Fashion Now 2 [antikvár]

FOREWORD "The 21st centuiy didn't start in 2000, it starts now, at a time of uncertainty," says Raf Simons, a designer who continually reflects the Zeitgeist in his work. Each year, more designers are added to the international fashion calendars. Today, Paris, Milan, New York and London are still the fashion show capitals of the world, but many other cities are also creating successful showcase events which give chances to future talents. In 2005, the Hyeres competition in the south of France celebrated its 20th anniversary and the International Talent Support in Trieste, Italy staged its fourth contest. More fashion colleges are producing more students who enter an industry which continues to grow every year. There is also no doubting the importance of emerging economies, where consumers are buying fashion as a way to express newfound success. Global distribution and branding have grown; manufacturing is changing rapidly, with more companies sourcing their suppliers where labour is cheaper. Value for money and credibility are major considerations for any designer today and the fashion-buying customer is better informed than at any other time in history. So, as consumers of fashion we have an important role to play. Limited edition or purchased from a 'secret' sale, hand-crafted by artisans or produced in multiple - the items we choose to buy and wear are a reflection of our personal ethics and choices. Today we are given so much information about fashion, yet we rarely ask where it's made. It is not enough to know the source of the idea. We should know which animal we are wearing, whether it suffered for our sake and how it was farmed. Several companies are paving the way for an organic movement inside the fashion industry. In the future, the craft of fashion could be endangered by a market economy focused on price alone. Perhaps counterfeit designer goods fuel the desire to own the real thing, but we need to address how the fakes, too, are manufactured: How old is the person who made that handbag? Dic^ they get a proper meal this week? We have the power to change this in our wallets. How we buy fashion could force change in the future of consumption and manufacture. This is one of the greatest challenges facing fashion: when fur-wearing editors are targeted by animal rights protesters, this is only the most tabloid-friendly side of the issue. If it didn't change with the times, it wouldn't be fashion. Susie Rushton's introduction, which considers the power struggle between individual designers and brands, and the inclusion of more brands in this book, reflect recent shifts in the industry, as does Glenn Waldron's essay that looks at the exponential growth of designer menswear. There are more fashion boutiques, department stores and retail outlets than ever, more people entering fashion institutions that fuel the industry around the world and more TV-time and news