Fashion GPS Talks Shop

2012 July 24

Simon Collins, Jenne Lombardo, Dirk Standen, Rachna Shah, Peter Levy
Billy Farrell Agency View Gallery

Last night at Bumble and Bumble, in the MePa, Fashion GPS hosted a panel on Technology & Fashion Week for a group moderated by Parsons' Simon Collins that included Made's Jenne Lombardo, Style.com's Dirk Standen, KCD's Rachna Shah, and IMG's Peter Levy. The panelists sat down to discuss the future of fashion (among other things) and essentially reminded an audience that included Bryan Boy, Amy McFarland, Peter Knell, Cator Sparks, Marlon Gobel, and Fern Mallis that the times are are-a-changin'. The best quotes:

"One of the problems with fashion films is that it takes the power out of the hands of the consumer. People like slide shows and they like looking at photos because they can control the speed and what they want to zero in on. Once you do a fashion film, people are sitting back and are dictacting to them." -Dirk Standen

"We always say that if you're going to do a show and a designer is standing backstage and no one in the audience knows that person, they should not be doing the show. It's about the relationship building." -Rachna Shah

"There has probably never been more of an opportunity as a designer to get an audience. You used to have to bang all over doors on 7th Avenue to get in, but now there are other ways of doing it. If you are really passionate about design, there should be really nothing to hold you back. We're always looking for new designers. We are guilty of that, too—always looking for the new sensation." -Standen

"One thing I do wonder about designers now is: are they designing just for the effect of the image versus how women actually dress and go about their everyday lives? A lot of people are designing for that impact and making dresses that are going to be worn by people in street style blogs and parties and not neccesarily thinking about the vast majority of the public." -Simon Collins

"If Marc Jacobs decided to show on the moon, the press would figure out how to get the next rocket ship to get there. What the tents offer is a certain efficiency that can take a thousand dollars and make it look like ten thousand, but if you have a million, you should do what you want."-Peter Levy

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