During Milan Fashion Week in February 2025, Korean Designers showed off their styles at the HUB. Rick Li, head of Seoul Fashion Week talks about style, looks and K-Pop influences. Ensemble:Voices of Korea is the title of collaboration from the global fashion capitals.
Click below for the Before Tacky Podcast.
How did luxury lose its luster? There are many answers to this question. As the industry reels from lower profits while consumers cut back on aspirational purchases. Some answers require a somewhat deeper analysis.
As masstige became a business model for exclusive brands, they began to lose their allure. Overproducing so called “desired pieces” accomplished the opposite effect, a splash of everyday common tattiness. When once there was admiration mingled with a touch of covetousness for a displayed logo or design, today, this comes across as vacuous consumption for the sake of showing off.
As management drivers took control of the luxury industry, maximising the bottom line became paramount. Corporate control is not about creation, but rather big profits. A fast way to make money is to increase prices for high demand goods. These price hikes did not go unnoticed by pinched shoppers who simply prioritized basics over splendours.
A cautionary tale is taking place. Trying to be everything to everyone can mean nothing to all. As luxury fashion continued casting a wide net, discerning buyers went in the opposite direction. A corporate boss does not desire what a workers have. Teen buyers are shaped by peers, not their parents. Generation Z has become mass labels wary. Young buyers look less willing to chase brands, looking for different, more individualistic clothing.
The most important asset for any brand is reputation. An ongoing sweatshop scandal has at least in the short term made many buyers question the real value of these labels. Factories employing illegal workers in poor conditions while producing high quality expensive goods rattled consumer trust.
The luxury sector is entering a period of uncertainty. With retail in a tailspin, once rock solid markets in Asia in a slowdown, global conflicts, changes at the creative head levels, the Fall 2024 Fashion Week conversations will be more interesting than the runway collections.
From Milan Fashion Week this past February with a color from the Caribbean, fashion brand Sugaboi hit the runway with a collection blending a hot palette with a figure hugging forms. Creative head Geoff Cooper made the most of his calendar debut.
From New York to London to Milan and now Paris, there is a trend. After reviewing fashion weeks looks and pieces for Spring 24, there is definitely a change happening. Wearable styles without selfie friendly monograms are charging down the runways.
Fashion Season is here with the big runway shows from the capital cities of style showing off their newest collections.
Looking over the designs, we have some opinions. Before Tacky is coming soon.
According to the fashion magazines, the word is always curious to see the latest midriff worn by a Hadid. Want to learn about Hailey Bieber’s skin care routine, for the 120th time, check out the latest issue of,,,. There was a time when publications were sources of inspiration and knowledge, along with the glossy images.
As readers moved from pages to digital platforms, magazines have lost their place at the head of the cultural table, no longer having a manicured nail on the pulse of style. Influencers, YouTube commentators and TikTok celebrities set the agenda in the never-ending world of original content. Vogue, along with its rivals, feel stale.
Forgive me for being lost, why do the fashion magazines continue to reproduce the same stories on social media and on the newsstand? Pivoting got lost in translation perhaps because of press relations, contacts, sticking to what they know could be the answer, despite dwindling sales and relevance.
The world is facing a war, inflation crisis, climate change and political uncertainty to name a few, yet, the fashion magazines seem lost in a maze of recycled satiny. Can anyone save these peaches and cream pages? Do they want to be saved is becoming the question. Fewer and fewer readers in the world will always be updated on Hadid’s six-pack.
Today, we start the sixty day count down to Pitti Uomo in Florence. Having not attended since the lockdown, we are looking forward to the premiere menswear event starting January 10th.
I saw Studio 189 on a luxury website. The Ghana brand eye catching patterns peaked my curiosity. The brand collaboration between actress Rosario Dawson and Adrima Eriah is a rising star in the fashion world with social justice credentials by supporting African production.
Click below to see the fashion shows.
Milan Fashion kicked off in the virtual mode this season. We the world under some form of lockdown, buyers and press are unable to travel. The Italian fashion capital put its best foot forward but going direct to the point. Filming closed runway shows instead of Calvin Klein Commercials. I want to say “Thank You”.
It’s easy to spot the trend this season: staying home. All is casual. For Italian designers this could be a blessing in disguise. Comfort took center stage. Using quality fabrics and relaxed looks that could transition from home office to going out for a stroll worked on many levels. It felt a bit as if the designers are under less pressure with some reinvention in their minds. Is a new classic emerging?
