Anthropologie World Shopper, Keith Johnson on location in India.

The Sundance Chanel follows Anthropologie creative, Keith Johnson, as he shops around the world to find the eclectic and often exclusive to Anthropologie only goods that we shoppers get so enthralled by.

I was amused when looking at the promos to hear him say how disappointed he was when shopping that he saw so many of the same things. It is amazing that in this world of unlimited global access, that we arrive to only find what we’ve found before.

His secret? Keep looking until you find that one different thing, or create it.

For those who love Anthropologie or want to see what it takes to create something like it, this should be a real adventure. An exclusive launch of the series is hosted by Sundance and Keith Johnson at Anthropologie Rock Center tonight. The series kicks off October 7th @ 10 p.m. EST.

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During Milan Fashion Week, as a way to boost the sustainable movement in fashion, Princess Charlotte Casiraghi, 23, daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco, chose the Cittadellarte Fashion: Bio Ethical Sustainable Trend event to fuse fashion and the sustainable movement by featuring eco fashion as the theme of her and her partners first publication for The EVER Manifesto a publication focusing solely on ecology and sustainability and published only when they feel they have something to say or people to support.

From the New York Times: ‘ “It’s only recently that I’ve questioned the way that I’ve been consuming,” said Ms. Casiraghi, who mentioned as her personal inspirations the environmental activism of her uncle, Prince Albert II, as well as her own stint as guest editor at the eco-slanted Above Magazine. But, she added, “I haven’t been as conscious as I should have been.” ‘

Wow. That’s impressive. First of all that she’s admitted it or is even conscious of it, and secondly she admitted it in public. Well, that’s, um, I’m a little speechless. It’s laudable.

God knows the movement needs some support, especially in fashion, and from a grass roots level. If someone like Princess Casiraghi can be a spokesperson for the younger set to become conscious of anything besides twitter, facebook, youtube, Iphones, Ipods, and video games then I’m all for it!

Did her appearance overshadow the event? Who cares? If these posts get put on twitter, if her interest as a royal in sustaining our earth is highlighted and along with it what appeared at the Cittadellarte in eco fashion then it’s a win win for everyone, but most particulary our great green earth.

Let’s see what follows. Meantime, you can view the eco fashions created for the event at the Cittadellarte from September 23, 2009 through February of 2010. What’s really cool about this, is that the Cittadellarte founded by a Mr. Pistoletto, now 76, has labs dedicated to art, education, politics and ecology. He organized this project because he thought fashion needed an eco boost. (from NYT) “It’s about unifying aesthetics with ethics,” he said. “The mission here is what I call ‘The Third Paradise’ — the unification of technology with nature so that both can coexist in harmony.”

Mr. Pistoletto said sustainability had been a guiding principle for activities at Cittadellarte since its founding. But the topic is still relatively unexplored within Italy’s fashion industry. Eleven different designers were brought into the event to create fabrics, dyes, and garments all ethically and sustainably and of course they confronted the issues that come with the territory.

There are more than a few that come up in production….availability of materials is one because the science just isn’t there….and I hear that, frequently. It is, actually, but demand has yet to be built up enough for the supply to happen, for manufacturers to get behind it, and once that happens lots of things can be discovered and pricing can drop.

So, yes, by all means, enter someone as glamourous as Charlotte Casiraghi and things just might start to happen.

Cittadellarte Fashion

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While nothing, nothing, nothing was happening this summer, I wondered where designers were going to get their inspiration from. When things are buzzing and humming along, it’s easy to have the ideas pinging around and coming to you like a submarines honing mechanism when it finds that other sub somewhere beneath.

But with business being so in the dumper, there has not been a lot of development, understandably I suppose, but I liken it more to writer’s block. It’s a dry spell that just leaves one, well, dry, the paper clean and the imagination wanting.

Given that as the backdrop, where were the designers to come up with the fresh inspiration to keep the wheels of progress spinning, especially in retail for Spring 2010? And how to speak to a market noticeably unnerved by the collapse of a world economy with a line of clothing?

Remarkably, several designers, whose collections rarely imitate each other, chose to plum the depths of societies tragedies past and present which culminated in, collectively, drum roll please……raw edges.

Okay, it’s a little literal and yet, pretty clear and given our dire retail scene especially at the luxury end, but also with what has been happening with people’s lives (unraveling much? frayed nerves, shedding), the design statement is honest while at the same time provocative (Prada suggests she was being optimistic for this collection?), emoting the rawness in the moment amidst a decline.

All images Style.com.

Prada (left) looking back and forward at the same time, Raf Simons for Jil Sander (full length and close up) in his quest for freedom.

Ralph Lauren (left) whose collection sought inspiration from Depression Era dressing and Rodarte from the molting of birds.

What’s interesting about each designer is that they were genuinely coming from a different frame of reference and the looks are each as distinct as the designer him/herself is, but this historically monumentally disruptive time we are in still wore collectively an expression of “raw edges” from some of our more noteworthy designers.

It’s worth mentioning plus I appreciate the nod and I don’t think they, being the creatives they are, could stop themselves.

Christoper Kane, designer of London’s standout collection, also plunged the depths of tragedies past by thinking about spiritual cults and the tradgey of Jonestown. How could something so lovely, almost mythical, as well as innocent arrive out of that? It’s still an expression of the breakdown of innocence from whatever reference:

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When I saw videos of Alexander Wang and Jason Wu Spring 2010 collections on the MSN home page I knew fashion, or in this case Style.com, was reaching for critical mass.

Anna Wintour and her minions are working overtime to kickstart fashion into fashion for the fall. But will this do it?

From when I started this blog in July 2007 to now….a little over 2 years ago, I’ve seen fashion being covered and accessed to such a high degree that in truth there is no more mystery. If anything, in my opinion, to get to the really really good stuff, you’ve got to a) know your stuff and b) sift through a lot of stuff.

It just makes me wonder what the job of the buyer must be like nowadays or even a fashion director. When you have 13 year olds being invited to cover Fashion Week in New York, and the likes of Lindsey Lohan becoming a creative adviser to the (a) designer at Emanuel Ungaro, then the underlying message is that a designer can be acknowledged or given prestige for any and all the wrong reasons.

So, fashion has actually, once again in my opinion, overextended its reach.

And now that Style.com has a feature where, if a person feels so inclined, you can purchase the look right off the runway, what will this do for fashion in the long run?

The question I have is if this is fashion now or fashion forward or fast fashion? The runway collections used to be covered in an almost ancillary type way and we all could look forward to what might show up in the stores for fall. It was exciting. And a whole industry cropped up around noting the trends in advance of the market so you could be on top of the market. Now there is no advance of the market….it’s a crap shoot. And, a lot of redundancy. And a readymade market.

Truth is people, we are shooting straight for the consumer, going around the retailer altogether. Retailers can’t react as fast as what Style.com is at least attempting to do.

I would venture to say some designers will ultimately back off of such exposure because we all know there is such a thing as too much exposure and it’s possible fashion has reached that point. There is a shift happening within the industry and how it will all settle out is anybody’s guess at this point.

But, J.Crew still has my vote. I hope Elie Tahari goes into Bananna Republic, Saks….up in the air, maybe Issac Mizrahi will get a namesake into Nordstrom along with Michael Kors and Alexander Wang and Rodarte.

What will Macy’s do? They have the advantage right now of being the only upper middle class department store but Nordstrom seems to be picking up where Macy’s has left off though. We don’t need Macy’s becoming a J.C. Penny. That’s not a good place to be, cause there’s a Kohl’s there as well and Macy’s can’t compete with that.

Target seems to be cutting into the Macy’s customer with the exclusives they get with top named designers. So, will Macy’s just become a giant outlet for Project Runway? Mr. Lundgren, give me a call, I’d like to hash out some of the details with you.

Macy’s has been a favorite of mine because they up till now managed to straddle that upper to middle class department store with cache and still be accessible but lately the only thing I’ve gone into Macy’s for is their cosmetics and shoes because I do better with the independents on clothing (well sort of….they’ve let me down lately too); there was a time that being more mainstream was a good thing, but that category is getting pretty crowded while the luxury category is becoming even more exclusive (which is probably good).

You know at the heart of it is where the middle class in this country has sunk to…..we’re all shopping at discount outlets. So what’s a Macy’s to do?

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Casually Raw.

Elise Overland. Spring 2010. Style.com. Alexander Wang. Spring 2010.

Relaxed. Vs fall when we were all looking for jobs and fighting the good fight, apparently in Spring 2010, according to the designers,
we’re taking a break. One can only surmise why.

Elie Tahari. Spring 2010. Brian Reyes. Spring 2010. Style.com.

Elegant. We can be pretty and wear relaxed at the same time.

Marc Jacobs. Spring 2010. Style.com

Subdued but Sexy. (along with the above). While the parties presumably tell another story, the clothing doesn’t. Grey (and on a personal note, I
love it) as a color reigns supreme. (A creamy beige is runner up….color is used but understated for the most part)

Ohne Titel. Spring 2010. Elie Tahari Spring 2010. Donna Karan. Spring 2010. Images Style.com

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Well, now that summer is over (Labor Day is my official benchmark), I can tell you what I’ve been up to.

It’s all just solidified what the future is going to look like. For several years I’ve been positioning myself both personally and business wise for the future and now it’s here.

I am a Boomer, I live in a downtown area that is being revitalized. Services that are everyday are slowly being added that create more of a local shopping habit.

But the real news is how to get around. I use the WeCar for when I need a car. Enterprise Car owns and operates the system and for a fee of $35 per year I am a member. No insurance required, it comes with the hourly fee (and a $500.00 deductible). I pay $10.00 per hour for it and under 200 miles, mileage is free. Fuel is included in the hourly charge.

Otherwise, I use public transportation which is severly wanting in this city but once they start working on that phase of the downtown development….couple new modes of transportation (check the Bixi model here), high speed trains (connections between this city and Chicago) and shopping destination modes of transportation.

In other words, I get off the train at one shopping area which is an excellent area for shopping. It covers several square miles though. One can spend an entire day there but getting around itsn’t easy (trains and buses only run every 20-30 minutes). It’s only me so how to transport the packages and I’m sure more than one place won’t have what I want.

I propose, the Bixi stations, so I can get a bike to travel to all of these areas…..bike lanes to make it safer to bike to the different areas, and shipping centers to ship the stuff home for next day delivery at a discount. And when I go to a mall, have a kiosk there like an Amazon site, where I can find what Nordstrom (sure to happen) won’t have. It’s that or I’ll just get on my Iphone to have it shipped.

Reduce the footprint of the shopping mall to enable me to have what I want shipped to me instead of carrying packages home from the store, like the (now closed but before its time) Nau, Inc. stores. If not the Bike models, then instant connector tubes to travel to each of the centers (minutes instead of by foot dangerously and a half hour walking).

The above scenario is already in the works in different areas of the world….Denmark is way ahead of us for instance. Montreal obviously….and with Obama’s plan in the works for high speed trains to be built in this country, this insta movement can’t be far off on a local basis as well.

I love the thought. Green shopping by cutting down on the transportation mode, the shop’s footprint, and time, not to mention money if I also on the same day have access to the discount stores (easily). Oooh. Gives me the shivers thinking about it.

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While I am thinking about this holiday weekend in America, Labor Day, in honor of this country’s working men and women, it occurred to me that the country just may be returning to an old set of values: investing in American companies, the American worker, American ingenuity and craftsmenship. Market research indicates that despite the fact that, and this is regardless of income, consumers aren’t spending as much, they will make a purchase if it is Made In the U.S.A.. That’s a return to some sort of value.

Another indication of this trend is the consumer mindset of shopping for “value.” As an industry veteran said to me, “It doesn’t matter if it’s $9.99 or $99.99, it just must represent a value.”

Is value anything like beauty, in the eye of the beholder? Or is it a finite and clear proposition? When I think of value or hear of it, I most often hear Kohl’s or Aldi’s. But I think even Trader Joe’s falls into that category and Costco. When Target opened their expanded grocery department near where I live, they definitely had values out there, especially with their store branded merchandise. A gallon of 2% milk for $2.04 and four butter quarters for just under $2.00; this is a good value to me.

Walgreens often offers quality product in bundles that I would consider value pricing. In fact, I like shopping there just for that reason. Their product, either store branded or brand merchandise is good quality, and sometimes they have some great pricing for some of your favorite product. That mindset of theirs is a value to me, not just the product itself but I know their buyers know their shopper cause they always do things that makes that shopping experience a good one for me. It doesn’t matter what time of day, or what day of the month or what year….they consistently have something that is an everyday favorite out there for me at a great deal. And the people for the most part are lovely. Their pharmacy pays attention…they’ve got drive you when you are in a hurry and they’re in the most convenient of locations. Easy to get in, easy to get out. They really are the corner grocery story with the best of amenities. Old school, you know…..value.

And that brings me to a final point….one day I was in there and they had these pet beds for $7.99; for a small dog or cat, mind you, but when I looked at it, yes, it was a decent pet bed there on the shelf. Nothing particularly special but the quality for the price, so it seemed, was pretty good. And, you’ve got to admit, even Wal Mart doesn’t have a decent pet bed out there for $7.99.

On closer inspection of course it was a bed made in China…and you just knew that this bed, if lucky, was going to last maybe six months before it was no good and had to be thrown out. So it’s highly disposable, and ,so, just another pet bed.

I felt I could use that $7.99 or $8 and change for something else where my money was better spent. So value also doesn’t mean cheap….

Do you get the idea? America isn’t on as much of a bargain hunt as they are for a “value” or “values” hunt. And that can come in all kinds of forms. So maybe it is in the eye of the beholder.

One thing I think this recession has done is help us as consumers determine what kind of an experience we want in our lives when we do put down our hard earned money. And that retailer or phone company or service has to earn our business.

That’s another old school line of thought, right? We need to feel valued ourselves…..

Which brings me back to my original point.

Happy Labor Day.

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