by Mo on September 30, 2011
MNfashion Week is dedicated to evolving the local fashion industry by giving independent designers, boutique owners and other industry professionals a chance to showcase their work and their brands, allowing them to establish a sustainable livelihood in the Twin Cities.
L’etoile Mag: L’etoile Guide to Fall MNfashion Week 2011
This Sunday Oct 2nd, Bright Society, Free
Designers Max Lohrbach, Samantha Rei, Russell Bourrienne, Danielle Everine, and Laura Fulk will showcase one-of-a-kind creations, inspired by a garments from the Historical Society’s collection. See an informal fashion presentation of the looks, accompanied by a discussion with the designers moderated by Robyne Robinson and words from the Historical Society’s textile curator, Linda McShannock.
Read more at City Pages — MNFashion Week: 5 ‘Bright’ fashion stars showcase Victorian looks made modern
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Tuesday, October 4th, Vintage Did It First
Blacklist Vintage Tumblr Love
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Thursday October 6th, Local Motion Pop-Up Boutique & Fashion Show
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by Mo on September 14, 2011
We can always count on Williamsburg Fashion Weekend to mark, if not celebrate, the close of official NY Fashion Week shows. For nine seasons they have been merging, and supporting, independent fashion and independent music. This season we spy a darling in the line-up: Alisha Trimble. In years past, the band ladies have been the models — we love that. Get the full list of independent designers showing, as well as the bands, on the WFW website. Then just prepare yourself for a wee bit of lovely chaos, and a whole lot of originality. If you get there, leave a comment and share your blog or pics with us!
Williamsburg Fashion Weekend
Williamsburg Fashion Weekend’s 9th season will be held on September 16th and 17th at Windmill Studios, NYC at 287 Kent Ave. in Brooklyn, New York. WFW provides a platform for young and emerging fashion designers who push the boundaries of design, presentation, production, ultimately re-evaluating the fashion industry as a whole. Past participants have shown us there are many creative ways to be ‘green’ through recouturing, upcycling, recycling, eco-friendliness, transparent business practices, and artisan techniques. This season will be a feast for the audience’s eyes, ears, hearts, and minds. Shows run the gamut from fashion as conceptual art to ready-to-wear and incorporate live music, theater, and dance. The shows are always raw, experimental and forward thinking.
by Mo on August 5, 2011
We’re creating a model for sustainable design education that doesn’t yet exist.
Eeeeek! We are late and we are sorry! We meant to shout out this amazing campaign sooner, and here we are in the last hours. No matter, get over to IndieGoGo and support these darlings if you can. Bahar Shahpar and Tara St. James, of Guilded, are building a structure for all surrounding sustainability in fashion design. Yes, they aim to give us a language we can all speak together. Read on about where these ideas were born in this great interview at Ecouterre. Oh, and don’t miss the perks come along with your donation!
Guilded on IndieGoGo
Our Story
If you watched the video, you already know a little bit about us and what brought us here. After years of working in the fashion industry, we realized what a destructive impact the clothing and textile industry can have on communities, environments and economies around the world, so we committed ourselves to researching and promoting sustainable design as a solution.
by Mo on May 14, 2011
Abigail Doan
When we are in need of inspiration we know to get over to the blog(s) zones of Abigail Doan. Spend some time with her words and images and you will find textiles, art, fashion, and the environment all tied up in beautiful bundles, much like the beautiful textile artwork she creates. If you are free late afternoon this coming Monday, or if you can sneak yourself out of work early…get yourself over to FIT, Abigail will be speaking as part of the Faces and Places in Fashion lecture series from 4-5pm. For all the details you need read more on her blog: Faces and Places in Fashion Talk at FIT on May 16.
Since 1993, Professor Alice Papazian has exposed students to the fashion and culture of the world. Professor Papazian’s CL112 class, “Faces and Places in Fashion,” has featured lectures from top executives in the fashion industry and related fields. The course broadens students’ cultural horizons through organized visits to a variety of museums, exhibits, backstage dressing venues, and design rooms, including the Metropolitan Opera House. Held weekly on Mondays from 4:00pm-5:00pm in the Katie Murphy Amphitheatre, non-registered students are welcome to attend.
by Mo on February 18, 2011
It’s that time again, Williamsburg Fashion Weekend kicks off tonight and continues tomorrow night. Click on the image for all the details, including the designer and music line-up; past WFW coverage right here. Happy weekend darlings!
Williamsburg Fashion Weekend’s 8th season will be held on February 18th and 19th at Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn, New York. WFW provides a platform for young and emerging fashion designers who push the boundaries of design, presentation, production, ultimately re-evaluating the fashion industry as a whole.
by Mo on February 17, 2011
Check out some local SF looks from designers to be featured tonight at Project San Francisco organized by SFFAMA. The evening is a celebration of local fashion and proceeds will benefit SFFAMA as well as the local chapter of San Francisco Dress for Success. Oh how we love fashion for good… The runway will showcase local talent and serve as a platform for recent graduates and alumni from fashion school embarking in the industry. Full details at Eventbrite, and don’t forget to check SFindiefashion.com for more independent fashion events and goodness!
by Mo on January 13, 2011
Understanding where we come from sometimes gives us insight into where we may be going. Many thanks to Adam Steinberg, Education Coordinator at the Tenement Museum for taking the time to answer some of our questions. Read on for a glimpse of what the fashion industry looked like when it first began in NYC. So interesting to find out that some of the factories were so small, production actually took place right inside a tenement apartment. Many indie fashion designers are producing right in their apartments or small workrooms made up of a few machines. If history has taught us anything … small workrooms can grow and become a huge industry. We always knew this was just the beginning for the independent fashion industry, and look forward to watching this very nimble industry grow. Go spend an afternoon back in time in the Lower East Side, especially the Piecing it Together tour. Enjoy the interview and the glimpse into a bit of fashion past.
In 1900, 70% of all women’s clothing in America was fabricated right here on the Lower East Side…
Image circa 1910-1930, All images courtesy of the Tenement Museum
Darlings: Did the garment industry already exist at the time the tenements were built? When did the garment industry start to form in NYC?
Adam: The garment industry and the tenement were born at about the same time – the 1840s and 1850s. Indeed, the two went hand-in-hand: Immigrants not just lived in tenements, they also made clothes there.
The parlor or front room of the recreated Levine Family Apartment Exhibit at the Tenement Museum, 97 Orchard Street. The apartment is recreated to the year 1897 and contained a garment factory. In this area of the factory, the finisher would have added the lace, trimmings and other finishing touches to the dresses that were made there.
Darlings: Where was the garment industry located? When did it move to its current location? Why did it move?
Adam: In the 19th century, the garment industry was highly concentrated in what we now call the Lower East Side. Immigrants couldn’t afford to commute to other neighborhoods, so they had to live near where they worked, and most newly arriving immigrants lived in the cheap tenement housing of this neighborhood. The opening of the New York subway in 1904, though, changed all that. Thanks to the subway and its cheap fares, immigrants in the Lower East Side could now commute to work, so factory owners moved their factories into large, modern loft buildings in what became known as the Garment District in the West 30s around Seventh Avenue.
Darlings: What was the ratio of men to women working in the garment industry in the late 1800s to early 1900s? How did their jobs differ?
Adam: In the 19th century, men had the higher paying jobs. Pressers especially were men – probably because the hand-held irons weighed up to 20 pounds when filled with hot coal.
Darlings: Can you describe what the industry was like during this time?
Adam: In the 19th century, the industry was highly, intensely communal. Factory owners and workers were typically from the same immigrant group – often from the same town in the old country. A factory might include just three workers working in the factory owner’s living room while the factory owner’s wife worked in the kitchen and small children played underfoot. The industry was also highly competitive, with one-third of factories going out of business every year. On the one hand, your factory could be like a second home. On the other hand, the owner, desperate to turn a profit, could sometimes seem more like a slave-driver than a father.
Darlings: Were these garments sold primarily in NYC or were they distributed throughout the US?
Adam: These garments were sold throughout the United States, especially in the new department stores sweeping the nation.
Darlings: Were most of the garment industry workers living in the tenements?
Adam: Yes. They usually couldn’t afford to live anywhere else.
Darlings: What was the workers lives like outside of work? What were there wages at that time? Did workers own or rent at the tenements?
Adam:Workers almost always rented their apartments, though the landlord was typically an immigrant as well. Wages were low: In the 1890s, the highest paid worker might make $15/week, while the lowest paid worker might make as little as $8/week. As a result, workers worked very long hours to make enough money for food and shelter. But workers made the most of their free time by relaxing in cafes and restaurants after work, attending political rallies, learning English and other skills in local settlement houses, and just walking the neighborhood. After spending up to 18 hours making clothes in a tenement apartment, the last thing many wanted to do was go home to yet another tenement apartment.
Darlings: How much of the clothing for the US was produced in NYC back then? Do you know how much is produced in NYC today?
Adam: In the 1890s, 40% of men’s clothing being manufactured in the United States, and 70% of women’s clothing, was being manufactured in New York City, mostly in the tenements of the Lower East Side. Today the industry has largely moved to other neighborhoods. It’s also much smaller. Today, the American garment industry, which is now mostly centered in New York and Los Angeles, produces about 5% of the clothing sold in America, though because these clothes are often sold in upscale boutiques, they produce about 24% of the industry’s sales.
Darlings: In your opinion, what is the biggest fundamental difference between the garment industry then and now?
Adam: The industry today has largely moved abroad. And what’s left of the industry in America today is so small, it doesn’t dominate immigrant communities nearly as much as it once did.
Darlings: The garment industry seems to be in a transition today, do you think the garment industry today can still learn from the garment industry in the past?
Adam: Perhaps a better question might be, “Can consumers today learn from the garment industry in the past?” Now more than ever, consumers – their fickle tastes, their desire for name-brand clothes at affordable prices – drives the industry. If we are to preserve the garment industry in New York, or improve work conditions for garment workers in other countries, consumers must become more thoughtful shoppers.
Darlings: Do you think NYC would be different without the garment industry? Do you think if it disappeared from the city all together it would have an economic impact?
Adam: For many New Yorkers, the loss of what’s left of the garment industry wouldn’t mean much, but for immigrant communities desperate for jobs, and for the business people who depend on the industry, it would mean a great deal. The death of the industry would entail grief for some, but may pass unnoticed by most. Not that its death wouldn’t affect everyone. The garment industry is part of what makes New York unique. Without it, we become a little more like everyone else.
Felena Hansen (FOCUS) and Patricia Frischer (SDVAN)
