^
I second this
I got poor imagination and runway styling really inspired a lot of my purchases, experimentation comes later.
this is one aspect to it,
I think a lot of it you need to put yourself in the position that brands are actually trying to convey something through their work, and if you believe in that, which could vary in interpretation, then it has meaning to do runway.
for example, one could argue that its an expression of their aesthetic interpretation as to what dress should be, and its somewhat of a dance to what could be considered the idealistic way of dressing, and whether you align yourself with that is what the act of persuasion is, or what the intention is, as in here is my vision, do you agree?
thats one of many takes, you can argue that its all smoke and mirrors but shows as a PR tool have a lot of weight in this current sphere and it matters.
I think another big contributor to all this though is how many of the brands in this genre haven't fully embraced the digital side of things. BBS has no social media presence (that I'm aware of) aside from what little BBSNY was doing, and he did a women's campaign that one time and has only really done campaigns for 11, and I don't think he does ads ever nor interviews.
Many other brands also fit into this category, whereas Rick has fully embraced digital in a variety of ways and does his musical artist collaborations etc. and Michele just keeps herself relevant by appearing in all sorts of projects.
The unfortunate state of things at the moment is that letting clothes speak for themselves or not being able to be tagged or @'d really doesn't work in this climate. A recent report showed that consumers now only spend about 2% of their budget on clothing, compared to 5% back in '87. We're in a completely oversaturated market with Rihanna making Demna clothes and the new generation isn't really hanging out on forums anymore so most interaction is generally in snippets - so you have that small of a window to sell someone something. If only a few people are aware of a brand then it's fairly hard to acquire new younger customers etc.
I have a great deal of respect for BBS and their approach, but as Trigger appears to be inferring, we are in a new time where it seems like all the old goth-ninja brands are phasing out (see Julius etc.) and the Belgian fashion machine is now just whichever houses are left standing. Ugly fashion, queer culture, rave culture...that's what seems to be the cultural milieu right now, and Rick has transitioned into it completely. Undercover and Raf Simons throw techno afterparties, and Virgil Abloh just played at Movement (Detroit) if that gives any further indication.
Last edited by Ahimsa; 06-04-2019 at 04:16 PM.
A question to the seasoned SZers. Around what collection did BBS seem to be at its peak? I mean "peak" in the sense of popularity not necessarily design.
Ive only been acquiring BBS since SubShpere.
SS15 is definitely a turning point of some sort, kind of setting the tone for all the following collections.
Then he got a lot of people start liking him with the famous red AW15-16.
Subsphere was actually not very well acclaimed speaking just of the runway - considered too dull, lack of variety.
My personally all time favourite though is AW12-13.
Ugly fashion, queer culture, rave culture...that's what seems to be the cultural milieu right now, and Rick has transitioned into it completely. Undercover and Raf Simons throw techno afterparties, and Virgil Abloh just played at Movement (Detroit) if that gives any further indication.
this is it my dude, you really read me well, better than myself.
edit: even hip hop cannot escape the cultural influence of rave in this current year.
I hope people who still care about clothing are really digging deeper into what the current zeitgeist has to offer because its not just ironic fashion and slavic looks anymore.
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde
StyleZeitgeist Magazine
so whats gonna happen w/ ss20? theres nothing so far and bbs nyc had their big blowout sale is bbs done? i mean for real or is this like ss14?
I think you are completely right with the social media aspect.
Boris has no presence in the social media or anywhere else as this is his attitude.But nowadays its essential to be a bit more present.All my friends who buy designer clothes never heard from him but know Rick for example.
I also think that BBS11 should be much cheaper to reach the younger generation as it is a more 'younger' line to me wich is more less at the same price level than his main line.
Also his sale politics not to go under 30% is a mistake in my eyes because its a kind of a hunt to get some pieces for a lower price even if you are not really in the mood to buy something or just to reach a clientele with a lower budget.
It's also harder for a shop to sell the items wich aren't working well I guess so they are more careful with their next order.
Rick is really selling out everywhere right now but because of that I can afford much more of his stuff.So I prefer to buy a cheaper Rick Owens piece than a more expensive one from Boris which I like a bit more to be honest.So for me its clear: he really should be a bit more present in the future and should lower his price politics at least for BBS11.
Last edited by deejames; 06-24-2019 at 08:34 AM.
Anyone have images from the showroom?
Only shots I’ve seen included a dripping bloody saturated red J4, plus a low res moodboard shot featuring staple pieces in reds, greys and black. Seems like a very buyable collection but I would love to see more details up close.
I was only able to find some pictures on this account:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzEGskJAsCr
The Facebook account of Munich store "Hide-M" also just posted some pictures.
"The only rule is don't be boring and dress cute wherever you go. Life is too short to blend in."
-Paris Hilton
Just like a painter may not express his thoughts clearly in words
No pics were allowed. In general, there was again a lot of great garments. The red is crazy in a good sense, so was the white. Lots of new pieces this time, less impact on leather, more on tailoring. Crazy construction as usual, I loved all the pieces with the "spine" construction, which is basically a very wide piece of fabric that holds the garment together at the back.
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde
StyleZeitgeist Magazine
I've seen a quick article here on WWD with a few images: https://wwd.com/runway/mens-spring-c...saberi/review/
But that's about it. No lookbook, nothing.
Boris introduced that "spine" for his FW19 collection and yes i kinda like it too. Gladly enjoyed the return of the red also but i can't say i've been very excited by this SS20 collection. A few cool new jackets but that's about it for me.
I'll like to chime in on the poor customer service experienced from the BBS online team, having come across stellar reviews about it. I corresponded with Angelina about the availability of an item from past season, and was quoted a price for it.
The order was confirmed at that point, but I was informed within a few days later that they had misquoted me and the price now is much higher than the original one. Prior to that I was told that the item in question is of the murex purple colourway, hailing from the aw18 collection and it is the last piece they had in stock. What I really find dishonest is that they conveniently come up with a reason to justify the price hike by claming that the item I enquired about is suddenly carried over as part of the new aw19 collection.
Its misleading to say the least, and I am still coming to terms with how it all panned out.