Over at the website Law and Liberty you’ll find my short essay on tax havens (http://www.libertylawsite.org/2017/06/30/in-trusts-we-trust/). I have no idea of the true percentage but I would not be remotely surprised if pretty much 100% of all haute couture was purchased with monies drawn from tax havens. My essay examines the tricky morality of tax…
*A big thanks to reader Chris W. for sending this article my way. Archaeologists think they have found confirmation that early “modern” humans — but seemingly not Neanderthals — adorned themselves with polished shells (http://theconversation.com/decorated-snail-shell-in-a-cave-in-iraq-could-be-evidence-of-paleolithic-bling-79380). James Laver is one of my favourite writers and is known for stating that the earliest clothes were likely shells…
The last image of V&R is a play on the Madonna and Child motif of Western art: David Beckham holding Harper. Becks is a national institution in Britain. Regarded as a “top bloke,” he is well-known as a proud Briton. Something of a clotheshorse for classical British tailoring he is also a style mentor to…
https://loyola.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=e6d065fa-c1fd-41ee-af0e-7f123346dd77 The noise in the background is my cats!
Ermenegildo Zegna is a menswear company rich in history (http://www.zegnagroup.com/storia_e_sviluppo/la_storia/inizi) and one committed to the welfare of its workers. As a family run business, combining craft and vertical integration, it comes close to Scheler’s idea of the estate discussed at V&R Chapter 5. Reaffirming its couture sensibility, but with offerings at a number of price…
My previous post commented upon the habit of Italian fashion houses to defend the heritage not only of their brands but more broadly their country. Regular readers know that Cucinelli tops my list of most ethically managed fashion houses. His company is a fine example of Scheler (see V&R Chapter 5) and Burke’s moral thinking.…
Averse to revolution, Burke famously argues that civilization requires the handing on of its past to the future. Italian fashion houses take this charge very seriously (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/fashion/fendi-sculpture-rome-giuseppe-penone.html?smid=tw-nytfashion&smtyp=cur&_r=0). Italians are leaders in teaching that heritage is not the enemy of the new.
A new blog post of mine over at: http://www.libertylawsite.org/book-review/contesting-the-re-primitivism-of-the-west/
Signature design companies are investing in archives: Apple, Jaguar, Bulgari, and Dior are just some of the companies reengaging with their heritage (see http://www.ethicsoffashion.com/apple-bows-burke/). This is a good article about the Dior archive (https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/bof-exclusive/marking-70-years-of-dior-with-a-new-strategic-archive?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=a0933ffd51-dior-tktktk-miroslava-duma-s-fashion-tech-lab&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d2191372b3-a0933ffd51-417297929). Burke — but also Scheler — believes that moral and civilisational development must defer to the established manners of…
Nidhi Kapur — below — is the founder of Maiden Home, a reasonably priced American furniture company that is operating on localist principles. A discussion of her business, and other US manufacturers realizing the wisdom of Scheler, is here: https://www.fastcompany.com/3068744/moving-the-needle/made-in-america-20