The Circus of Fashion - Suzy Menkes | A Must Read

[Fuuma]

Exactly what I wrote in my wrap up of the NYFW for Walla in Israel (Can't post it, cause it's in Hebrew).

As for your first paragraph, I already pointed out the bit that I liked.

Hey I'm on walla! The Jewish gmail (and more).

[Faust]

Haha, you are? Well, it's in Hebrew, but yeah, it's basically their Yahoo!/Google. Anyway, I wrote this:

"She [Menkes] is also right that bloggers, by and large, are not fashion critics and their approach to fashion often boils down to matters of shopping and personal style and not fashion in itself. But, this is Ok, and Ms. Menkes told me at the Thom Browne show Monday that she has nothing against bloggers. Why should she? The truth is, bloggers and fashion critics speak to different audiences, the way art critics and gallery owners speak to different audiences. There is an audience that appreciates intelligent criticism, and there is an audience that just wants to look at pretty clothes. Perhaps when the fashion industry acknowledges this, the vitriol will stop."

[laika]

The post refers to social Darwinism and some "my generation" bullshit, I'm sure you liked the comment about accepting gifts but c'mon!

she sounds almost lawyerly....logical, but not quite believable.

I was wondering about the gifts, probably naively. I know critics (like Menkes, Horyn, etc) surely can't take them, but is it acceptable for editors like Carine, Emmanuelle, etc.? I always wonder where they get all their clothes.

And I totally agree about Alt. The original article posted lost any remaining sense as soon as she was mentioned.

[Faust]

she sounds almost lawyerly....logical, but not quite believable.

I was wondering about the gifts, probably naively. I know critics (like Menkes, Horyn, etc) surely can't take them, but is it acceptable for editors like Carine, Emmanuelle, etc.? I always wonder where they get all their clothes.

And I totally agree about Alt. The original article posted lost any remaining sense as soon as she was mentioned.

Haven't you read The Devil Wears Prada?!

[laika]

Actually, no.

Do you happen to know what the industry "ethics" surrounding gifts are?
Unless industry and ethics are oxymoronic in the instance of fashion....

[Faust]

1. Yes, they are a bit of an oxymoron. It mostly comes down to your personal values.
2. No professional journalist is supposed to receive gifts or special discounts.

Basically, each publication sets the policy, so there are no industry-wide rules. Obviously, bloggers set their own policy. I'd take the "occasional" gifting part with a grain of salt, but, really, who knows.

[laika]

^thanks, Faust.

I never think of bloggers as proper "journalists" because they don't produce much critical content....but I suppose they are "reporting" and therefore ultimately fall under the same umbrella. hm.

[Faust]

It's all about the number of page hits. Bloggers influence sales. End of story. ;-)

[syed]

"When Suzy Menkes arrives at her hotel in Milan to cover the Italian ready-to-wear shows, she can hardly find a place to unpack her case, so full is her room of flowers, fruit and enticingly glossy shopping bags bearing the names of the top-runners in the Italian fashion world. Orchids, freesias, lilies, wild woodland plants and violets fill every available space. Each arrangement is exquisite. Crowding what little space is left are bowls and baskets of perfect fruit - grapes sparkling with beads of water; tiny exotic fruits from almost inaccessible corners of the topical world and, snuggling in the middle of this cornucopia, a bottle of the best champagne - or, even greater privilege, a fine wine from a private vineyard. The sort of gift that a recipient would savour for days, if not weeks.

Then there are the bags containing the latest perfume from one of the great masters of Italian fashion, maybe a beautiful crocodile-skin diary, with matching crocodile and silver pen; perhaps a scarf of thick, creamy silk and hand-rolled hems; even, on occasion, a leather handbag bearing the initials that personify sophistication to the whole world.

The welcome for Suzy Menkes is not unique. It is shared by many other key fashion journalists, and is a mark of how highly they are respected - although only in fashion does respect for one's professional talents lead inevitably to increased, though tacit, attempts at bribery. The munificence of the maestros is in direct proportion to the importance of the newspapers or journals that Suzy and her fellow writers represent. Suzy Menkes is wise in the ways of fashion houses.. She know that were she to leave the International Herald Tribune suddenly, she would have absolutely no difficulty in finding space to unpack.

Not as inventive as Paris, less outrageous than London, and totally lacking the laid-back ease of New York design, Milan's fashion gurus have sometimes wondered where their niche actually falls in world terms. To cover their uncertainty they have resorted to what is little more than bribery. It is hard for a journalist wearing a silk blouse accepted as a gift to write critically of the collection of the donor. And, as they also know, most journalists find it even harder to return the parcel unopened.

[...]

Standards must be lax in a profession that allows its employees to take so much advantage of freebies. Some papers have forbidden their journalists to do so. But most do not bother, and the reason editors can get away with it is that they treat fashion very much as a sideshow. Objective criticism has little interest for them or their readers and the designers want quantity of coverage, not quality."

Colin McDowell, The Designer Scam , 1994 (Not the greatest book in the world, but amusing how he dismisses Margiela and says he will have no lasting impact or interest for future dress historians).

Something tells me things probably haven't changed all that much in almost twenty years.

[Fuuma]

It's all about the number of page hits. Bloggers influence sales. End of story. ;-)

Unlike newspapers and mags who are respected in the fashion industry because they provide insight?

[Faust]

In this instance I wasn't comparing the two. Just stated the obvious, in case Ms. Menkes was wondering why there are bloggers in the front row.

[Rosenrot]

Laika, when I was working as a journalist we get sent free stuff and are given the so-called media discounts locally and abroad.

I personally think that it's unfair to dismiss the entire group of fashion/style bloggers due to their medium because there are a few talented ones who may already possess or gained along the way the proper credentials/knowledge/skill set as any respected journalists or industry professionals, just like how there are many journalists who do not deserve that title. It just so happens that the entire fashion blogosphere is riddled with fame-chasers which leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouths.

[rider]

i ask you, arent we pea-cocking [just a bit] in WAYWT and even recent purchases? every time a forum such as this posts a seasonal show many of us post opinions, some are expert based on long standing relationships within the industry and others post impressions based on their visceral experience as it relates to them. i read it all because its both, educational and entertainment and each has their place as a source of media.

there is room in the coup for all types of information and by nature those that have value will rise to the top.

i could give a shit if gifts are parlayed. if mr. van noten was moved to gift me with anything :-)))) i would graciously say thank you and hope that the attention i garnered increased his sales.

[shah]

just read the article, i don't know if i'd like the return to complete black&white (I appreciate some color!) but indeed the age of confession is upon us.

i agree as someone else wrote somewhere in the forum, it all went downhill or at least gained momentum when camera lenses were mounted on the back face of the apparatus, making the operator both object and subject

[Faust]

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