Tag: Style

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Fashion

MORE CHANGE, AGAIN!

I cannot keep up anymore with the moves at the big fashion brands. Creative heads change more than I go to my sock draw for a new pair of hosiery. One day there is a big announcement of a designer coming onboard, the next day a resignation with the usual statements: “I enjoyed my time, but it is time to move on”.

The shock of Maria Grazia Chiuri leaving Dior after nine years, another earthquake. This time the word “quit” made the headlines. Chiuri’s modern muted feminist take at Avenue Montaigne made a splash with buyers and media. Personally, I found the lack of dramatic romance in the collections a bit uninteresting at times. The rumours were true, for sometime, chatter has focused on if the Italian born would stay at the prestigious house. On Thursday May 29th, Chiuri called it a day in Paris.

The guessing game now, the replacement, however, thankfully, there are high-end furnished AirBnB’s in the French Capital.

Maria Grazia Chiuri
Maria Grazia Chiuri

Only two days before, Maria’s one time design partner at Rome based Valentino,  Pier Paolo Piccioli just got appointed the head of Kering’s Balenciaga. Once a prestigious label known for lush extravagant designs, fallen sales, at times goofy designs, forced a new approached on the parent company. Previous head Demna pivoted the 106-year-old clothier to a mix of streetwear and stunt designs.   How will Pier reinvent the luxury clothier with a modern reputation built on chunky trainers?

Once upon a time creative heads had longevity.  Today, ateliers could feel like WeWork stations.   

Pierpaolo Piccioli
Pier Paolo Piccioli
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Fashion

From Seoul to Milan

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.

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Fashion

Superfine in 2025

The Met Gala, the fashion world’s biggest Red Carpet sailed into New York City on raining day.  The yearly first Monday in May event has morphed into celebrity media circus where A listers throng the stairs for photographers to raise money for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The evening presided over by Vogue Editor Anna Wintour placed Black fashion on a glossy stage. This year’s theme, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style was inspired by the African American Fashion.

I think the memo go lost in junk mails.  Instead of being inspired, the looks came across as Gothic. Was there a will reading before or after the party?   Then there was the other extreme of monochromatic white. I guess prints and color made the “not to do” list.

African American fashion has been influenced by a “we are not you” tradition with a sense of pride, dignity while existing in a hostile place.  Clothes were a way of quiet expression against societal oppression.  Dressing up was a form of telling the world we are human beings.

Sanitised Style

The sanitised interpretations of style felt overly calculated, all ready for the global press.  For some it was about the optics, even if the look lacked imagination.  Diana Ross in white with a 5.5 metered train took control or Andre 3000 with a piano on his back felt a little bit too attention seeking.   Co-host, singer and LV menswear designer Pharrell played it safe to the edge of a yawn in a white jacket.  Coleman Domingo showed his flair with an oversized flower on his black and white stripped jacket. Zendaya’s all white suit, fine, but not a knock out look from the Fashion Diva.  On the other end, Teyana got it right with help from Oscar winner Ruth E. Carter.

The Met Gala 2025, inspiring would be a stretch, using the word “trivialising”, too harsh. I could settle for a mild mannered attempt at putting Black Style front and center.

If you are really inspired by Black Fashion, check out reruns of Soul Train on YouTube.  To see live original unrestrained Black Dandy style, attend Pitti Uomo in Florence.

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Fashion

A Shame Talley Is Not There

As the Met Gala hits the Red Carpet in 2025 it is worth noting the man who should have been front and center of the fashion trade biggest event was sadly tossed aside by the same people who are now celebrating Black Style. What happened to Andre is a cautionary tale of living in a brutal transactional field where skin color, age, and celebrity wattage matter more than knowledge.

The Brown University graduate’s autobiographic chronicle is a plush swerve  of delusional fantasy built on Birkin Bags to the hard realities of prejudices in a closed industry where Talley admitted to earning significantly less than less experienced colleagues. 

Three years after his death, Mr. Talley continues to influence a world that never fully accepted him. 

Andre Talley Book Review
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Before Tacky Fashion

The Upcycled Appeal from Marea

Fashion designer Giuseppe Della Monica talks about his fashion brand Marea. The inspiration of the collection is a combination of fifties styles, structure and upcycled materials.

From the Milan Fashion Week Hub, Giuseppe gave a quick interview on the Before Tacky Podcast.

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Fashion

Luxury Handbags Reputations Are Taking A Beating

The Tariff Trade war between the United States and China continues with each country hitting back then waiting for a response from the other. The Luxury Handbag has been taking a beating on the social media platforms from Chinese producers with a steady flow of videos showing “how real luxury” is an illusion.  Questions are swirling.  Are these bags really made in China? Another question being raised?  Are these bags worth the price?   Luxury brands have increased prices time and time again.  Many sought after items sell for as much as 50% more than in 2019.  Is it any wonder why videos from the Knock-off Capital of the World are resonating with buyers?

After visiting a store, I asked the sales team the price of some handbags.  After their response, I had to shake off the shocking sticker price. Even going so far to ask if they thought the bags were worth the price.  The uneasy and reluctant answers did not surprise me.  After all the bag’s price perhaps equals a two or three-month salary for a full-time department store salesperson.

Buying a guilty pleasure is fun, the grin on the face, the pride of showing off a big bag with a storied brand on the side.  After the past few weeks, that once enchanted emotion shifted to the “A sucker is born every minute” category.  The industry finds itself in a tricky situation partly of its own making by extreme prioritising the bottom line while making some inferior products.   In the past, buyers dismissed or simply forgot and forgave luxury labels transgressions while shelling out for the latest designer purse.  This time however, the sector has a foe who benefits from reminding spenders of the affordable alternatives.   Will luxe clientele spend with their heads or with hearts? Round one goes to the Chinese Social Media content creators. However, the skirmish has started.  

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Fashion

Superfine Black Dandy

As we say ” Vogue got up with us” for the annual Met Gala theme: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” From the archives here is a collection of some Superfine Black Dandy gentlemen dressed up, ready to go.

Black Dandy
Black Dandy
Black Dandy
Black Dandy
Black Dandy
Black Dandy
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Before Tacky

Dandyism

As the Met Gala’s themed “SuperFine:Tailoring Black Style” event approaches on May 5th 2025, this repost of a Before Tacky fashion podcast episode from Pitti Uomo Florence with Dandy Taiwo Meghoma talking about fashion trends and dandyism.

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Fashion

Handbag Carousel

Handbags have become a focal point in the ongoing trade war between the US and China. Many producers are online “showing” designer labels made for cheap in factories. It is hard to tell what is true and what is false. However, a nice bag is always nice to have.

@blackandpaper

Beautiful Bags from Italy at the MIPEL fair. #handbags #womenshandbag #bags#fashiontiktok #fashion

♬ original sound – Blackandpaper – Blackandpaper
Categories
Fashion

Crisis after Crisis

The fashion industry already under pressure from consumers cutting spending, then came the tariffs. If there is a fire, pouring more gas on does not help. The stakes went higher, Chinese producers launched a social media assault on luxury brands. Posts detailing the how brands manufacture products in the country.  Appealing to common sense and wallets, online speaker’s layout the real costs involved in making pricey handbags selling for thousands in Western shops. 

The Luxury Culture has taken a hit with recent headlines concerning sweatshop conditions in Italy but the latest posts could start an unraveling. Labels once ensconced in splendor with mood lite stores now come across as trustworthy as a used car lot in a bad section of town. 

Crisis in Fashion

What will China’s next salvo involve? Flooding the world with fakes and gray brands is a top guest. 

June’s London Fashion Week got cancelled.  What was once a main stop on the fashion caravan route is now off the itinerary.   The British capital had everything going for it, enough to be in the top four fashion weeks with New York, Milan and Paris.  But the scene has taken a hit with many brands moving their runway shows to other cities.  London will always be a fashion power given its influence, however a bit smaller. The next LFW happens in September.   

Designer sneakers have fallen out of favor.  A few years ago, everyone bought a pair of trainers from Balenciaga or Dior at $1000.  As shoppers fall back to Earth, expensive sneakers no longer have become the “It Pieces” as buyers trade down to more affordable sneakers.   Those red Converse at $45 have never looked better.

It is only April.  One thing for sure, the next eight months will be interesting.