This article reports that faculty at the prestigious fashion school Central Saint Martins turn a blind eye to students who have their collections made by professionals (https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/vbjv89/how-do-you-really-measure-the-success-of-a-fashion-degree). The work load and the pressure to excel tempts students to pay others to do the handcraft part of clothes construction. Getting such help can run as…
Contenders for the Best Dressed Award are companies that meet the definition of Max Scheler’s estate (see V&R Chapter 5). Top spot is a real possibility for a firm with the axiom: “If you manufacture somewhere else, you lose a sense of belonging to a territory.” For insight into Italian house Ermanno Scervino, where craft…
Etro is a quirky family run business that matches well Max Scheler’s model of the estate, a requirement for being a contender for the Best Dressed Company Award. Here is a charming article about the company and some of the family (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-colorful-world-of-etro-1502805602)(apologies if this article is behind the paywall at WSJ). The company makes clothing…
I have not read much analysis of this company but its website shows a company thoughtful about ethics (https://www.thereformation.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwnPLKBRC-j7nt1b7OlZwBEiQAv8lMLLFe0bTEN9ZIBlgW7DZ1DBJ_-owPnEyLAuYBpy9EnCgaAmgM8P8HAQ). As with Burke and Scheler, archives, localism, and craft sensibility with an eye to bringing on the young in the art of clothing are crucial elements to topping the Best Dressed Company Award. Obviously, new companies…
A few posts back I formalized my commentaries this last year on the moral character of various fashion companies’ business plans as the Best Dressed Company Award. This article on Turnbull & Asser spends time talking about the factory conditions and the tremendous loyalty of the workers who make the legendary shirts (https://therake.com/stories/craft/turnbull-asser-british-shirtmaker/). The company…
Alain de Botton is one of my favourite writers. I have taught his The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work in my MBA classes for years. He is always insightful and in this video makes the point that companies need to hire thinkers; to have people on hand who think “big picture” and strategically about business,…
Best Dressed Company Award is a conceit for ranking which clothing and design companies are the most moral. Brunello Cucinelli comes out top and companies like H&M come out bottom. This read was an exciting discovery (http://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/9944/inside-the-factory-producing-silk-for-fashion-royalty). Gainsborough Silks is a contender for top spot! To be top, a company must conform to Max Scheler’s…