Geoffrey B. Small

[Geoffrey B. Small]

thank you

Thanks so much Zamb and 8139 for your kind comments

Zamb you can see video here:

http://vimeo.com/13188096

Best wishes,
Geoffrey

[mesko]

The suits and some trousers look really, really amazing! You handle linen beautifully, and the buttons are always a great detail.

Election times in Sweden at the moment. Voted for the Green Party. Don't let the nuclear sector get the funding that the more sustainable technology needs!

[Geoffrey B. Small]

That's great Mesko! Thanks so much for your vote on behalf of everyone around the world who is battling this. Tomorrow, I will march with local citizens on the Lido of Venice at the Venice Film Festival.... People from France are coming down to join us. The more we work on this the more we see the need to form a worldwide movement. No to nuclear and fossil and more and more delays and excuses. Yes and total commitment to renewables now. Thanks again Mesko for your vote in the Swedish elections. Pass the word to all. Geoffrey

[the breaks]

It feels to me the message is overpowering the actual clothing. Did you yourself consider this at any point? I see some strong pieces in there but a lot of the looks are as I said overpowered by the anti-nuclear stuff.

[Geoffrey B. Small]

The message

Dear the breaks,

thanks so much for your kind post. Of course we considered this all the way up until the presentation and it is a very good question. For some people in Italy, where they are now blocking anti-nuclear Facebook pages that have tens of thousands of signed up friends, we did not go far enough at all with the message.

And certainly, the message is far more important than any seasonal fashion intentions for any one of us. However, I would consider several things following your comments.

One is that the presentation is one thing, especially one of this kind at the Paris level. In this game, your focus truly is on the message. Two, the collection itself has many components some including several t-shirts ect. highly committed to message expression. But a careful review of the the outfits will show that there are many pieces which are not at all so. The use of the special pins and badges in the styling was used to offset that. But those accessories can be taken off, and the pieces themselves worn with no message at all by the wearer if he or she wishes it so. The idea underneath is to reach a rather broad spectrum of people in order to spread the message. While the presentation created a very strong and clear message (we don't go through the expense, investment and work to do a Paris presentation of this type to be lost in the crowd of other catwalks), the collection offers a wide choice of wardrobe pieces and looks for a wide group of people whom we think want to support the end of nuclear energy and arms proliferation. Young and old. With some money and power and with less money and power, if you will. This is also very necessary in the continuation of the type of extreme hand made and research clothing design that we do, and the very special existing clientele that we serve. For additional reference, there is a very insightful review on the clothes in fashionology.org that also addresses some of this.

So in the end, yes we thought about it, a lot. And whether one thinks it works or not, I would only say that A) it was not at all an easy objective to take on--that's why did it, B) like many things we have done, it is historic-the first of its kind in the industry, and C) as stated in the beginning of the presentation keynote - it involved a lot of risks to be taken in a lot of areas. And in the end, yes the message was and is indeed a design priority.

Hope this is helpful as an answer.

Thanks again for your kind comments,
Best wishes,

Geoffrey

[the breaks]

Thank you for taking the time to answer. I think it's quite brave to take such a strong public stand, especially considering you are using something so profoundly personal as your medium. I might not agree with the sentiment but I certainly respect your conviction! And of course the effort you put into designing and producing your collections :)

[DHC]

Geoffrey..Oh Geoffrey...working tirelessly and without compromise in the ways of the masters. It warms my heart to know that you do not waiver in keeping the classic traditions alive. Blessings to you.

[marco-von]

To me reading Geoffrey's additions to this thread is what SZ is all about. (zamb brings this to the forum aswell) While for many won't share in the beliefs nor the design aspect i hope they can see beyond that to see what this as a thread offers. A intimate personal insight to a designers workings and way of life.

I prefer this too the many confusing pages of assumptions we have on why what where when and who CCP has produced a leather gimp mask for a baby to constrict its breathing but heighten it's breast feeding capabilities.

Also while the runway show was strong in it's message, Mail moth and BSR show a fantastic insight into how the clothes work by themselves and the impact is just as strong from a sartorial point of view. Well done.

[Mail-Moth]

This collection is even greater than I imagined. We should have taken more time in the showroom, we've seen so little of it.

That's a strong, strong work, Geoffrey.

[Geoffrey B. Small]

to the breaks, thanks very much for your time and comments and original question, it was a good one and well worth the time to try to provide a thought out answer.

to Mail Moth, thanks so much for your comments too. I think it is well that you saw the collection as it was, and I appreciate what you saw and wrote about very much.

to DHC, great to hear from as always, thanks, and as mentioned in my email to you, we are working on your special pieces for the store, sorry to take so long, they are coming along and as indicated earlier, they will be world exclusive and are requiring a significant amount of new pattern work, development and testing prior to construction operations. Your clients' kind understanding and patience greatly appreciated as always.

to marco von, many thanks as well for your post. I do agree that SZ is a special thing. I don't know why other colleagues do not participate. For me, it is a game-changer. Since the middle 90's, fashion media has been basically closed to small, independent designers focused on design work not hype or money. And it has always been a one-way top-down communication form. Now there is SZ, a unique forum that connects people who are serious about design (like Zamb for one) in a way never done before. Let's keep it going. It's a purist's dream.

Thanks again to all of you.
Best wishes, Geoffrey

[tgadd]

to marco von, many thanks as well for your post. I do agree that SZ is a special thing. I don't know why other colleagues do not participate. For me, it is a game-changer. Since the middle 90's, fashion media has been basically closed to small, independent designers focused on design work not hype or money. And it has always been a one-way top-down communication form. Now there is SZ, a unique forum that connects people who are serious about design (like Zamb for one) in a way never done before. Let's keep it going. It's a purist's dream.

Geoffrey - It's really great to see and read your posts here - they are certainly appreciated as someone who is purely a consumer and not a creator or designer of fashion. I'm definitely in agreement with all you say, and I want to express that I would also love it if more designers or their staff were to actively participate here.

[Faust]

Geoffrey - It's really great to see and read your posts here - they are certainly appreciated as someone who is purely a consumer and not a creator or designer of fashion. I'm definitely in agreement with all you say, and I want to express that I would also love it if more designers or their staff were to actively participate here.

Well, they actively read and lift material off of it, so that's a start.

[tgadd]

Well, they actively read and lift material off of it, so that's a start.

Absolutely - the feedback loops created are interesting to see, even if not always explicitly attributable.

[Faust]

I don't know if this has been posted already, but looks like Geoffrey has written the forward on what looks like to be a very promising book on eco fashion.

[Geoffrey B. Small]

'

Dear Faust, thank you for the posting on the new book. Yes, the author Sass Brown and the publishers Laurence King in London, asked me if I could write the foreword for the book some time ago, and based upon a few conditions of freedom of expression (mine), I agreed. I apologize for not putting up anything yet on my end, was planning to do so when I am done and back from our Paris women's presentation. In meantime, Best wishes to all, Geoffrey

.