Photos: Fashion terms and trends to retire with 2009
By Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Looking back at 2009, it’s time say goodbye to some well-worn trends ...
Pop-up stores
In the beginning, the temporary retail spaces that “popped up” unexpectedly -- and for a limited time -- were welcome novelties that helped cut through the cookie-cutter shopping landscape, attract new customers and test new retail concepts and products. But the recent proliferation of pop-ups has made the strategy more the rule than the exception. And when one retailer pops up elsewhere in the same city, and another hosts serial pop-ups in the same location (Gap, you know who you are), it’s clear the concept is starting to lose its snap and crackle.
Photo: A Gap pop-up store that opened in Tokyo in commemoration of
Correctly used, it refers to someone or something that causes a fundamental reassessment and rewriting of the script. Unfortunately, overuse has changed the game for using game-changer. The housing bubble, Twitter and Bernie Madoff? Total game-changers. The world’s largest cruise ship and Manny Ramirez? Not so much. Off to the sidelines.
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On the color spectrum it’s neatly bounded and clearly defined -- you can point to it right there between yellow and blue. But when it comes to describing the environmental impact of a product, especially apparel and accessories, pinning down green is as difficult as nailing vegan gelatin to the wall of a yurt. Does it refer to “carbon neutral,” “organic,” “sustainable” or some combination of the three? And what takes precedence? We touched on the topic of “greenwashing” back in April and agree with the view of model-author-environmental activist Summer Rayne Oakes, who said the fashion industry needs transparency -- a way to show the consumer a product’s effect on people and the planet at every step in the manufacture of a garment. Until that happens, the descriptor green should be put out to pasture.
Photo: A model wears a creation at a fashion show by young Hungarian designers presenting eco-friendly pieces made from recycled materials, at Merlin Theatre in Budapest. (Attila Kisbenedek / AFP / Getty Images)
The concept of curated retail started with the best intentions; it referred to a thoughtfully edited selection of products that spoke to a certain aesthetic or point of view. Stores such as Colette in Paris and Moss in New York were pioneers in the curated movement. More recently, the J. Crew men’s-only shop in the former Liquor Store bar in SoHo also pulled it off brilliantly, showcasing Globetrotter luggage, Red Wing boots, Timex watches and Thomas Mason shirts alongside the J. Crew product. Whether or not you wanted to be him, you understood who the J. Crew man was supposed to be.
But as of late, “curate” seems to emphasize the picking and choosing part of the equation and less the thought process behind it. Rule of thumb: Art collections and exhibits are curated; iPod playlists, flea market booths and Facebook friends are not.
Photo: Shoppers crowd at Antique & Collectible Market in
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At the spring 2010 women’s ready-to-wear shows, backlash against the tottering platform shoe had begun to bubble up. Alexander McQueen’s aggressively aquatic lobster claw kicks notwithstanding, it’s time for this high-stepping shoe to step aside. And if no less august a luxury cobbler than Manolo Blahnik declares the reign of the platform finally over (as he reportedly told the Daily Telegraph in October), who are we to argue? (MJ Kim / Getty Images)
We get it, with double-digit unemployment and the worst economic malaise since the Great Depression, buying an island in the Maldives or a junket to the International Space Station seemed downright callous. But as we try to jump-start the economy, the rules are changing. If the number on your annual bonus paycheck has more than one comma, you should feel guilty if you’re not buying one of everything Louis Vuitton makes -- and a custom-made steamer trunk to stow it in.
Photo: A limited-edition Louis Vuitton dog transporter created by designer Marc Jacobs. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)
The one-two punch of Balmainia and the unexpected passing of Michael Jackson have made the braid- and epaulet-festooned jackets from the likes of John Varvatos, D&G and Phillip Lim so ubiquitous (and unisex) the whole world started to look like one giant “Sgt. Pepper” album cover. When the Stella McCartney for GapKids collection includes a band jacket for baby, it might be time to start marching to the beat of a different drummer. (Jonas Gustavsson & Peter Stigter / For The Times)
By what algebraic equation of cosmic importance does reality TV dad Jon Gosselin merit a five-page piece -- in GQ magazine? And what gives with the cluster of Kardashians camped out around the TV dial from “Today” to “The View” to flog their thin gruel of a reality show? We’ve had ham sandwiches more interesting. Shouldn’t admission to the celebrity club require something more than a sex tape or the ability to sire multiple offspring?
And while we’re at it, let 2010 be the year that the world stopped encouraging the “overshare.” Just because technology has made it possible to publish every last sex tape, tummy tuck Twitpic and YouTube tirade doesn’t mean you should. No matter how many “hits” it might get.
Photo: Jon Gosselin (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
