We've been looking backwards and forwards for inspiration over the past couple of weeks in LA, from new and innovative textiles and designs on display at the LA Textile Show, LA Fashion Week and LA Market Week, to vintage inspiration at the California Market Center's "110 Years of Fashion" event.
The latter was a fresh way to present modern fashions, pairing brands and designers such as BCBG, Sue Wong and Cynthia Steffe with influential fashion bloggers like All Things Ordinary, Mondette and So Super Sam. Each pairing was allocated a particular decade from the last 110 years and tasked with presenting their designs in a style sympathetic to that era. As a guide, they were also given a detailed list of the key trends for each period prepared by WGSN.
L to r: moderator Alison Nieder, Gloria Brandes, Sue Wong, Doris Raymond, Sally Lohan
By way of on introduction to the exhibit, and given our special interest in vintage at WGSN, we also helped organize a panel discussion focusing on past fashions and the influence they have on 21st century design. The panel was moderated by Alison Nieder of the Apparel News and included vintage expert Doris Raymond, designer Sue Wong and BB Dakota Creative Director Director Gloria Brandes, as well as myself.
Topics included the definition of vintage and what it means to today's designers; how and why we look to vintage for future inspiration; vintage designs that are influencing trends right now and a host of other ideas.
For more on this event, check out WGSN's vintage directory next week.
