you think technology—tweeting, blogging, social media, etc…—has affected fashion? For better or worse? It has affected different aspects of fashion tremendously. From commentary to fashion design, communication, and distribution. The fashion Internet community is like a global digital agora tweeting passions and opinions. Anyone knows better, and each one is a self-made critic. This is a fascinating idea, as I always favoured amateurism (”the one that loves”) over professionalism, attraction over experience. It obliges anyone in the industry to think in a fresher way. Of course, it is hard to say if any “authority,” someone like Suzy Menkes, might one day come out and use digital means to lead with integrity, enough background, outside of any conflict of interest. On a design perspective, it has allowed any young designer or indie brand to get an instant audience, if used with wit and invention. I am not quite sure of the future of retail as we know it. This is a truly important thing, maybe the most important one, as it might already mean there is nothing standing between the design and an audience/consumer. Finally, the better and the worse have always been part of fashion, with the Internet only magnifying it and creating a joyful and noisy digital chaos. The bottom line is that any note can create music. It is only a matter of taste.

The worst, the best and the non-significant have always co-existed prior to the existence of social media. This new tool has allowed and has led to its own self perpetuating media: reviewing, critiquing, proposing, promoting within its own community confines. As a result of this new paradigm, the notoriety and the success will come to those who are not only creative, but those who can understand this new model and interact with the public. It is the democratization model that has become accessible to all that the industry will have to come grips with. The natural selection is again what will determine the success or failure of any product.

You photograph for magazines, but you also have a strong presence on the Internet with your Web site. Do you see a difference between the two mediums in terms of the presentation of your work? They complete each other. The Internet is about immediacy. Besides, I also operate my Web site directly, as I can decide if I want to post a story or reportage every day or every month. I also generally have a more complete edit on my Web site, after publication. That said, I do love the strict frame of magazines, and to tell a story in an edit of ten or 12 pages, or to sum it up in a cover. It is a discipline.

Can you envision a day when digital media will replace magazines? I totally do, and I don’t see it as a bad thing. You don’t fight but embrace a natural evolution, really, and try to figure out how it would reveal new creative fields within global access, and multimedia features. The Web site magazine will come way before the print version in the next decade. I don’t see any way around it, really. With the rise of the Internet, fashion did become part of the global entertainment industry in the last ten years, and will follow the digital evolution of the music or film industry. Besides, immediacy is better than old news. The “manufacturing” process of a magazine is far too long for this world, for the definition and idea that fashion is about “right now.” I guess it is more about “right now” now than ever before. That said, fashion magazines, glossy magazines still use their Web sites for daily news and information only. I trust it might be interesting to invest strongly in art direction, besides hiring top editors, top photographers, and top models, which is hardly enough for Internet pages. Quite certainly, the Web sites of the magazines will have to move away from the “blog” format and create an inspiring, tight template for their photo productions or editorial content, a Web site that has the [same feeling of] luxury and glamour as flipping through a heavy glossy magazine. It is interesting to think how someone like Alexey Brodovitch would have investigated this medium to create typography and layouts in motion. It is now an open field for a new generation of editors in chief and art directors. I hear one of the reasons for the lack of investment is advertising, although I trust advertising would follow immediately, if provided a reassuring image template for their costly ads. I finally believe the printed magazine will then become a collector’s item, and hopefully a reference to be kept preciously. Therefore, the commercial issues of advertising credits might move toward the Internet, [while] the most inspiring fashion stories could become exclusive to the printed collectible version.

An organizational and attitudinal change from the current printed fashion books to Web Sites is inevitable. And I share Hedi Slimane’s vision of having printed issues that are perhaps kept as collectors items, however, a shift of advertising budgets to the Web is inevitable. As a result of the drop in audience, and diminishing advertising revenues, costly glossy fashion books are having greater difficulty  paying for photo productions (top photographers, super models, hair, make up, stylist, studio, location…). If those collectors fashion books cannot afford those creative and unique photo productions any longer,  it will be the demise of them, as it is their raison d’être.

I see two possible outcomes:

• A buy out of the “collector fashion press” by Internet Groups who will use them as a high end display tool, a “Haute Couture laboratory” so to speak,  which will be financed via the profitability of the company’s overall Internet activity.
• For the “Indie collector fashion press”, I see  financing by a selected unique advertiser who will sponsor each issue. However, it is problematic to maintain a high level of creative freedom when an advertiser holds the purse strings.

Some people are questioning whether, in an era when information is disseminated so quickly, fashion shows still matter. As someone who has been both a participant and observer, do you think fashion shows are still an important and effective method of presentation? I understand the options, but there is something else besides information. Fashion somehow, for me, is purely and happily irrational. I like the ritual, the liturgy of a well-crafted, emotional fashion show. I will never be jaded with this side of fashion. The “catwalk” is pure anthropology, something like an esoteric encrypted parade. It can totally be replaced but it will be missed. Archaisms do have some reassuring charms, unless the Internet is used creatively, and in a poetic way. The problem is also the number of brands that insist, for vanity or desperation and beyond common sense, to squeeze into the endless fashion weeks of the world for the wrong reasons. Some of them would benefit from different methods to present their collections.

Can you envisage a different method of presentation than a fashion show? Perhaps involving video or photography? Of course, anything can be done, really, and the Internet technically allows any possible medium. This also means you can design anywhere. It is an interesting idea, no matter where and how. “Equality” could come with a random Web address, although sadly some www. addresses are more equal than others.

Between menswear and womenswear, resort, pre-fall, and ready-to-wear, some designers are designing eight or more collections a year. Is it possible for a designer to be creative under those circumstances? Designers end up needing a full-blast studio for this sort of thing, which is totally absurd. I also don’t understand what the hell people do with all those clothes. Less would be better, and shorter collections. Again, e-commerce might change this costly and overwhelming fashion avalanche.

Three of the strongest fashion design talents—Hedi Slimane, Helmut Lang, Martin Margiela—are currently pursuing other interests. Is that a coincidence or does it say something about the current state of the system? I cannot really speak for them. I guess we all have enough time to experiment with different things. That said, fashion, what you call the system, has become quite used and abused with conflicts of interest. The advertising game between the media and fashion houses might have gone too far. The meltdown did not help, to say the least. As far as design is concerned, scaling down would help a lot. The global economy meant partnerships, and partnerships in the last decade came with some risks. But there is something ironic, an absurd ending, a justice after all.

Is the commercial pressure on designers today too great? I don’t know about this. I am concerned about the relevance of strategy. Selling is a positive thing. Of course, the overhead of many global houses is so huge that the pressure is great. I don’t mind the pressure at all; it is stimulating. I mind the lack of a long-term vision, and the lack of sense. It has to make sense, no matter the size of a fashion house.

The evolution of the Fashion industry has opened up new opportunities for young designers to show  off their collections without the humongous cost and ritualistic efforts of  producing a fashion show. This new paradigm however, implies the need for creative and original approaches in their communications strategy. Their ultimate goal is to differentiate themselves from their competition in using the tools provided to them in social media. Young and independent designers have a great future in promoting and distributing their brand through e-boutiques. They may be picked up later by the traditional fashion press but it will no longer be essential to them, as viable and powerful alternatives are available that can offset the dependence on classic media solutions.

There is also a revolution brewing in the established Fashion Houses. The current job titles of Marketing, Advertising, Communication, Press Attachés and Sales are dramatically changing as a multitude of brand new type of client is surfacing. Those presently holding the reigns either they do not see it or do not want to see it (“it” being the writing on the proverbial wall). Perhaps they fear for their own position and do not know how to handle or adapt to the change nor deal with the inevitable tsunami. Press Attachés can no longer simply limit their jobs to nurturing close relationships to the editors in chief of influential fashion magazines to secure editorial feedback and their own position. They must develop their visibility on the net. The  classic “one and one” based relationship is evolving in to the “many to many “relationship dynamic. A new position needs to be developed within their organization: The Community Manager, to communicate within the social media environment. For the Classic fashion houses who are used to controlling every single word and image coming out of them, it is indeed a Rude Awakening!

Will they continue living in glass houses? Or will they take the plunge? We shall see what we shall see…

What effect do you think the rise of fast fashion has had on consumers and on high fashion? The issue was pretty much when at the beginning of the 2000’s high fashion started to embrace (no question they had to) globalization. High fashion started to offer access to luxury and creativity. In a way it was dangerously closing the gap with fast fashion, which was incredibly effective in mimicking the style and standards (stores, merchandising, ad campaigns) of high fashion. It is mathematical. More means less rarity and less quality. This leads to the visual chaos of not exactly knowing what is what, if you forget your contact lenses and can’t read the label.

Would you have any interest in collaborating with a fast-fashion retailer? I have obviously had a few discussions, like any of us, but I don’t really like the “capsule” collection trick, which I won’t do. There is something terribly cheap about it. This validation is somehow dodgy, since fast fashion, with few exceptions, is quietly ripping off all it can, including brands that are too small to defend themselves. I would not mind and would be open to some evolution of fast retail, if it was aiming for an original design and a long-term commitment. It would become something else. Something like Apple computers, for instance, where design meets a wide audience through innovation and sense. In the future, fast-fashion retailers might change their philosophy toward real efforts to create a world of their own. One can only hope.

How can or should luxury fashion stand out from fast fashion? They have a duty to stay at the top of the game creatively and keep a distinctive voice. Luxury houses and brands are meant to be exceptional by any means and not settle for the average. They cannot run the precise wrong race, but rather [should] stick to a strict and dignified etiquette for their fashion developments, assets, and branding. Just like many Parisians, I was sad and surprised to see the historical and mythical store of Yves Saint Laurent, Place Saint-Sulpice, go. I might not have followed some episodes of the “hows and whys,” being an outsider, but walking across Place Saint-Sulpice one day, I saw a fast retailer instead. In general, luxury fashion houses are like royalty. They live to preserve and cherish the crown jewels and the symbols of their divine power, no matter what it takes. Luxury brands did also become monuments, because of the public affection and care. In other prosaic words, it might be all about tightening up long-term strategies in order to keep the respect, influence, and credibility.

What excites you about the future, personally or in terms of fashion in general? Everything, really. It is a fantastic time—difficult, of course, to some degree for many, because it is truly a revolution, led by the Internet, a digital revolution. Distribution and communication are in an ongoing fast-forward mutation. There is also a generation gap, which creates an acceleration of the treadmill for some. Not everyone is accustomed to this Internet world, which is understandable. It is just a different landscape, and as much as one might pretend to keep up, it is a tough one to follow: the freeway toward the musical chairs. I trust fashion will invent new models, shortcuts, somewhere in between luxury (analog) and fast retail (digital). In front of a beyond-informed audience and new generations being born with a wireless processor instead of a brain, it will be about having clear commitments and keeping an original voice no matter the scope and scale of fashion developments.

One more: Is there anything else you would like to say about the “future of fashion” that I neglected to ask?
Oh, well, at the end of the day, the future is always the same story, minus the digital revolution and its collaterals. The future has to be bright. It is the nature of fashion to evolve, only this time it might evolve more than ever, with seat belts optional.

Benjamin Kanarek of www.benjaminkanarekblog.com posted this comment on Style.com. He compares Fashion to what has been happening to the Music Industry.

“As someone in the Fashion Industry as well as a Pop-Rock composer in the music industry, I can see some rather stark comparisons between what has happened in the Music Industry and what is happening in the Fashion Biz. In fact it is happening everywhere. The Democratization of Creativity. When I used to do a Fashion shoot, the approach was so much more insular and Aristocratic so to speak, but in today’s paradigm, you can create your own rules as well as develop your own following, without the ritualistic acceptance of “THE FASHION POLICE”. The Dinosaurs are starting to really feel the pinch, thus one of he reason’s for this sites existence. The huge record companies are just a shell of their past accomplishments, with very little substance left of their original “raison d’être”. In fact, I consider  them as a kind of huge Marketing company, picking up artist’s with an established following. Today in most cases the artists come completely packaged with a final product & video. All the record label has to do is get off their somewhat bloated asses and promote them. The Record labels  (and this will not come as a surprise to you) are quite parasitic indeed!  I must  also add that  I believe this is a good thing. ‘Better late than never’. None the less Hedi makes some very compelling points, that highlight the fact that, “The Times They are a Changin”". Benjamin Kanarek

Read the entire Hedi Slimane’s interview by Dirk Standen posted on www.style.com

When I worked with Alexander McQueen…

After the passing away of Alexander McQueen, it seems that everyone in the industry are now recognizing his “undisputed” talent. However, it was not always the case. In the past, he was frequently misunderstood by the press. The troubled, disturbing, dark and oppressive atmosphere of certain shows was often too overwhelming for them to fathom.

I had the privilege of working with him when he was at Givenchy for the 1998 Fall-Winter ready-to-wear collection, in 1997. Before he created his Fashion House “Alexander McQueen” with the backing of  the PPR Group. I then followed his career from a distance.

Lee (his first name, Alexander was his middle name) exemplified the no compromise, always reinventing, re-challenging himself kind of model that many other designers can only wish to accomplish if given free reign. None of his collections resemble the preceding ones. Constantly re-inventing himself, his new collections are born with an entirely new and unique personality or DNA. His themes and inspirations were always very powerful statements with amazing staging, decor, performances and scenery dramatizations (a remake of the Sydney Pollack film “They Shoot Horses Don’t They?”, stuffed animals, rapacious, projections of XXL dream images, rain, snow, water, painting projections…) and he expressed those themes with breathtaking romantic and tragic allegories that went far beyond what one is used to expect from your classically established fashion designer.

He had it all: A perfect technique of “the cut”, the tailoring which was the foundation and basis of his work learned while on Savile Row. Yet with this classic training, he was able to take his creations much further expressed with his own tragic poetry. Some people might have complained  and stated, “Give me a break they are only clothing after all…” Perhaps, but the end product was more than “Just Clothing”.

They were pieces of finely executed and masterfully beautiful draping for the human body. A celebration of the beauty of the female silhouette. Forget the dramatization of the show for one second and look at the clothing, you will notice that they are very wearable. Part of his secret resided in the structure of the shoulders and necks of  his coats, jackets and dresses: the foundation from where the rest of the construction is built upon. Alexander was a master of architecting these foundations in many variations. “I became a designer to push new ideas, I don’t see the point of designing something that’s already been done 20 million different ways” stated Alexander at the beginning of his career.

Some examples of neck and shoulder details from Alexander McQueen’s last shows – photos Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

At Givenchy,  Lee was surrounded by a British team comprised of young and incredibly talented people amongst which included Katy England, his friend and muse and playing  a central role. There was also the incredibly talented and brilliant Simon Costin Art Director and Set Designer for the shows.

Oddly enough (and I found this to be quite amusing), there existed two totally different and opposing dynamics at the Givenchy Studio. When Lee and his team needed to relax, it was a variation of raucously loud music and joking around. However, when he felt that it was time to get back to work, a very studious atmosphere would prevail going through books of National Geographic and other source materials. You could hear a pin drop…

Polaroids taken during the fitting session at Givenchy House for RTW Fall-Winter 1998, while I was working at Givenchy’s Studio

It was a place where the “Suit and Tie” types felt uncomfortable and not welcome. It was the cocoon for creation that just didn’t have room for topics pertaining to “Bizness”. Those topics were best left to the board room and not the design studio. I did not see much of them. Only, General Manager at Givenchy at the time, Richard Simonin made the occasional incursion.

But there were a few people who were more than welcome… While he was being interviewed for Newsweek by Dana Thomas (she wrote about this event in her recent article here) locked in his studio, Naomi Campbell came in accompanied by Kate Moss. They knocked at my door and ask me with a sweet and shy voice “Can we go in? He knows us…” I, knowing that he obviously knew THEM, said “Sure, go ahead…” I’m sure it made Dana Thomas’ story even more deliciously news worthy.

Richard Simonin approached me one day before the show and asked, “Frédérique, would you please suggest to Alexander that he wear a tuxedo on stage?”… Well, Lee asked me to find him a shaver. I saw him a few minutes later wearing his baggy jeans, over sized shirt and his brand new haircut: a Mohawk! He looked at me wearing a hugely defiant big “F**K HIM” smile!

Alexander McQueen and Actress Béatrice Dalle at the Givenchy RTW Fall-Winter 1998

McQueen left Givenchy after a short stint. There were just too many limitations associated with his position at Givenchy. He had to take into consideration the legacy of Hubert de Givenchy to keep the customer loyal to the brand. LVMH group, owner of Givenchy were not giving him the attention he was expecting to develop his own brand which was his major priority. Lee knew what he wanted and was determined to get it. He slammed the door on LVMH and a new door opened with PPR welcoming him with open arms. He had finally arrived with a solid financial backer who would give him the freedom and the time to “BE” Alexander McQueen as a sole entity.

Rude and arrogant? That is how some people described him. I never witnessed that. He was reserved and rather shy with people he did not know which is often perceived as unapproachable, arrogant and cold. But he was kind with his team, had a great sense of humour and could crack some good jokes as well. Nonetheless, he loved to be provocative with authority and its hierarchy… But he finally wore a jacket, Didn’t he? (above with Béatrice Dalle)

He was a man with convictions. A man in a rush. Perhaps he felt there was no time to waste.

Thank you Lee. It was an honour passing you by on your way.

May you Rest In Peace with your Dear friend Isabella and your Mum.

Alexander McQueen collection FW 06-07 Part 2/2

But…

Whenever someone is prematurely plucked away from this mortal coil and jettisoned to that other place that all of us go to eventually, I ponder the what if and the why this happened.

I never knew him, but I knew his work.  Every time I had an opportunity to see what he produced, I was awe struck by the innovation, uniqueness and novelty of his Art Pieces.

I never knew him, but I could understand his angst and frustration with much of the mundane surrounding him.  His works were perhaps the personification of where and what he wished the world could be and found solace in the fact that he could use his form of expression as the tool for doing so.

I never knew him, but he left us too young, as so many artists have in the past and will in the future.  That is unfortunate…

I never knew him and his name was Alexander McQueen and Lee to those close to him.

Rest in Peace

by Frédérique Renaut

I was flattered and almost recompensed for doing an interview with Kristi Thompson for her fabulous blog “How Did You Get There?“. She has a great sense of humour and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“Interview with Frédérique Renaut, Muse

FASHION: Ahhh, Paris! If you *heart* the fashion world, or work in any creative field requiring inspiration, you must meet my next Guest Star… she’s a REAL LIVE MUSE!

Papers seek out her Hot Off the Press Fashion Reports, like The Demise of Christian Lacroix Fashion House. She’s worked for Issey Miyake, Jean Paul Gaultier, and even Alexander McQueen, to name a few.

Kristi: (hands Frédérique small gift box from Tiffany’s) Welcome Frédérique Renaut. I know you’re busy Musing for fashion photographer Benjamin Kanarek, but I’ve got terrible writer’s block and was wondering–

Frédérique Renaut: What are you talking about?

Kristi: (lowers voice) Look, I know what you are. I’ve seen the movie.

Frédérique Renaut: (ignores box) What movie?

Kristi: The Muse – with Sharon Stone. She plays a muse, like you, who inspires all of Hollywood, but she’s finicky. She’ll only work if showered with expensive gifts. (rummages inside large bag) Dagnabbit – I TOLD the sales lady that key ring wasn’t good enough…

Frédérique Renaut: That’s ridiculous. I do Communications, Marketing Positioning and Strategy for Luxury brands.

Kristi: (pulls out larger Tiffany’s box) Yeah, yeah– you’ve got to help me! My characters are running havoc in my head, I can’t eat or sleep, I’m driving my husband crazy –

Frédérique Renaut: (shoves box away) I can imagine.

Kristi: Just a little eensy-weensy idea, a shove in the right direction…?

Frédérique Renaut: (peels Kristi’s fingers off her arm) I have work to do.

Kristi: Alright, alright – we’ll do it your way—Please tell our readers what you do for a living.

Frédérique Renaut: I worked for luxury brands for 15 years, and spent the past 10 of them also doing Artistic Direction and Digital retouching for beauty & fashion shoots, and I’m the Fashion and Beauty Director on www.benjaminkanarekblog.com.

Kristi: And what exactly makes you suited to working for all these luxury brands… would you say you INSPIRE them?

Frédérique Renaut: I’d say it’s my adaptability, reactivity, overview and attention to detail. As Ludwig Mies van der Rohe would say “God is in the details”

Kristi: Does this detail driven God happen to be a family member of yours named… ZEUS?

Frédérique Renaut: (blank stare, starts to leave)

Kristi: OK, I won’t go there. Please tell us what qualities someone of your ‘persuasion’ might need on the job, or were you…uh…born to do this?

Frédérique Renaut: I’m a perfectionist. I have convictions and fight for them. Nothing worse than being a yes-man when you work with creative people!

Kristi: Yes, YES!! You’re so right! Wow, your life sounds like an odyssey full of excitement and adventure.

Frédérique Renaut: I guess it has been a bit of an odyssey. For 9 years, I was Media Director for the world for Issey Miyake, Jean Paul Gaultier and Narciso Rodriguez perfumes (BPI) an affiliate of Shiseido based in Paris and was responsible for the world-wide media strategy in all the traditional and new media concepts for the 3 brands.

Kristi: Did this lead to *what you do* today?

Frédérique Renaut: Yes, I know all about the corporate language and the problems advertisers face with social networking. Working with more than 50 countries, I dealt with managers from very diverse cultural backgrounds.

Kristi: What other positions stand out in your past—perhaps standing elegantly in profile while strumming a lyre?

Frédérique Renaut: In the mid 90’s, I worked at Louis Féraud Communication Department for 3 years. It was a wonderful chance to work with one of the last Couturiers, still running his own Fashion House. I organized more than 8 Haute Couture press shows in Paris.

Kristi: Glamorous and historical!

Frédérique Renaut: I also assisted Alexander McQueen for a short period of time when he was the Artistic Director at Givenchy.

Kristi: As his Muse?

Frédérique Renaut: No!! I was his translator, as he had to work with French teams from the “Givenchy ateliers”. A very creative and talented designer!

Kristi: (winks) I see… good cover.

Frédérique Renaut: (rolls eyes)

Kristi: Imagine, inspiring –I mean *communicating* with people throughout the fashion world…what a valuable experience.

Frédérique Renaut: Valuable yes, but the most exiting part is to come. Social networking is fundamentally changing how people connect. Companies are not facing an evolution but a revolution that might leave some of them on the side of the road.

Kristi: Which is why I am here, pleading with you to help me, the characters in my book are revolting!

Frédérique Renaut: For the last time, I can’t inspire you!! I switched to fashion and photography ages ago. Besides, another one of us does literature… but you’ll need a much bigger gift for her.

Kristi: I KNEW IT!! (does the Happy Grecian Urn interpretive dance and twirl)

Frédérique Renaut: Besides, I have an exclusive Muse-ition with Benjamin Kanarek, now. (floats out of room)

Kristi: (calls after) Wait, what’s the other one’s name? Does she have a mobile phone?

Frédérique Renaut: (loud clap of thunder) Sorry Dad – I didn’t mean to tell her, but she wouldn’t shut up! (blinding lightening) You’re right – no one will believe that nut job anyway. (dulcet laughter)

Kristi: The Muse has spoken… as always, Frédérique Renaut, Thank You for Playing!”

Check out post via howdidyougetthere.wordpress.com

My only regret after the interview was not knowing what was in the package…

The Best Of and the Worst Of… My Picks

by Frédérique Renaut

The last Spring-Summer Couture collections will not remain in the annals of the greats!

21 collections were presented to the press:

• from 10 Official Members (Adeline André, Anne Valérie Hash, Chanel, Christian Dior, Dominique Sirop, Franck Sorbier, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Maurizio Galante, Stéphane Rolland missing Christian Lacroix this season )

• from 4 Correspondents Members (Head Quarters based somewhere else than Paris: Elie Saab, Giorgio Armani, Maison Martin Margiela, Valentino)

• from 7 Guest Members (Adam Jones, Alexis Mabille, Atelier Gustavo Lins, Christophe Josse, Josephus Thimister, Lefrant.Ferrant, Maison Rabih Kayrouz, missing Alexandre Matthieu, Felipe Oliveira Baptista, Jean-Paul Knott, Josep Font, Marc Le Bihan this season

Get used to it…

You know, all of you out there including myself who think that what is happening is what IS happening are wrong.

The HOT item right now are images taken on the streets with real people wearing what ever they wear and being cataloged and highlighted in all of the major press.  The press then try emulating that look with real people wearing fashion that the magazine stylists have chosen to give them a genuine on the street and caught by accident look. They  get photographers to take  “Snap Shots” to give them that “LOOK” and publish them.

Take for example the hottest Fashion blogs like The Sartorialist, Style Rookie and Garance Doré.  These blogs are in the Top Ten of the most powerful fashion influences today.  They are cited by Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Pop etc. as well as being syndicated throughout the world. Some of these bloggers have been picked up by major photo agents, as they represent the new wave.  As a result they get to shoot  and contribute  to the major fashion magazines around the globe.

The scene is in constant flux and the old rules no longer apply as they never did in the first place.  “The Scene” is dynamic and constantly changing as are the roles of those cataloging “The Scene”, i.e. the chroniclers or what used to be called fashion photographers.

To make it today as a “Fashion Photographer” you really have to see fashion to capture fashion and to see fashion you have to express your own views of what it means to you and capture it in your own way.  The classic set up the image in the studio still works, but there is a new kid on the block.  Better wake up to this reality and confront the fact that there will always be a “New Big Thing”.

As Bob Dylan so aptly sang, “The Times They are a Changing.”

Coming soon, our Hot off the Press from Paris and around the world Fashion Report by Frédérique Renaut...

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Illustration by Alexsandro Palombo

By Isa Maïsa

Celebrity branding is a marketing strategy as old as Julius Caesar’s stamped coins. Masses recognizing superstars catapulted sales of their preferred brands. This interweaving between fashion houses and celebrities is something we grew up with but is it still working? No, not like it used to. Today sophisticated, role modeled celebrities are respected and sought after over the superficial, self-centered ones.

Our world believes in limited resources. Opulence and extravagance are no longer a sign of prestige but seen as insensitive and arrogant. Are we praising Victoria Beckham’s $800,000 Italian shopping spree?  What counts today is the intrinsic value, social and environmental sustainability of our fashion choices. We are becoming responsible and selective. I call this fashion wisdom.

This decade is shifting our focus towards an ethical consumption. Gone is the ‘bling-bling’ era that held its crown for the past 18 years. It has been replaced with a discreet fashion. The logo mania of these past trends is now seen as an eye sore. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, YSL are a few who understand this and carefully designed subdued pieces in their past few collections. Superficial and ostentatious designs are out!

People now care about the small details. Where it is made, how it is made. Fashion wisdom is oozing into the mainstream and it is no longer exclusively about the celebrity. Consumers are taking a more active approach with their purchases. Some fashion houses still try their luck with these types of pretentious and insubstantial celebrities only to have media disasters. Let’s see what Kate Moss will come up with at Longchamp. Lindsay Lohan’s gag reflex fashion show debut for Emanuel Ungaro.

Sarah Jessica Parker receiving deep opposition as the Creative Director for Halston. It is no longer enough to be a superstar!

Today we are looking for celebrities that make a difference in our world. What began as a green approach has now infiltrated to branding. Fashion houses responded quickly by signing on celebrities that add more then just stardom such as with Michelle Obama who is often headliner news for her wardrobe.

This new form of thinking is exponentially growing throughout fashion industry creating an incredible opportunity to improve on the once archaic thinking and manufacturing. Constant evolution and adaptation is what keeps this fashion world exciting. Below is an example of the message of what “Luxury” can be perceived as without celebrity affiliation.  This is an incredible video!

by Per Zennström

... Just a “for-fun” juxtapostion of a recent, amazing editorial by master Nick Knight for British Vogue, February 2010.