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Farewell, Ready-To-Wear. Adieu, Couture

A post from DoubleX writer Erica Kawalek:

It’s a gloomy, retrospective day for fashion.

The Wall Street Journal reports that a meeting was to have taken place today between French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and a group of government advisers, luxury titans, and master craftsmen. The purpose? To discuss subsidies that might save feathermakers, milliners, embroiderers, and dressmakers from extinction. (To witness some of these artisans at work, check out the documentary Signé Chanel.) The French luxury sector has been hard-hit by the recession, the article explains: This year, business has dipped 30 percent. The fear is that the recession could kill off the remaining 115 businesses that cater exclusively to the high-end fashion and haute couture industries.

But it’s not just luxury fashion workers who are at risk ... (Read the rest of this article in DoubleX).

Why is Haute Couture "Toning Down"?

A post from Double X writer Erika Kawalek:

The Paris haute couture shows have come to a close. The reviews are in and there’s discussion going on about how luxury is being “toned down” for these “hard times,” how "fancy" is being "snubbed."

In the case of the officially bankrupt house of Christian Lacroix this makes sense. He was forced to make do with bolts and scraps of fabric he already had lying around his studio. He drastically cut back on ... (Read more in Double X.)