Vintage Miscellany – January 19, 2014

I rarely feature photos of men here, but I had this one, and the more I look at it the more I love his jacket.  The men’s collections have been showing this past week, and that jacket would look right in place on the back of a skinny and sullen model from Europe.  Or better yet, on me.

*   There are very few places in New York where you can go to see the important retail buildings of the past.  They are still there, but many, like the Lilly Daché building have been stripped of the glamour of the past.  That is what makes this story about the I. Miller shoe emporium so important.

*   The new bio pic of Yves Saint Laurent is now out, but it’s not showing at my local multi-plex.   The trailer does look interesting, and the film is the first to have the cooperation of YSL’s partner, Pierre Berge.   

*   Should law determine what we can and cannot wear?

*   Thanks to The Highway Is My Home for introducing me to Richard Saja, toile de Jouy embroidery artist.

*   Can the on-line display of images ever replace the museum experience?

*   You must see these beautiful photographs of textile mills by photographer Christopher Payne.

*  There are two new fashion reality programs, one of which is actually based on reality.  Starting January 22, 2014, the Ovation channel will be showing The Fashion Fund.  Unlike other competition programs like Project Runway, the CFDA Fashion Fund had been in place for a decade, and the winners have gone on to become “America’s next great fashion designer.”  Previous winners include Alexander Wang, Jason Wu, Rodarte and Thom Browne.

*  The other new program is Under the Gunn, a competition show where teams are mentored by former Project Runway contestants, Mondo Guerra, Nick Verreos, and Anya Ayoung-Chee.  The first episode aired Thursday, but you can see it on the Lifetime website.  Time will tell if Tim Gunn can make this work.  I was amused that when contestants were picking their mentors most preferred a guy wearing multi-colored tights (Guerra) to the man with actual mentoring experience (Verreos).

*   The Saltburn Yarnbomber strikes again, and the results are amusing.

*   The city of San Francisco has announced a Zero Waste Textile Initiative, in which no used textiles will reach the trash dump.  I admire their efforts, but this does not hit the problem at the root which is that the amount of textiles being produced is not sustainable.  One of the aspects of the program is that many of the used items will be taken to Goodwill, where they will, no doubt, soon be loaded on a ship to Africa.