Dior: Something Old, Something New

A typical Galliano finale…

…and a typical Raf Simons one

For an industry that needs something new at alarmingly quick intervals, the fashion world has been talking about the Dior situation for quite a while. The saga has taken so many twists and turns at this point that you don’t know what or whom to believe. Initially, it seemed all but confirmed that Riccardo Tisci would be Galliano’s successor, but after a few months with no announcements we started to hear a seemingly boundless list of names. We’ve heard some odd rumors (Alexander Wang comes to mind) and some seemingly improbable but apparently accurate ones (Marc Jacobs), and now we have the latest: though in this environment where several designers have already been supposedly done-deals one must exercise caution, the latest news is that Raf Simons will be taking the helm.

Scott Schuman and the Masculine Minority

Manliness personified

Fashion has developed a new set of fans in the more recent past. Fighting against the grain of ethereal, polarizing women and their lithe, feminine male counterparts, a certain set of straight (they’d be quick to tell you) men who idolize the unaffected panache of the menswear styles of the past have banded together in their passion, largely aided by the advent of the internet. Suddenly, it’s become acceptable for Jay-Z and his ilk to cite Margiela and the like as evidence of their lavish lifestyles. Men’s fashion blogs abound, most of which consist of what appear to be spot-the-difference photos to the untrained eye.

Perhaps the founding father of this modern movement is The Sartorialist’s Scott Schuman.

Tom Ford: Not Pictured

A leaked image from behind the scenes at Tom Ford's Spring 2012 show

As many brands are realizing that the only way to stay afloat anymore is to get their collections out there as quickly and widely as possible, it’s no surprise that someone is taking the exact opposite approach. Indeed, to designers who have come up watching runway presentations evolve from intimate gatherings to free-for-all press events, there must be a certain vulgarity in the idea of millions joining in on the fun from the comfort of their favorite mass-produced chairs. Tom Ford is one such designer, for whom modernity seems to be a four letter word. Here’s a man, after all, who still subscribes to the idea that it’s better to be overdressed than the reverse.

Livestreams: Be On Time

Perhaps even more rewarding than an instantaneous look at a collection via its livestream is the look at the crowd beforehand. Exceptionally well-produced feeds, like the one Proenza Schouler hosted on its website last night, have an almost voyeuristic quality to them before the lights go out and the show starts. Here you see the whole cast of characters–editors, socialites, celebrities, or some combination of the three–ambling around, finding seats, schmoozing, and all the rest. You wonder if they know you’re watching them. At one point last night, Anna Wintour appeared to shoo away the camera emphatically, with her devilish “I’m difficult but I can’t really take myself seriously” grin. Others stare blankly, seemingly alone, introverted. It’s an interesting change of pace when you’re expecting the glossiest, suavest people around.

Missoni For Target: Making The Unreachable Reachable Then Unreachable Again

For a company that’s had years of designer collaboration experience at this point, Target handled itself very poorly with the release of its Missoni collection. For many, the go-to destination was online, a utopia where no lines or shoving eBay sellers exist. But Target’s servers crashed seemingly within moments of the collection’s debut, and they didn’t fully recover until the next day, save for some surely smug shoppers who managed to get in and get out as others stared in frustration at the infuriatingly humble message that Target.com was “suddenly extremely popular.” In-store shoppers may have felt they made the right decision, but unless they were armed with a credit card and dangerous at 7 or 8 am, most of them found that even the most suburban of stores in the least fashion-conscious of places seemed to be a no Missoni (anymore) zone.

At Fashion Week, Celebrities Come First

Today was a day for the A-list in the tents at New York Fashion Week. Rodarte was the surprise draw, perhaps boosted by Natalie Portman’s award season support, attracting Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Elle Fanning, among others, to its front row. Fashion Week will often settle for pseudo-celebrities. Teen TV stars can start near-riots among the photographers there hoping to get valuable snaps for image agencies. But when a real star shows up, like Ms. Knowles, suddenly everyone comes second. Important editors are pushed back to the second row, creating a veil of iridescent shimmer around the real meat and bones of the industry. Though certain industry insiders have been able to gain considerable prominence thanks to the niche online movement, it seems to go out the window when a casually interested familiar face decides to crash the party. The rare exception to the rule in this scenario is Anna Wintour who, perhaps tellingly, was recently sat next to Nicki Minaj. One can only imagine what Wintour, with her sleek bob and conservative duds, found to talk about with Minaj, in an outlandish pom-pom-encrusted ensemble topped off with an over-the-top blonde bouffant.