Update from FIDM Student Jonathan Soto

Wow! I can't believe it's already the seventh week of the quarter. I've been really busy with school this quarter so I haven't gotten the chance to update you all, but I finally have time, so here I go. 

So much has gone down in my life in the past seven weeks, I don't even know where to begin. I'm just going to make this short and sweet.

This quarter I took 5 courses: English Composition, College Math, Survey of VCOM, Ideation Sketching, and Intro to Digital Imaging (and, yes, even at Fashion College you have to take Math and English).

So the first week of the quarter went well. I met new people and got a chance to attend the second annual job fair that FIDM hosts in the student lounge. My cousin Stephanie Sandoval started FIDM again this quarter after taking time off. She is determined to make her dreams and goals come true. She recently landed a great job as a visual merchandiser for this one company; she loves it there. I feel even more comfortable at school having my cousin there.

Well, the first three weeks of school went very smoothly but once it got to the fourth one; yeah, you know what I mean. On top of having tons of projects, homework assignments, and quizzes I was working two jobs and working with my friend who I mention to you all in my first post, Karina Copado. I worked at her big LA Fashion Week Finale Fashion Show in Los Angeles. 

After LA Fashion Week, it was school and work time again. I actually got a third job at Cotton On as a Sales Associate, which is one of my favorite stores to shop at. I know it sounds crazy to have three jobs and be a full time student, but it's possible.

One of my favorite classes in school is my Survey class for Visual Communications. Throughout the quarter we are working on projects that focus on one designer. I chose Betsey Johnson. Her fashion is so free spirited, it gives women ages 16 to 23 that edgy yet chic look.

It is now my seventh week and I'm ready for winter break. This past week and upcoming week are crazy busy. Besides having major projects due, I have to work Black Friday for two retail jobs. I think I can do it, plus I'll be getting paper! I'm also working on my app for this internship with Urban Outfitters Inc. in either Philadelphia or New York, I obviously want the New York one, but let's just hope I get an interview this upcoming new year. 

Also I met an awesome new best friend through the Instagram app for apple products. It's weird how we met but I'm so happy I met him. I followed him on Instagram and he posted fashion sketches, and I thought they were amazing, so I commented him that he should consider FIDM as a college choice since his designs were great. He replied back telling me that those were actually his sketches for his entry project for FIDM; very ironic. His name is Justin Ray Barrows from San Antonio, Texas and he wants to major in Fashion Design. He plans on attending FIDM in Summer 2013, and we might even be roommates and work together in the near future as well. Like I said, connections are everywhere! 

Well now it's time for Thanksgiving break and time to catch up with my family. I will keep you updated with my project from my Survey class as soon as I'm finish with it so definitely before winter break. I wish you all a happy and safe thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble! 

Behind the Logos: How Some Top Design Labels Got Their Start

We who possess fashion school degrees know the designer labels and their logos. But the founders who lent their names to these companies are not so well known. Let's take a historical look at these designers for some surprising facts.

 

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton. Born in 1811, Louis Vuitton was a layetier, or luggage packer, for prominent families in Paris. Luggage packing was considered an art because traveling could take months and months, requiring many changes of wardrobe. Eventually, he became the official layetier to Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie. Armed with knowledge about what makes a good packing case, Vuitton began designing his own luggage in 1854. He invented the stackable flat trunk; previously, luggage was dome-shaped, so rain would run off more easily.

 

Salvatore Ferragamo with his client Joan Crawford

Ferragamo. The luxury shoe and clothing brand's founder, Salvatore Ferragamo, immigrated to the U.S. in 1914, eventually moving to California, where he opened the Hollywood Boot Shop in 1923. He earned a reputation as "Shoemaker to the Stars," selling shoes to Joan Crawford and Gloria Swanson, as well as providing the footwear for Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments." 

 

 

Thomas Burberry

Burberry. Known for its trademark check pattern, the company was founded by Thomas Burberry in 1856, specializing in outdoor wear. Looking for a water-resistant fabric for his clientele, he invented gabardine in 1880, which withstood the elements yet was still breathable. In 1914, he gave the fashion world his most famous invention: the trenchcoat, patterned after an old officer's coat. 

 

 

Miuccia Prada

Prada. Although a premium status brand today, Prada was founded by brothers Mario and Martino in 1913 as a little shop that sold leather goods and imported English steamer trunks and handbags. The brothers did not approve of women running their company, but it was Mario's granddaughter Miuccia who introduced the classic Prada handbag in 1985, and a women's ready to wear collection in 1989, putting Prada on the luxury map. 

 

Known for its men's suits, Hugo Boss actually began as a uniform manufacturer.

Boss. Founded by Hugo Ferdinand Boss in 1924, the German company did not originally specialize in fashion design, but instead manufactured uniforms. In fact, the company prospered during the Nazi regime as Hugo Boss, a member of the Nazi party, was an official supplier of the black SS uniforms. Shortly after World War II, Boss died but the company continued to produce uniforms for postal and police workers. It did not introduce its first men's suits until the 1950s.

- Jonathan

New Clothes for Easter: A History of the Tradition

 

In Western culture, wearing new clothes on Easter or Passover has been a tradition for centuries. But where did this tradition come from? A look through history shows that its origins are not what we might expect.

Other cultures. Wearing new clothes in spring dates back to ancient times. Pagan worshippers celebrated the arrival of spring with a festival in honor of Ostera, the Germanic Goddess of Spring. They believed that wearing new clothes brought good luck. The Iranian new year, celebrated on the first day of spring, has traditions rooted in the ancient pre-Islamic past which include wearing new clothes to signify renewal and optimism. Similarly, the Chinese wear new clothes for their Spring Festival to convey the idea that they have more than they possibly need. 

 

 A Chinese girl carries on a centuries-old tradition.

Western beginnings. In 300 A.D., the Roman emperor Constantine made wearing new clothes for Easter an official decree, declaring that his court wear their absolute finest. Eventually, the tradition came to mark the end of Lent, when after weeks of wearing the same clothes, worshippers discarded the old frocks for new ones.

Superstitions. A 15th-century proverb stated that if one's clothes on Easter were not new, one would have bad luck. And in the 16th Century during the Tudor reign, it was believed that unless a person wore new garments at Easter, moths would eat the old ones, and evil crows would nest around their homes.

 

The Tudor court in their Sunday best.

 

Post Civil War. Easter traditions as we know it were not celebrated in America until after the Civil War. Before that time, Puritans and the Protestant churches saw no purpose in religious celebrations. But after the war, churches saw Easter as a source of hope for Americans. Easter was called "The Sunday of Joy," and women traded the dark colors of mourning for the happier colors of spring.

 

Finely dressed women celebrate the Sunday of Joy. 

The Easter Parade. In the 1870s, the tradition of the New York Easter Parade began, with women decked out in their newest and most fashionable clothing walking between the beautiful gothic churches on Fifth Avenue. The parade became one of the premier events in fashion. People who were poor or from the middle class would watch the parade to see the latest trends. Soon, clothing retailers leveraged the parade's popularity and used Easter as a promotional tool. By the turn of the century, the holiday was as important to retailer as Christmas is today.

 

 

The American Dream. By the middle of the 20th Century, dressing up for Easter had lost much of any religious significance it might have had, and instead symbolized American prosperity. Vintage clothing ads show that wearing new clothes on Easter was something every wholesome, All-American family was expected to do.

 

 A vintage clothing ad urges people to wear their finest.

Attitudes today. Although many of us may still don new clothes on Easter, the tradition doesn't feel as special, not because of any religious ambivalence, but because we buy and wear new clothes all the time. In the past, middle class families shopped only one or two times a year at the local store or from a catalog. But in the last few decades, retailing options have boomed. There's a Gap on every corner, and the internet allows us to shop 24/7.

 

 Today, the NY Easter Parade is more of a satire, like a Springtime Halloween.

But even with changing ties, the custom of dressing up for Easter will surely continue in some form. After all, fashionistas and fashion school students love a reason to shop.

- Jonathan

Fashion Week: Let's Hear It For the Boys

NY Fashion Week usually showers all its attention on the women, but men's fashion designers made a splash this week as well.

Duckie Brown

Designers Daniel Silver and Steven Cox went wild with mixed plaids on square-shouldered jackets and super skinny trousers.

 

Mik Cire

Eric Kim (Mik Cire spelled backwards) was inspired by the World War I military look, and a somber color palette of olives and greys punctuated the collection.

 

3.1 Phillip Lim 

In his second full line of menswear, the designer combined urban and militaristic touches, mixing wool with leather, and accessorizing with over-the-shoulder duffels and backpacks.

 
  

Billy Reid

This quintessential American collection was influenced by the rural landscape and working class comfort. He even brought leaves from his own backyard to style the runway.

 

DKNY

Classic suits and hooded parkas in steel grey were given a modern look with heavy black boots and colored laces. Clunky boots were a part of many of the men's designer collections.

 
  

Rag and Bone

The Ango-American label layered chunky knits and heavy coats with a vintage vibe, perfect for scaling the Rockies, or at least the coffeehouse.

 

Richard Chai

Since this was a fall show, there was a lot of layering in the collections. But Richard Chai played with proportions, for example putting a long cardigan under a tailored jacket, so the layering was fresh.

 

- Jonathan

Plaid Tidings for Guys

It used to be that the only men who wore plaid were ventriloquists, used car salesmen, and clowns. But why should they have all the fun? Plaid is making bold inroads into men's fashion design this season, with over-sized patterns that go beyond the traditional tartans. 

 

Plaid can be both rugged and fashionable, as this hooded duffle coat from Tommy Hilfiger demonstrates. It would look great in the city or the country.

 

On these pants from Dolce & Gabbana, the large scale of the plaid actually makes the pattern look more subdued than if there were a lot of smaller checks. 

 

Gucci does its ultra-fashionable take on plaid with this leather jacket featuring black and blue checkered sleeves. Again, notice the large scale of the plaid.

Admittedly, Glen Plaid suits can look a little Pee Wee Herman-esque. But when the checks are oversized like they are on this Ralph Lauren suit, the look is decidedly modern. 

 

Diesel reinterprets plaid with this black and grey checked shirt. The textile design is bold, and very different from the traditional plaid tartan.   

- Jonathan

 

Be Italian

If you’ve caught the trailer for the upcoming musical Nine, you’ve seen Kate Hudson performing the showstopper “Cinema Italiano,” in which she sings about her love for classic Italian movies. Once the movie opens nationwide on Christmas Day, everyone will be humming this song too, and we expect to see a resurgence of the retro Italian fashion design she mentions in the number. 

    

Skinny ties. Kate sings, “I love the dark, handsome guys with the skinny little ties.” Also into skinny ties are Dolce and Gabbana, who feature the sleek neckwear in their latest collection. (Coincidentally, Dolce and Gabbana make a cameo appearance in the movie as priests.)

  

 Skinny tie from Dolce & Gabbana

Italian shoes. The song continues, “I love to watch them as they cruise with their pointy leather shoes, wearing shades in the middle of the night.” As we know, there’s nothing like Italian footwear, and the square toe styles from a few years back have given way to timeless pointed toe designs, like these lace-ups from Salvatore Ferragamo.

 

Andrea lace-up from Ferragamo

  

And if you’re going to wear “shades in the middle of the night,” they need to be a classic style, like these Wayfarers by Ray-Ban.

Wayfarer sunglasses by Ray-Ban 

- Jonathan