London’s fashion schools are internationally renowned for producing some of the most talented, famous modern fashion designers. Less often mentioned are the thousands of also-grads. The tons-to-watch every year produce some of the most fascinating fashion shows, full of earnest hopes and dreams and ambitions that often overwhelm the models who have to carry so much yearning. The visual onslaught is blinding in a way – it gets very difficult to sort out the strongest visions in a sea of potential.

Most striking to me as a North American is how education styles heavily influence the favoured approach of young designers. I went to a school that focused on justifying a market strategy – this was reflected in the type of grad collections we showed. Here, the emphasis is on innovation via technique. At the RCA, for example, they have two exhibitions throughout the year – one is called “Work-in-Progress” and displays a vast array of experimental swatches and effects. When you watch the final exits on the runway at the end of the final term, each collection is a riff on the techniques each student developed.

Having seen several grad shows and variations of  “Ones to Watch”, I can’t help but notice how the emphasis on technical effect overshadows any conceptual messages or narratives, obscures the personality of the designer, and most tragically, inhibits the currency and wearability of the garments.

I’ve discussed the differences between brand-driven designers and designer-technicians before. While technically focused designers often end up being influential to other designers, they almost always fail to develop a lasting legacy and the license-able name that goes with it. People don’t wear techniques – they wear fashion, and techniques alone don’t do what fashion needs to do – confer status. Technique-driven design is fascinating to hard-core fashion nerds, but it is not a route to riches. It is ironic that so many young hopefuls come to London to go to these star-making schools and yet the instruction they receive sends them down the path of obscurity.

I’ve illustrated this post with a few examples of great designer-technicians, both historical and current. At the top is Madame Grès, the Parisian couturier whose intricately pleated, sculptural designs defied ready-to-wear and consumed vast swathes of silk jersey.

Fortuny‘s legacy is set in the pleat technique that bears his name – despite the fact that he authored other textile innovations, most notably with printed velvet.

Madeleine Vionnet was a pioneering modernist in fashion. Just as modernism in architecture is more about exploiting the possibilities of modern materials than embellishment, Vionnet’s designs drew their essential qualities from the properties of fabric. She also worked with visual artists like Erte for prints and created more conventional work, but her legacy hangs on the bias for eternity.

Vionnet’s successor to the bias crown was New York couturier Charles Kleibacker, whose technical mastery resulted in seemingly seamless construction. The simplicity of his designs are so subtly tasteful, they do not loudly proclaim the way their creator revelled in the elemental nature of cloth. His understanding of the creative process informed his role as a professor and curator in later life.

Canadian-born, London-based designer and Central Saint Martins graduate Mark Fast is the most prominent modern technique-driven designer. His designs are based on the possibilities offered by knitting machinery – and the effects are often unusual and intricate up close. Taking a longer view though, the longevity of the machine-made aesthetic is, pardon the pun, a stretch.

Fast has the potential to switch to a brand-driven career – he’s handsome and personable, he’s got a great name, yet the Spring 2012 collection seemed like he is still struggling to escape the technique trap. Explorations into other techniques like crochet are distracting from the real challenge – defining the identity of the Fast female. A collaboration with leatherwear brand Danier earlier this year was a more promising move towards establishing a non-technical Fast philosophy that resonates with the zeitgeist.

Mary Katrantzou is a Greek-born, London-based, Central Saint Martins educated designer whose bold engineered prints have caught the gaze of the eyes that matter, and as she goes into subsequent seasons under the scrutiny of the fasherati she’s dealing with the same dilemma as Fast.

I saw the Spring 2012 line by recent CSM graduate Phoebe English at Ones to Watch, and was struck at the technical singularity of the entire presentation. Every single garment was made of distressed, cartridge-pleated canvas. The question I was left with was “why?” The garments were – as English put it – clumpy. I couldn’t sort out a story or an idea, beyond the sample-swatchiness of it all. Where does a designer take such a narrowly conceived collection? What is it for? It seemed like a one-off.

A bit of research revealed a surprise for me – English’s previous collections were also technique-driven – but each with a completely different technique! Her MA collection was an attention-grabbing, visceral exploration of the possibilities of human hair. As she told i-D, she is at the mercy of her chosen materials:

There were a few different original references, but most of my influences came directly from what my samples could do and how they actually worked. Then I began thinking about how I could engineer them to work as garments. As the dresses are so frenetic I wanted to use one universal tone to unify and control the composition of the collection. The looks behave in such a wild manner in places and the black was a device to balance and unify their frantic kinetic nature.

I can’t help but be curious about what a kind of career English will build by leaping from one wildly different, materials-based process to another, from season to season. In a way she personifies the current state of fashion education in London. In a world which continues to reward personalities like Alber Elbaz and zeitgeist sensors like Pheobe Philo, the technique trap suggests that the future of fashion design isn’t being taught in school.

One thing that is easy to love about London is a culture that treats education like entertainment. Example: a neighbourhood watering hole called The Book Club, which has a wide variety of events that all fall under the category of thinking and drinking. I originally showed up for life drawing there in January, and some time later I got a sweet email from their publicist suggesting I check out a few more events.

Last night I did the life drawing again, which illustrates this post. For a life model, our model was somewhat lifeless. The poor boy, though finely formed, looked undernourished. It occurred to me, as a hungry person myself, that I would have to be very hungry to be a life model. It’s too bad, really, because a lively model is so much more inspiring. Perhaps they should feed the models a couple hours before the class for optimal results. Murray, the instructor, squirted the models hands with poster paint for something a little different. As far as life-drawing props go, I liked it because it didn’t distract too much from the figure. I love drawing figures best. Backgrounds and objects, not as much.

I used my paint box for life drawing for the first time. Getting as much practice with my squeezy brushes and mini-pans as possible, they are such a fun medium to use. I like waiting for things to dry. It helps keep me from overworking the longer poses. Murray encouraged me to try out some water-soluble markers which were pretty cool too – though being more unfamiliar with them, the results weren’t exactly my proudest.

Another event  I attended at TBC is called Scratch + Sniff. This particular evening was an interactive lecture on the history of teenagers and perfumes, given with great enthusiasm by Odette Toilette. I am not a perfume wearer, in fact the whole world of scent is a bit of a mystery to me, so it was a fascinating learning experience. The guest speaker was a young academic who studies adolescents, and it was quite enjoyable to get the equivalent of a university class, all while drinking and smelling and contributing our own memories and stories.

Thank you so much to Freya and everyone at The Book Club for their hospitality and generosity. If you’re in London and looking for something more mind-expanding than your usual pub night, I wholeheartedly recommend their fine establishment.

Julian Roberts Subtraction Cutting Tour. June 15, 2010 from School of Fashion, Ryerson U on Vimeo.

For all of you who missed the Julian Roberts Subtraction Cutting Tour 2010, here is a little peek at the masterclass he taught at Ryerson School of Fashion in Toronto.

If you want to learn more about subtraction cutting, you can order Julian’s book from the Center for Pattern Design.

I am so thrilled to be participating in the second year of the YES/TFI Passion for Fashion program.

This is a FREE program for entrepreneurial young people, ages 16 – 29, offering seminars on business skills and fashion skills – not only useful for designers, but also for up and coming stylists, writers, illustrators, event planners… anyone interested in building a career or a business in the fashion world.  I teach one of the seminars, on visual presentation for fashion.

There’s more – those who complete the program are eligible to take part in a business plan competition with the chance to win a cash prize of $1000 and 50 hours of free business and fashion industry mentoring from the Toronto Fashion Incubator.

Interested?  You should be!  There are just two orientation sessions left — click here for all the details.

Julian Roberts came en route from Kent State in New York to Ryerson University in Toronto this week to demonstrate his Subtraction Cutting technique.  This is an event I have been lobbying for, for a long time, and thanks to Sandra Ericson of the Center for Pattern Design, Robert Ott, the Chair of the Ryerson School of Fashion, and Charanya Bala of Balanche Communications, my wish became reality this week.  To say that it was a marvelous day would be a vast understatement.  It was so much fun.

Julian cut a dress live, in front of us.  The class was full of fashion design all-stars – Heidi Ackerman, John Hillifer, Adrienne Butikofer, Cristina Sabaiduc, and Canada’s own fashion fairy godmother, Linda Lundstrom, were all in attendance, among other students, teachers, and professional designers.  The cohesion and enthusiasm of the class was obvious once we all cut our own dresses – there was a remarkable atmosphere of playfulness but also the cool sense of proficiency you get only when you are surrounded by talented people immersed in something they find fascinating.

This is Julian showing his dress on his assistant, Rachel.

I made my own dress out of a length of white bemberg lining and pink plaid sheer sparkle poly organza, intending to create something light which showed the inner seams to display some of the construction of the garment.

This is the “tunnel technique” where the dress is made of a long tube, through which the body passes in and out as if through a winding cave.

I also used the tunnel idea to create two more holes at the front and the back of the bodice, but just for the white linear effect, these holes are too small for the body to go through.

It was such a thrilling day, it was almost overwhelming – and just like that, it was over.  Julian is now in Vancouver at Kwantlen, and then on to California. Thank you to Julian and everyone who made this day such a dream come true, and I hope very much that we can do it again.

This is a heads up for all the fresh, up and coming fashion entrepreneurs in Toronto – TFI and YES are once again combining forces to offer up a FREE program of seminars and a business plan competition where you could win $1000 cash and a priceless mentorship opportunity.

Here’s the info:

JUNE 15 & 17, 2010
PASSION FOR FASHION ORIENTATION SESSIONS

Are you…
Interested in fashion design?
Looking to be your own boss?
Between the ages of 16 and 29?

THEN YOU BELONG IN A PASSION FOR FASHION!

Youth Employment Services (YES) has teamed up with Toronto Fashion Incubator (TFI) to create this amazing opportunity for youth to learn about entrepreneurship and fashion design. Sign up for one of these FREE information sessions to learn more. Targeted to youth aged 16 – 29 living in the Province of Ontario, who are not professional fashion designers, A Passion For Fashion participants will receive workshops on starting a business, fashion design and marketing, one-on-one mentorship and a chance to enter the Fashionista’s Den Competition where one lucky youth will win $1,000 cash, a one-year TFI Outreach membership and 50 hours of business advisory and fashion mentorship.

Now in its second year, this exciting program gives young fashion designers and entrepreneurs the opportunity to explore the world of entrepreneurship in the fashion industry, for free!

Interested? Visit www.yes.on.ca for eligibility, program information and additional orientation dates and locations in the GTA. To register for the June 15th and 17th sessions, contact Toronto Fashion Incubator at tfi@fashionincubator.com or call 416-971-7117 ext. 21.

Want to learn more?  One of last year’s participants, Kevin Naulls, wrote a post about his experience with the program.

Heads up, fashion designer all-stars!  There is a special discount just for you to the Julian Roberts Subtraction Cutting Tour, for just a week only, CLICK HERE for more info.

What is this and why am I recommending it so wholeheartedly?  Check out this post for more enthusiasm and explanation.

Thanks to the generosity of friend (and sponsor) Gail McInnes of Magnet Creative, I was able to attend a conversation (part of the Hot Docs festival) between fashion media superstars Robin Givhan and Jeanne Beker. The conversation began as a discussion of fashion in film, but expanded to touch on almost every major story that relates to fashion today – from model diversity to fashion bloggers to fast fashion to the recession. It really was a privilege to hear Givhan speak – she is a personable and thoughtful woman who obviously takes great pleasure in her work, and the way that she has pushed the envelope on her own craft (she is the first fashion writer to be awarded a Pulitzer) is so inspiring.

I’ve decided to include scans of my notes from my tiny Moleskine and a brief recap of what I found to be the most interesting observations, in case you’re curious.

Givhan started by briefly sharing a favourite fashion in film moment – the way that the lead character used a business suit in Hotel Rwanda.  The striking thing about this was the way that a suit is an international shorthand for authority – and also how clothing is related to human dignity.

Then she sat down with Beker and the conversation began – relatively quickly launching into the changing fortunes of fashion journalism. Givhan shared a revealing joke – “I love fashion bloggers,” she said, obviously aware that the crowd was full of them, “until they turn on you, and they inevitably will.” Much laughter. She went on to explain a bit about her ambivalence towards the new players in fashion media.  She wants to know who is paying these bloggers, and what rules they are playing by.  I guess I could add, as one of them, that this is something we are very curious about as well.

Givhan also pointed out that democratization of fashion leads to complaining.  In the case of model diversity, Givhan suggests that this story has developed with the growth of online, consumer commentary.  That in an age where fashion is no longer rarefied, it has to deal with the demands of a much large group of constituents.  Explaining the industry’s slow reaction to the blowback, Givhan suggested that the selection of models is subject to intense peer pressure between agencies, casting agents, and designers. Also on the retail level, that the provision of size diversity is self-fulfilling – bigger women don’t try to patronize designer clothing, so designers continue to provide to existing, wealthy thin clientele.

She didn’t say this in so many words, but it occurred to me as I listened: that perhaps in an age where money is no longer a barrier to exclusivity, size exclusivity becomes further entrenched. This is my editorializing here – I think no matter what, fashion is inherently elitist and status driven.  If it can’t exclude with cash, other tactics will fill the vacuum. Thus – the persistence of the idealization of thin in the face of so much protest.  The fact is that no rational argument – be it religious, political, or industrial – has ever halted the progress of even the most unappealing fashions, any more than legislation can halt the ever increasing ranks of obesity. It is almost arrogant to think that we are able to control such things.  But that’s me talking, not Robin Givhan.

Speaking of forces beyond our control – there was some discussion about how the recession is affecting fashion – from more grown-up looks and a focus on wearability.  Beker brought up the growing trend towards sponsorship for young designers – something offering young designers the financial support they need to produce fashion shows.  Givhan brought up the flip side – how sponsors like NAFA and Swarovski artificially construct trends – such as Fall 2010′s love affair with fur.  Does sponsorship abet or inhibit the creativity of young designers?

When I asked my question during the Q&A (I love asking questions at panel discussions), it was about fashion weeks and their rampant growth – how much bigger do they get, how many shows does there need to be, and is it possible or desirable to have an orderly downsizing?  Beker is a fan of the spectacle – obviously from a television point of view, bigness of individual fashion shows is a good thing. Givhan expressed a desire for a shorter week – but neither of them speculated on when and how the trend towards fashion weeks turning into fashion months would end or how.

At the end of the talk, Givhan brought it back to the beginning like a total pro and reiterated how fashion is important because it relates to human dignity – that somehow the veneer of civilization is a story so clearly expressed by the superficial layer of clothing we wear, a sensible contradiction I have enjoyed thinking about all weekend.

Now that Julian Roberts’ Subtraction Cutting Tour is coming to Toronto (June 14 & 15, get tickets here), I’ve given myself the challenge of persuading people that its a class well worth taking.  Beyond this city, the tour is also making stops in New York, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Portland – so if you’re near any of those places this summer, this post is for you.

I met Julian online at the end of 2005, back when I was fairly active on The Fashion Spot.  We were looking at some of his work, and me being the skeptical little troll that I used to be (sometimes still am), I posted something to the effect of “what’s so special about it?” – well, if you’ve got a lot of time on your hands you can read through the whole thread here.  To my great surprise, and eventual delight, Julian found the thread and engaged the forum-dwellers in a discussion about his work, took the time to answer our questions, and successfully showed me what was so special about what he does.

Julian Roberts is a designer who is experimental both in how he develops his designs and also how he shows them.  This video, called “killing labels” records highlights of his portfolio.

As someone who is obsessed with the transitional, ephemeral qualities of fashion (hence, Final Fashion and this site’s old subheader, the last collection) Julian’s act of killing labels inspires me.  He captures the most exciting parts of the process – the creation, and the showing, and turns the act of being a fashion designer from a very pragmatic act of creating objects for sale into the very radical act of allowing fashion to be ideas, events and images and nothing else, eliminating all of the material aspects that weigh down the process, leaving only the physical act of designing.  As someone who loves the act of design but has no desire to see my name on labels, Julian’s career showed me that it is possible to design outside of the boundaries of the existing industry, to celebrate and share fashion as action rather than as a commodity.

Subtraction Cutting is one of the techniques that Julian uses to create, and the one that he is teaching on this tour.  It is difficult to describe, so I would like to compare it to life drawing, or those creative writing exercises where the student is encouraged to write within parameters, but without planning.  Its an exercise that boils down the act of designing, cutting, and sewing a garment into something that is fast and free, uninhibited and playful.

This is a technique that even those who have never sewn before can easily dive into, and those of us who are trained in traditional ways of doing things can recapture the original sense of wonder and discovery that first attracted us to designing.

Plus, Julian is just a very generous, candid dreamer of a professor, the kind of professor who you will always remember, and that comes across in the conversation I had with him.

This class will be a tremendous, transformative treat for anyone who loves to make things.  I invite you to come and share this experience with me.  Please buy a ticket – Julian and I would love to see you there!

Its hard to believe that it has been four years since my own turn on the runway at my old fashion school.  Ryerson School of Fashion‘s grad show is called Mass Exodus, and its the best show in Toronto to see really exciting, unusual, and sometimes just plain weird ideas that only a fashion student would have the time and freedom to think up and proceed to spend six entire months executing.

There is usually about 50 grad collections, and these are just a small selection, in no particular order, with my comments.  I think it was one of the strongest groups of designers I’ve ever seen in Mass Exodus (curated by Sarah Casselman), and it was really touching to see them all get to take a curtain call. It really is a grand accomplishment to complete a small collection on your own for the first time, so every graduate deserves admiration and congratulations.

Adelaide Kim‘s collection is striking for its maturity and sincerity.  The items are wearable, want-able, classic and yet still novel – the use of transparent plaid organza for a jacket was a really neat concept, executed very cleanly.  Of all the collections, this was the one I can easily imagine being worn and recommended by fashion editors, who love that type of loose, unfussy, wry sophistication.

Amanda Kew Lee‘s collection was pretty much the ultimate in obsessed fashion student indulgence.  A slew of recent trends – studs, leggings with transparent panels, studs, pagoda shoulders, studs, headbands, studs – amped up to the next level.  Executed with devastating diligence, this collection is like a lovingly made time capsule, making the recent past seem like something worth getting nostalgic about just six months later.

Bianca Liu went the extra mile and designed her own textile patterns – really lovely, delicate, watery, painterly patterns that my poor photos do no justice to.  I only wish some of the tops were a bit longer – something about the proportions – or maybe its how the clothing has been combined – seems awkward around the hips.  But the overall sense of looseness, and the measured choices of colours, really made this one a stand out for me.

A2B by Jade Sullivan-Vallentyne was a playful pass on casual clothes for men.  Great jeans, hot colours, an affectionate evocation of Slater and Zack from Saved By the Bell, a snarky subversion of hipness.  Tacky and terrific.

Genevieve Pearson‘s outerwear was just so slickly executed – and outerwear is challenging to do – it looked so totally pro.  The all-blackness was a bit predictable (would have loved to see these in colours!) but the confidence and quality is just outstanding.

Romandin by Cristina Sabaiduc had the most adventurous fabrications – chicken wire and silicone caulking are what gave these garments their tremendous structure and texture, without giving away their identity as hardware.  Cristina is expanding her collection to show in FAT (Fashion Art Toronto) – I am really intrigued about how she will develop her themes further.

I didn’t manage to get a decent photo of Sofronov by Aneta Sofronova , thankfully the designer let me use these drawings (which are AMAZING) from her website.  Its truly modern menswear that nods to technological habits and interprets traditional tailoring details without being too precious about it. Neat.

The finale collection was all golden hues, and abundant clusters of raw-edged floaty fabrics by Emily Baker and Andrea Spano.