The Issue of Authorship

[Dandyzoku]

authorship

Designers and the brand they embody share one thing in common: they are both comprised of narratives. The fashion industry sometimes tries to carry on the legacy of a given designer despite the fact that they may have left the maison or passed away, but this seldom works. Even if well executed, genuine followers of the designer will not a difference and hence reduce their loyalty.

From a business point of view, I understand investing the brand more than the designer since it has more long term potential, but it's hard for me to say I can get stoked on a collection designed by X. Clothes are man made so the human side of fashion is still important to me.

Hedi Slimane's Dior homme is probably one of the better examples.

[darkbydesign]

Authorship in fashion is indeed intriguing.

In science, we give authorship to anyone who worked on the science written in the publication as long as their work was essential to the finding. The lead author is usually the main contributor and the person who typically writes the majority of the publication. But, the principle funding source and/or "boss" or "lab lead" is usually the last author on the publication for the work. Sometimes journals have a limit on number of authors and this is when debate spawns.

In this regard, I've always thought fashion was strange for the reasons you guys point out. Hedi Slimane may be the "author" of the piece, yet the tag says "Dior" simply because it's a house. Ultimately, it comes down to money though. While I'd buy anything with a "Slimane" authorship over "Dior" any day, most people just want the Dior name and they make their money from the masses.

I've always tracked the actual designer of the clothing and not the tag. I'm a believer of extremes and wish the tags carried a little more info about the designer as opposed to the house, but then on my other hand I'd also be fine if clothing didn't have a single tag at all. One respects the author and the other hand respects design and art without judging the producer and/or the author's prestige.

Unfortunately, the current state of fashion falls in between these boundary conditions, which is the least appealing to me. But, I continue to buy, so......