QUOTIDIANOMIME

Also available in: Italian

The fashion world, as you know, goes crazy for social networks, particularly Instagram that, within such a short time, has won the hearts (and especially smartphones) of fashion insiders and fashion addicts.

Reflecting on this phenomenon, I wondered what could be the “fashion” hashtag typed most during this season or what could be the key word in vogue in the mouths of fashion lovers in the months to come.

The word in question is #identity, meaning personality as well as roots and cultural foundations on which to develop a project and a fashion concept. This concept of ”identity” has been acclaimed and sought by journalists, buyers, bloggers, and fashion addicts but never as in this period. The public and professionals are seeking a full stop, a solidity and an ideological coherence in all areas on which develops fashion. And the reason for this lies in the overabundance of professions and roles in the fashion industry, which is now overloaded and is making everything more confusing and difficult.

Bloggers, journalists, buyers, stylists, PRs, etc. etc. etc. growing daily in numbers and this makes the fashion world a far more intricate industry than others, especially if the purpose of all these professions (like any other job) is the personal and economic success of their company. But how can one accomplish this coveted goal?

The magic formula is simple, just show up and make it clear to the general public (and other outlets) your identity, your coherence of ideas and thoughts, or make clear your message and your idea to the contribution you want to give in the fashion industry. It does not seem difficult, but in reality it is because it assumes that, in addition to the good idea, there is clarity in the explanation and rigor, tenacity, and perseverance in following your own path.

And the hard work of those few who have shown their identities are seen, from the category of less “glamorous” in fashion: the blogger. An example of a fashion blogger who led for over 5 years without contradicting her beliefs and at the cost of making a fool of herself is Chiara Ferragni, the founder of The Blonde Salad that, in such a short time, built (with lots of help ) an empire worth 8 million euro per year according to reports by Forbes.

Another case of success, but not in the blogging world, rather among the buyers is Finaest.com, the young Italian online store which was born two years ago by Andrea Viganò with the intention of making room for talent made in italy. Now, after such a short time, Finaest.com counts a large number of brands (over 20), both of fashionable men and women, all made in Italy and all young designers, and business is booming!

The thing that unites The Blonde Salad and Finaest.com is the fact that they have shown and  communicated, consistently, their identity and their own fashion concepts.

In addition to these Italian success stories, there are others, especially among British designers. Names such as Mary Katrantzou and Victoria Beckham.

The first, from the beginning, had been considered the queen of prints since she could create dream clothes thanks to the phantasmagoric digital prints. She helped start the stylistic evolution: the prints are there but they are the most sought after, almost hidden and designed with the most innovative techniques and fabrics ever.

The second one, from 2009 to now, has charmed the public and experts for her creations of clean lines and linear details, for the wonderful cuts of individual suits and for the refinement of her stylistic identity.

These are all success stories, but what happens if there isn’t an identity, or if this was communicated badly? There are two options that can occur in these situations: economic damage for the brand, or outright failure of the brand. In the latter case, it is frequently you talents who, with their initial stylistic consistency, failed to renew themselves while remaining the same.

Interesting about the first point, however, is the article by Bridget Foley that came out yesterday on WWD and on the lack of identity and recognition of the style of fashion by Gucci.

Just this ideological gap has recently allowed the general public to find out what style focuses Garment created by Italian fashion label Gucci and this resulted in a situation in which there is now uncertainty: either the hope of rebirth focused on new designer Alessandro Michele who will help the brand take off and make him recognizable for being able to embody a spirit, or it will hurt the brand even more economically and with its image.

The future of Gucci is all in the hands of Michele, but the future of fashion is in the hands of identity and ideas that each of us want to bring to this market now saturated with conceptual anonymity.

And it is on this concept that has added a dash of modernity and contemporary spirit, and that has inspired most of the spring/summer 2015 collections, both male and female. Berluti Menswear Fashion is inspired by Sports-Couture, Fendi women’s pays homage to Rome (headquarters of the label) and Diane Von Fürstenberg plays with her iconic wrap dress.

Quotations of designers to its design DNA are many, as now, to have an identity to communicate it has become vital to the survival of both the brand of fashion itself as a cultural and social phenomenon.