The Myth of the Stupid Fashionista

(Fashion Flashback – Originally posted on 7/7/09 – It was just last summer when this article was originally posted, but it is an all time favorite that we just can’t get enough of. It seems almost every week something happens that makes us want to re-post this. The sad truth is that if you work in fashion, particularly if you are female and in design, you are often dismissed as shallow and lacking any cerebral qualities. It is appalling stereotype thrust onto to many women in our field whose brains are often overlooked in favor of their creative talents. So please enjoy the below post and if you’ve already read it, pass it on to friend in the business!)

We’ve written before about the ridiculous notion that fashion design is an easy career path. There’s often this absurd image perpetuated in the media that working in fashion is a simple and mindless task. How many movies have you seen, be it a drama or romantic comedy, where the fashionable creative lead finds her true calling to be a designer three quarters of the way through the movie? After realizing her “passion for fashion”, a brief montage ensues of her touching fabrics, wrapping a tape measure around her neck, sketching in her spacious Soho loft, running into Bloomingdale’s with her samples, and then poof, she is magically a famous and successful designer. There, of course, is no mention of college or any educational training, no clips of raising capital or finding investors, no trips to sample rooms and negotiating price-points, no hunting for sales reps or walking trade shows, and God forbid no tech-packing! Be it television or movies, becoming a fashion designer is always portrayed as a fun and easy afterthought that can make an adorable girl immediately successful by a simple trip to the fabric store!

Celebrities too, do nothing but exacerbate this stereotype. These days it seems that every celebutaunte and their brother are launching a fashion line. To the media these celebrities endlessly promote their latest movie or album and then as an aside casually mention that they are launching a fashion label. In the same vain as: I’m getting a manicure, picking up the dry cleaning, taking my dog for a walk, and um, oh yeah, launching my own clothing line. The message is loud and clear, fashion design is such a stupidly easy achievement that anyone with half a brain could do it in their spare time. Those of us in the fashion industry realize of course that these celebrities are not designing their own lines but actually contractually licensing the rights to their name unto apparel manufactures, who in turn hire teams of designers to get the job done. The result of the celebutard fashion label is the publicly dumbing down of our profession.

Besides attacking fashion as a career, advertising and entertainment have additionally skewed the fashion lover as a brainless consumer who is easily manipulated. We recently came across this article regarding the insulting ad campaign for Coach’s new line Poppy. The line, like many going after younger women on a moderate budget, crosses the line from fun to flighty. Real women can love fashion yet still be intelligent, educated, well rounded human-beings. To love a pair of fabulous shoes or find joy in perfectly styling an outfit, does not equate to the lowering of an IQ. Contrary to pop culture images, from Alicia Silverstone in Clueless to the inane eye-rolling and heavy sighing of The Hills girls, fashionistas are not all one dimensional airheads! The fashion icon as bimbo, from Marilyn Monroe to Jessica Simpson, is an insult to all of us, whether or not you work in the fashion industry. We would love to see the media stop promoting this image, but we’d also like to see everyone stop buying into it. Let’s stop rewarding brands who embrace this image, but more so, lets stop ourselves from subconsciously acting on it. We are encouraging a whole generation of young women, whose vocabulary is reduced to “amazing”, “hot”, “super cute”,and who don’t think twice about resorting to Paris Hiltonesque baby talk, to emulate this stereotype. Fashion is many things, from a fun shopping diversion, to a multi-billion dollar manufacturing industry, but it does NOT require you to check your brain at the door to enjoy it!

Fabulous Fashion Scoop

— Looking for a non-traditional wedding gown but at an affordable price? Well, if you can wait until Valentine’s Day 2011 you’re in luck. The young and quirky apparel company Urban Outfitters is launching a bridal brand! Yes, you heard that right, but have no fear of ironic screen printing on your gown; the brand is likely to be an off-shoot of their romantic vintage brand, Anthropologie.

— Last week Tommy Hilfiger spoke to students at Notre Dame about working in the fashion industry and his success. One interesting quote from Tommy, “If you are considering inventing something that two people and a dog will be interested in, go back to the drawing board,” he said. “I put my vision through a filter. I knew there was great opportunity in making clothes people would wear and be able to afford. You will be successful if you’re doing something you love.”

— The fabulous fashion site, Fashionista asks the questions, do fashion interns need to be paid? For most of us the unpaid internship was a right of passage, and like all things in school you earned credits not dollars, but should that continue? Read their informative post here.

— So, what is more annoying than celebrities launching fashion labels? When celebrities’ children do. Madonna and her daughter Lordes have launched the junior label, Material Girl for Macy’s based on Lordes style and her design ability (right, not her mother’s fame and name recognition, sure). Particularly grating is Madonna’s comment, “If Lola wasn’t so completely involved in the line, designing, consulting, whatever you want to call it, I wouldn’t do it. Really she does most of the work, honestly.” We know what we’d call it – licensing your name out.

Behind the Scenes with a Fit Model

Today we have a fantastic insider interview to share with our readers. One local fit model has provided us the behind the scenes scoop on working as a fit model. For those not in the manufacturing/design side of fashion, you may be surprised to learn that apparel sizing is NOT (contrary to the media’s representation) based on 6′ tall size 0 models, those are “runway” models not “fit” models. Our model (who preferred to remain anonymous) is very experienced and has worked for many years in NYC with several reputable brands. If you’d like another perspective on fit modeling, please check out our heartbreaking post on children fit models, as told by one technical designer, here. And a special thanks to our model for sharing your story with us!

1. First, can you explain a bit about what a fit model is?
The way I describe a fit model to most people who ask is, basically I am a live mannequin that tries on clothes prior to the production of the garment. This helps the company’s design team see the structure, the fit and the flow of the material on an actual body posing as a customer to get an idea of how they would like the final product to look. (This is key for us designers, unlike a body/tailor form ,the fit model can tell us if something itches or rides up, we get actual feedback which is priceless!)

2. For the many people who believe the fashion industry bases clothing sizing and fit off of the size zero runway models, what do you have to say? And what are your measurements?
It’s so funny when I hear about most opinions about what a model should look like, or how most models need to be a “size zero”. In this industry it is much different. An ideal fit model usually fits for a size 6-8. Before I signed with my agency, I was actually told to gain at least 5 pounds. Being 5 ft 9 in, weighing about 130, I never thought I would hear an agency say gain weight but they did. I usually fit for a size 7 juniors my frame tends to be a bit smaller. My measurements are 34 bust, 26.5 waist, 38 hip. (Many fit models average around a size 8 for women, as this is the average size for most clothing brands that carry size 0-16. Additionally, there are mens, childrens, teen, plus size, and even maternity fit models.)

3. How did you get into fit modeling?
I actually was bartending, and a close friend of mine, also a fit model, saw me and told me I would be great and I should give it a try, so I took a few numbers from her and gave it a shot. To my surprise it was a success.

4. Give us an idea of what your average day is like.
An average day for me is balancing fitting for a couple of companies for an hour or two, and then running over to go-sees in between. Or it’s a full day of presentations, which is modeling samples for the company to show the buyers the garment. The buyers may add or change certain things to the original garment and create one that is more branded for their line. Such as maybe their customer is more of a younger girl, they may remove some rips in the jean and make it more youthful, change the color, modify the length and so on. (Throughout the design process many changes will be made to the garment. A fit model will often get called back several times to fit the same garment as we make adjustments to it, this will continue until we are happy that we have achieved the perfect fit for our customer.)

5. You work mostly with the technical design department in companies, how do you feel you are treated and do you feel there are ways to make the relationship more productive and successful?
I feel with all my relationships in my career that my opinion is highly respected and very valued. My clients listen to what I have to say about the garment and use it to their best advantage to try and reach what the customer is looking for through my thoughts, and feedback. (Finding the right fit model is always a challenge. Maybe your customer is smaller and shorter than average, or maybe she is curvier, perhaps she is a tad younger and smaller in the chest and narrower in the hips and shoulders – whatever your need once you find the right model, listen, listen, and listen. This is why you chose them, so not only do you need to visually examine every detail, but listen. The model’s feedback can be crucial.)

6. What is the best thing about being a model?
Best thing about being a model,( besides the pay check) is seeing the new trends and styles that come out and then a few months later seeing what you fit for in a store. I love knowing that jeans or a shirt will fit me without trying them on because basically they were fit for my body. That’s pretty cool.