Dior, Dance, and Play

Embodiment, TheoryLeave a comment

Dance and fashion has many famous associations though Coco Chanel’s collaboration with the Russian Ballet is surely the most well-known.   Dior has a dance advert for its new perfume Poison (https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/fashions-dalliance-with-dance?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=16fa1fd8f8-&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d2191372b3-16fa1fd8f8-417297929).   The dance is contemporary but draws upon the most primordial patterns of civilisation.  Huizinga (see my discussion of his ideas V&R Chapter…

Huizinga would approve

News!, TheoryLeave a comment

I don’t wear sneakers save when going to the gym.  However, news about collectors and the exclusivity of certain kinds seems to be hot news (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-collectible-sneaker-game-a-guide-for-obsessives-and-beginners-1484849746).   Huizinga (see V&R Chapter 6) identifies collecting and joining clubs as a trademark way play builds civilisation.    

Are we still Baroque?

TheoryLeave a comment

V&R Chapter 6 discusses one of my absolutely favourite philosophy books: Homo Ludens by Huizinga.  This is a book I think largely true.  He identifies the Baroque as an intensely playful period and points to the strange fact that during the Baroque the West expanded its intellectual and commercial footprint all the while its adventurers were…

Scheler Modified: Levi’s

Business plans, TheoryLeave a comment

V&R Chapter 5 proposes Scheler’s estate as the norm of business ethics.  I put forward Brunello Cucinelli (http://www.libertylawsite.org/2016/03/23/a-better-account-of-corporate-social-responsibility/) as an ideal of the estate with Patagonia as a modified runner-up (and then downgraded on learning more about its business model: http://www.ethicsoffashion.com/patagonia-actually-moral/).  Levi’s has a thoughtful leadership (https://www.fastcompany.com/3067895/moving-the-needle/levis-is-radically-redefining-sustainability) and connects with Scheler at a few points.…