Benedict and the meaning of shops

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Traditionally, shops were places where locals ran into each other.  This became much less true with the rise of malls and shopping centres.   Ironically, the upsurge in ecommerce is forcing shops to be less transactional and, in order to survive, they are having to think more about their place in the community (https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/video/amid-retail-apocalypse-the-future-of-commerce-is-community?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=59b7a64c0c-society-has-changed-victoria-s-secret-hasn-t&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d2191372b3-59b7a64c0c-417297929).  …

Tengri x Catholic social thought

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Tengri is an impressive British newcomer to “feel-good fashion,” a business model reflecting the principles of justice found in CST (see the ideas of Pope Benedict [V&R, Chapter 3]).  Its website echoes Cucinelli (http://www.tengri.co.uk/), as does the company’s interest in Mongolia (http://www.ethicsoffashion.com/cucinellis-travel-reading/).  The video that starts the website concludes with strong Tory emphasis, the company…

Narciso Rodriguez x Max Scheler

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The New York Times profiles the well-known designer’s decision to refocus his life and business around family and craft.  The idea of the article is that the fashion industry is finally waking up to the need to balance work and life (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/07/fashion/fashion-family-parental-leave-narciso-rodriguez-children.html?rref=collection/sectioncollection/fashion&action=click&contentCollection=fashion&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront).  I don’t doubt for a second that in a lot of companies the two…

Fashion marketing to the unconscious

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Here is a very interesting, short video lecture by Danilo Venturi of the Italian fashion school Polimoda (https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/education/polimoda-lecture-three-branding-the-subconscious?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=68d172373f-what-makes-a-great-fashion-ceo-anne-chapelle-reboo&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d2191372b3-68d172373f-417297929).   Contrary to H&M’s move to tribalism, niche, and fragmentation (see my previous post), Venturi argues that there are eight archetypes lodged in the unconscious to which fashion should appeal.  Not only will this make for good…

No escaping Scheler: glypticians illuminate Apple

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Glypticians are a discreet part of luxury manufacturing (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/fashion/jewelry-gems-carving-cameos.html).  Crafting relief images from stone and gems, glypticians belong to an ancient and rarefied world. Striking in the article is a comment by a Hong Kong glyptician, Wallace Chan, that the craft requires the glyptician to not only make his or her own tools but to…

Dressing UHNWIs: Dolce & Gabbana

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The best line in a recent article on Dolce & Gabbana’s couture business: “After dinner, back at Palermo’s Villa Igiea hotel, which had been reserved for those clients who were not staying on yachts…” (https://www.wsj.com/articles/behind-the-scenes-at-dolce-gabbanas-couture-club-for-top-clients-1506527428: annoyingly, The Wall Street Journal puts articles behind a paywall. Sorry).   Dolce & Gabbana is now exclusively a couture…