Why is Old School Fashion Repeating Itself?

Fashion has certainly come a long way from the top hats and petticoats era of the past. Clothes today have become a great combination of aesthetics and function. One might think that because of the progress that we have maid in the area of clothing, we would not look back at our past. Reality, as always, has a way of denying what we all think. Today, we all see a resurgence of popular fashion styles from the past. It seems that old school fashion is coming back.

First of all, what is old school fashion? Well, it constitutes of fashion coming from 1970s-1980s. Old school fashion is being brought back by fashion conscious young adults and teenagers today. Old school fashion is not only determined by the clothes. Old school fashion is evident in accessories, hairstyles and even in the attitude of the youth today. The question, however, is why? Why is old school fashion coming back?

There are a variety of reasons why people are bringing back old school fashion. First of all, this fascination with the past has started with television. Do you realize that the people who are bringing back old school fashion are the ones who grew up watching reruns of such shows as Happy Days? We are also the same generation who enjoy watching TV shows based on the past such as That 70’s Show.

Come to think of it, we have been exposed so much to old school fashion in other media. Think of the movies: we are the ones who enjoyed watching movies of old shows like Starsky and Hutch, Charlie’s Angels and other movies which have been resurrected from the old death of camp TV to the new life of the cinema.

Well, the media certainly brought about the old school fashion revival. It was the spark that created the fire. The question, however, is what fuels the flames?  The truth is, people like old school fashion. It looks good and helps them reconnect with a past which was not as complicated as the world today. The reason why old school fashion is constantly gaining popularity is the fact that once it was reintroduced into society, people found that they actually liked it.

Old school fashion is also very popular because of the fact that there’s just something about it that is so sexy. Old school fashion was designed to show of the beauty of the human body. Fitted shirts and pants, cool patterns and designs, these are the trademarks of a past which young people have not experienced.

Another reason why people think that old school fashion is so cool is the fact that, combined with today’s technology of comfortable fabrics, old school designs can be pretty showy and yet casual at the same time.

So why is old school fashion coming back? Well, some people would see it as a metaphor for us trying to reclaim a past that never really belonged to us. It can also be a metaphor for trying to extract the best things out of the past. You see, when old school fashion was brought into this century, we never really brought all of the bad memories with it. Old school fashion could either be a great example of recapturing the beautiful past or it could be a bad metaphor for selective amnesia. You decide.

London Design Updates: Bridge May Tremble But Not Fashion Schools

Have you ever heard a brave forecast such as this?

Now on a lighter note, consider this: Ramps are more dramatic than bridges. How come? This is because ramps have provided the world with classic items of Burberry to more liberal creations of Jimmy Choo. And these ramps were made sturdy primarily by London fashion design schools. Top fashion designers like Clements Ribeiro, Alexander McQueen, and Sophia Kokosalaki would agree just the same.

What makes it great about earning a degree from a fashion design school in London?

London lies in the central part of England. This is one of the busiest cities in the world.  It has taken part in many revolutions. The well known of these revolutions is the so-called the Industrial Revolution.

As years went by, London, during the 19th century, received the spotlight for men’s fashion statements under the headship of dandies of Regency including Beau Brummell. Not so long after, around the mid of1960s, London was, once more, for a moment the heart of fashion statements and influence.

London nowadays also lies in the heart of the fashion industry. The same city that has revolutionized many aspects and statements in the fashion industry years ago is the same city that continues a legacy for styles and prevailing modes of life. The key now lies to the competent trainings designers undergo in various fashion institutions and even in the marketplace.

In fact, whatever you want to earn: a specialist course, a fashion school certificate, or a university degree, you will definitely find a school in London that can give you the edge and the guts to get along well with other topnotch designers. Moreover, though there are a thousand of schools all around the world, it is a fact that the UK retail garment market provides training opportunities for high-end fashion, mass market, and even Asian imports. In fact, the market shares a projected $ 50-billion sale, 75% of which account for women’s and children’s clothing.

If you want to immediately run for a job-entry, a summer program or a year at a London fashion school can provide you with fashion skills that are already in the entry-level. If you are still on a shaky ground, consider enrolling in some international schools with campuses in London.

The following lists of schools have links that will provide other information about some schools in UK:

1.    The Royal College of Arts is a school of textiles and fashion (http://www.rca.ac.uk/ UK).

2.    London College of Fashion is an international institution for technology, design, sales and administration in the textile, accessories, footwear, and fashion industries (http://www.fashion.arts.ac.uk/).

3.    Manchester Metropolitan University offers degree courses including fashion, textiles and textiles for fashion, embroidery, and even fashion design with technology (http://www.artdes.mmu.ac.uk/).

4.   University of Westminster, located in Harrow, UK, offers a degree in BA
Fashion Design (http://www.westminsterfashion.com/)

5.   London-Milan 2006: The Dual City Summer Sessions offer both novice and advanced courses. Campus in Milan is called Domus Academy in Milan and campus in London is the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and (http://www.london-milan-courses.com/).

No matter what type of school lands as your choice, you can rest assured that you have three-fold benefits: style is globally-renowned, schools have international connections, and the language used is universal, that is English. Thus you can take carry your portfolio with pride.

You can say that a London fashion degree is a passport recognized by the world and its diverse fashions.  History, indeed, repeats itself.

Moda de Italia: All about Italian Fashion and Design Schools

If England has Rumpelstiltskin who spins gold fabrics, Italy has Count Giorgini who spun the fabrics of the fairytale story of Italian Fashion. The remarkable date was on February 25, 1951 when a fashion show was staged by the Italian legend in front of a global audience in the beautiful city of Florence.

What has the Count done for fashion in Italy?

Count Giorgini revived the fairy tale ambiance of the elitists by setting up his own palace as a place for fashion shows, thus providing courtly scenery for the production of fashion anthologies. In other words, members of the high society themselves, who wore the dresses that were considered fashionable during those times, took part in epitomizing the standards of fashion and beauty. From then on, the trend of presenting fashion for the nobles and by the nobles was evident in courtly rooms of their own museums and/or abodes alongside erected sculptures of this kind of fame.

He and his class have made a clear statement that dress can be a medium to assert one’s individuality. Subtly, he communicated that fashion can be a language of desire.  Furthermore, fashion can be a game of emulations, erotic domination, and flirting glances.

There was also a time when even cinema was predisposed by Italian fashion. The nuptials of Tyrone Power and Linda Christian in the year 1949 created a stereotyped yet fantastic image of Italy as the Land of Love, of Art and the Beautiful as the bride chose a dress made from Italy. Dress served as an object of charm that can make beautiful transformations to an individual, just like in well-loved fairy tales.

In the 1960s, about the same time when London took the spotlight in the world of fashion, every majestic way of life in Italy has crumbled. During the industrial boom, social status and social roles were also revolutionized. Novice fashions in produced garments flowed into the marketplace and women around the world started to realize that they could dress stylishly at a low price.

Global recognitions for Moda de Italia garments were gained with the success of Prêt-à-porter” between the 1970s and 1980s.  These were the years when Milan grabbed the attention of the world and transformed itself into a fashion landmark. Until now, topnotch fashion designers continue to create fashion statements from the mini-skirt to denims or blue jeans and other various evolutions continue to enchant the world.

Now, consider the following institutions that have been established to serve as citadels that provide artists who can revolutionize the world:

1.     Moda Altieri, Accademia Altieri is located at 00187 Roma, 50 San Nicola da Tolentino (info@accademialtieri.it; http://www.accademialatieri.it).

2.    Academia d’ Belle Arte di Viterbo is located at 01100 Viterbo, 17 Col
Moschin (abavt@tin.it).

3.    Accademia Europea d’ Moda e Costume d’ Franco Reale is located at
00186 Roma, 35 Lucina at Piazza San Lorenzo.

4.    Accademia Internazionale d’ Alta Moda ed’ Arte del Costume Koefia is
situated at 00192 Roma, 203 Cola di Rienzo.

5.    Istituto Carlo Secoli can be found at 20154 Milano , 5 G. Prina
(info@secoli.com).

6.     Istituto Europea d’ Design lies at 20123 Milano, 1 Giardino.

7.    Istituto Italiano di Fotografia (Italian Institute of Photography) is situated at
20144 Milan, 13 Forcella.

8.    Istituto Superiore di Alta Cataldo lies at 00184 Roma, 204 Nazionale.

9.    Polimoda campuses at 501443 Florence, 77 Pisana in Villa Strozzi (info@polimoda.com; http://www.polimoda.com).

10. Scuola Progettisti di Moda, Universita degli Studi di Urbino can be found
at 61029 Urbino (PS), 54 Bramante (scuola.moda@uniurb.it).

It suffices to say that the fashion of Italy has evolved from a sense that dress confirms how one is situated in a social status into an instrument that can create the appearance of a beautiful city and presently a place of creativity and competency.

Getting High with the Lures of School and the Fashion Industry

Through the years, more and more people have shown a great deal of interest in venturing into the fashion industry. Its popularity may be attributed in part to success stories of famous fashion designers the world over, like Tommy Hilfiger’s.

It was told that Hilfiger drove to New York, bought trendy clothes, and sold them to his townspeople for a huge amount of profit. This story is very inspiring, knowing that Hilfiger is now one of the most expensive and sought after brands out there. However, not everyone who is interested in the fashion world was born with a sharp business knowledge and outstanding fashion sense like Hilfiger’s.

Here is where education makes the difference.

With this rising interest of people in the fashion industry comes a rise in the competition, but then, so as with opportunities. It is getting easier to enter a fashion school and obtain a degree – may it be in fashion design, fashion merchandising, or fashion marketing.

These industries may focus on various aspects of the fashion industry, but they do overlap in numerous ways, including the need for knowledgeable instructors in the chosen industry. The competition may be stiff, but if you will be educated and trained in the proper way, you are sure to get an edge in the competitive fashion world.

First of all, you must determine which field you want to specialize in. As enumerated, the three – fashion design, fashion marketing, and fashion merchandising – are the top choices as far as the best opportunities in a fashion career is concerned.

Here are some of the basic information about each:

Fashion Design. If you are a fashion designer, you are considered as the artist of the fashion industry. You are expected to be a highly creative individual who has the eye for an array of colors, lines and textures and has a good sense of style.

As easy as it may seem, a fashion designer’s job does not start and end in bringing visions into paper and doing sketches of masterpieces. Based on the final sketch, a designer must still sort through different textures and materials, and then predict how it will fit a fashion model or consumer’s body. Once the material has been chosen, the pattern must be cut from the textile, and finally, sewn together. After numerous considerations, it is only then that the “vision” or final product will be seen.

Fashion Marketing. This is an aspect of fashion that basically operates behind-the-scenes. If you will become a fashion marketer, you will have to keep yourself side by side with the ever changing consumer purchasing habits and fashion trends; come up with advertising campaigns that will attract the attention and appeal to the tastes of specific types of consumers; and mind the various innovations that are introduced to the field every so often.

The visionary that is in every fashion marketer should foresee what would be successful and interesting to specific groups, as well as making sure that the apparel would be bought. Fashion marketers should be able to link fashion designers and the consumers.

Fashion Merchandising. Fashion merchandisers and marketers go hand-in-hand. Just like marketers, merchandisers must be able to foresee what is going to be the next new trend and style and determine the specific needs of a target consumer group. However, if the marketer is responsible for the advertising stints, a merchandiser actually buys the apparel and presents them to the various boutiques.

If you are going to be a merchandiser, you will aid the consumers in the selection of the right clothes – may it be through proper lighting, presentation, or simply giving valuable suggestions.

There you have it! Do you want to get high with a new career? Find yourself a school and choose the course that is best for you! Submit yourself to the lures of school and the fashion industry.

Advantages of Attending Fashion Schools

Fashion is where money is. The public has grown so obsessed with Hollywood that encourages the fashion industry to evolve on its lucrative growth. Instant popularity is at hand if you have the right combination of everything (say right choice of endorser, right choice of fashion ideas, innovative and creative sense of fashion and the likes).

Nonetheless, the fashion industry is a hard business to penetrate. You must be equipped with the knowledge and influences that would provide you the maximum exposure you need to deliver your creations into the industry. But still, most of everything is commanded by your brilliance in designing that would give you center stage.

Your talent might be there. It is an innate property that can’t be stolen from you. It is in your own discretion though to let that talent turn into passion. But talent and skills are not enough. You have to undergo formal instructions to be able to hone those special features and direct them specifically towards becoming the best of your self.

This is the basic principle why fashion schools exist and continue to serve budding artists. They provide guidance and supplemental training to drive the artist to achieve with his creations. While online fashion schools have been gathering fame in the fashion industry, this still does not negate the fact that hands-on training and face-to-face instructions can’t be equaled even by the best online degree offers.

Since you are considering entering a fashion school, it is expected of you to be knowledgeable enough on the fundamentals of fashion designing and basic awareness on designing. However, this is not an implication that the student must produce ramp-quality creations initially. Instead, you are expected to bring out the brilliance in simple designs and create concepts that you may have patterned on the works of some great fashion designers or better yet, designs of your own concepts.

Remember that fashion designers only make name in the industry when they have produced something genuinely creative that can cater the present fashion sense while having the originality and good sense of distinction from other fashion trends.

You may not be possessing this nature for the moment. But the thing is, an efficient fashion school could best bring out the brilliance in you and in your creations. Initially, you may be producing rubbish concepts but this would be set off with good learning you have acquired from a formal school.

Some people may contend that even without proper education, an artist can create fashion trends that will be embraced by the public. Yes, that might be true. But remember that there are too few individuals who have made it into the fashion scene with the littlest formal study. Besides, even the trends in fashion change. What may have been true before cant be exactly true now. A formal schooling would update you of the most recent trends and the analysis of past styles that have recreated the industry.

A fashion school, like tertiary education will help you seek out your niche. You might have creative ideas lurking in your mind but these free-flowing ideas would be turned into nothing if not properly directed.

Moreover, the experiences of instructors in the fashion schools would be passed down on you. Thus, you are less likely to fall into the same pitfalls they have arisen from themselves.

Toronto: Within Canada’s Largest City Comes Great Fashion Design Schools

Toronto is often mistaken as Canada’s capital maybe because this capital city of Ontario has the largest population in the entire country. The city prides of a theater scene that can compete against those of New York and London.

Moreover, the city houses the Royal     Ontario Museum, which is the largest in the country and its skyline also boasts of CN Tower, the world’s tallest structure. If housing the tallest and large structures is not enough, how about the city serving as hosts to topnotch American filmmakers? Toronto serves as venues of the Neilson Park Creative Center and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art.

As an additional benefit, you will realize that the city is bustling with action as most popular attractions are within walking distance. In other words, a short stride will bring you to the waterfront, thousands of hotels, sports venues, along with restaurants that serve fine cuisines, to name a few. Thus, it suffices to say that the city is one heck of a cultural center.

These things show that the city, indeed, support and celebrate the arts, which in turn provide inspiration for the creative minds.

And while referring to arts, it is inevitable that the fashion industry takes a spotlight. Arts and fashion are closely related because of the one concept and that is design. If you are creative, love the arts, and appreciate the dynamism of culture, Toronto’s fashion schools can provide you with the training for the exciting career in designing and the arts.

Why Toronto is a great place for fashion design students?

The Neilson Park Center serves as a haven to the Rugcarfters of Etobicoke, the Etobicoke Handweavers and Spinning Guild for anyone interested in textiles, especially fashion design students.

Aside from this cultural venue, there is an array of opportunities for fashion designers who do not become famous. With artistic talent and creativity, fashion designers can work in a fashion illustration or textile design, work for a garment manufacturer, or get into advertising or even retail purchasing. For business-minded individuals, they can blend their skills in fashion design with courses in business to prepare for a career in management, say fashion wholesale or retail.

The competition among retailers make the city an affordable place to shop, and this fact can be considered as a bonus for starting fashion designers.  Also, designers can work their creative minds on designing labels and bottles for rums aside from apparels.  This works in Toronto, too.

Now, if you have been dreaming or are already convinced of going to a fashion school in Toronto, you can make it into a reality. Check out a couple of fashion schools in Toronto that provide courses in marketing, fashion design, and merchandising:

1.    International Academy of Design and Technology
The school has campuses in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Orlando. They provide program areas and a variety of degree levels designed to fit your unique career track. In detail, they offer:
•    Diploma in Fashion Design
•    Diploma in Merchandising and Fashion Marketing

2.    Art Institute of Toronto

The school focuses on the business and creative aspects of the fashion design industry. The institute also promises that career support shall be available after finishing programs in:
•    Fashion Design
•    Fashion Merchandising/Marketing

The city is large so you can survey more schools. Your guts and your dreams are all that you need to do to hone your creative self in this thriving city.