Measure Magazine, Vol. III
marist fashion Vol . . 3
2016 / 17
contents
Intuition
8 .
1 .
Material Order
7 .
wealth
Selflessness [Ring of Solomon]
11 .
temperament [girdle of venus]
9 .
3 .
heart
4 .
will
5 .
12 .
focus [line of the head]
success
2 .
PASSION
14 .
fate
13 .
VITALITY [LINE OF LIFE]
6 .
bracelets of life
1. Heels in Flats . . . . . 4 2. Imperfection . . . . . 12 3. Eleanor in Five Parts . . . 16 4. Small Places . . . . . 40 5. Teri Agins . . . . . . 46 6. Backstory . . . . . . 48 7. Prime Amazon . . . . . 52
8. At Play . . . . . . . 56 9. i , fox . . . . . . . 72 10. Arrivals and Departures . . 74 11. Fashion Fast . . . . . 95 12. 60 Hours . . . . . . 100 13. Cobblery . . . . . . 102 14. hudson valley . . . . .106
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Heels in Flats: 9 Rue Bleue Paris, France High relief moulding in the neo-classical French style encircles the eleven foot ceiling of apartment 5b. One of four apartments kept by Marist in the 9th Arrondissement.
Original herringbone parquet in the living room of 3b. Generous windows fill the space with light and give access to a wide wrought-iron balcony.
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In the entryway to 6b, a vintage enamel bowl collects the international currency of well-traveled students.
Lofty doorways, nearly nine feet tall, open into the even grander rooms of 5b.
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Vintage porcelain café cups and fresh kitchen linens provide functional charm to residents of 6b.
Elements of east and west populate this cozy living room. Warm textiles soften modern accents in 3b.
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Christian Dior pump with horn heel in bone leather from Spring 2006.
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team
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eleanor in five parts
PHOTOGRAPHER: Rachel Brennecke DESIGNER: Victoria Howatt LOCATION: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Living Room at Val-Kill Cottage, Hyde Park, New York HISTORIC IMAGE: Courtesy of the FDR Library and Museum
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Jake Jones DESIGNER: Asia Smykowski
LOCATION: The Roosevelt Stables, Hyde Park, New York HISTORIC IMAGE: Courtesy of the FDR Library and Museum
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Jake Jones DESIGNER: Jourdan Sloane LOCATION: Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hyde Park, New York
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Jake Jones DESIGNER: Jourdan Sloane LOCATION: South Lawn, Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt PHOTOGRAPHER: Jake Jones DESIG ER: Jourd n Sloane LOCATION: South Lawn, Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hyde Park, New York HISTORIC IMAGE: Courtesy of the FDR Library and Museum
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Rachel Brennecke DESIGNER: Jemma Perri LOCATION: Eleanor’s Bedroom and Guestroom at Val-Kill Cottage, Hyde Park, New York HISTORIC IMAGE: Courtesy of the FDR Library and Museum
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Rachel Brennecke DESIGNER: Mackenzie Kramer LOCATION: Val-Kill, Stone Cottage Living Room, Hyde Park, New York HISTORIC IMAGE: Courtesy of the FDR Library and Museum
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to bear the distant idleness of a debutante’s life, her conviction for improving the situations of those less fortunate sought fulfillment among New York’s burgeoning political left organizations. Ultimately, she would find herself perfectly situated to affect radical change in the lives of American workers as the wife of Franklin D.Roosevelt, President of the United States, and perhaps even more so as his widow. Eleanor Roosevelt was a dutiful wife and mother, but her early restlessness endured within. Franklin’s career as a member of the New York State Senate, unleashed her political usefulness as the family moved from Hyde Park to the state seat in Albany. There, Eleanor’s leave from social service expired with her husband’s active reform campaign against Tammany Hall, a powerful political machine long associated with corruption. Eleanor lost her naivety about government at this point, and Franklin would note her “political sagacity and cooperation.” Their teamwork flourished as she fulfilled any tasks familial or political to facilitate Franklin’s course. In return, these responsibilities sharpened a managerial and political savviness, thinly veiled beneath an active social presence. Eleanor’s first term as First Lady of the United States began in 1932, but in spite of regularly topping the “best dressed” list she could not play the fashionable figurehead. In fact, a needlewoman herself, one of Eleanor’s first acts was to refuse the inaugural gown crafted for her as long as the female garment workers who had stitched it were prohibited from unionizing. She wore the dress. Her influence in other areas was also enhanced by the newWhite House role. She regularly sought the placement of women within the Roosevelt administration, such as Frances Perkins, FDR’s Labor Secretary and a first-hand witness to the Triangle Shirtwaist disaster. She travelled across the country to see every inch of destruction wrought by the Great Depression collecting detailed observations of her trip. These notes, written frankly and with wisdom, helped to form FDR’s New Deal policies. Following her husband’s death in 1945, Eleanor’s next moves were unclear; clouded by the constant speculation of reporters, friends, and family. To them, she stated, “The story is over.” But no one, likely not even she, believed it. President Truman appointed Eleanor to the American Delegation of the United Nations in 1945, during WWII’s global aftermath. Finally, more than 30 years since the shock of the Triangle Fire, a list of fundamental human rights would be drafted and Eleanor would oversee it. Article by article, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights evolved under Eleanor’s political discipline and personal, lifelong study of the human condition. Though a collaboration with other members of the UN Commission, the bill was a true summation of Eleanor’s deeply held beliefs regarding the infinite potential and inherent dignity of humankind. The Cold War and the tumult of the Civil Rights Movement brought Eleanor’s focus back to the home front. She did not shy from criticizing those in power and she never diluted her opinions. Her relationship with President John F. Kennedy was as rocky as the times they lived in. The Democratic nominee and young favorite failed to capture Eleanor’s support due to his lack of conviction against racial and social injustices. Their public conversation through his office, her “My Day” column, his press releases, and her speeches, only reached resolution and her ultimate support in the final days before his nomination. Even after his election, she pressured him to diversify his administration, sending a three-page list of qualified women for
him to “consider.” He did even better by creating a Commission on the Status of Women to examine policies related to women workers and appointed Eleanor as chair of the committee. At 8:55 AM, on April 24th, 2013, the factory located at Rana Plaza in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was full of people, and their humming machines. By 8:57 AM, after the collapse of its unstable foundation, it was full of bodies. One thousand one hundred-thirty workers would perish. Eighty percent of them were female, most of them young. This tragedy shines a light back onto our interpretations of progress. One view is that we must move forward for the sake of forward motion, no matter the cost; that if it isn’t a factor of GDP, it isn’t worth measuring. A less brutal version, Eleanor’s version, is that progress happens all around us in small places and with small actions. A better world, a better garment industry, is only possible through the sustained well-being of all persons, no matter the cost. “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerned citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.” —ER
small places fashion, eleanor and human rights By Shelby Wilson
With exit doors locked, waves of red flame crashed across the floors, catching the ceiling, shooting through the windows and consuming those inside. The angels refusing to burn flew for only moments before they met the cold Manhattan sidewalk, between the broken nets of an unprepared fire brigade. One hundred forty-five workers—teenage, foreign, and female—never came home from their factory shifts that Saturday. The year was 1911. Progress takes many forms, and often many lives, as it pulses forward. The western world found itself engaged in this forward haul at the end of the nineteenth century, and saw casualties by the thousands as the fever to industrialize possessed various nations. Young women, in particular, saw promise arise from the smokestacks of factory towns
and expanding cities. Independence gained through earned income offered prospects unknown to them only a decade earlier. Textile and garment manufacturing laid the foundation for the early American economy, enabling some to amass great wealth. Regulation of the industry came only after serious breeches of the social contract. In the meantime, those toiling amid the hum of the machines were silent and largely invisible. It took the deaths of the one hundred forty-five girls during the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire for the public to realize the human cost of mass production. One deeply affected citizen was a wealthy, well-traveled, and sharply intelligent woman who, from a young age, brought mild embarrassment to her family by disavowing her birthright. Unable
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teri agins on finding whitespace By Danielle Muscarella
In the late 19th century, Charles Frederick Worth began stitching a label bearing his name into the dresses of his design—an audacious move for a couturier to place his own ”brand” on equal ground with his famous and well- heeled clients. A little more than a hundred years later, the situation is reversed—now it is the clients who dare to design. Journalist Teri Agins has been studying this phenomenon over decades of work as a fashion reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Agins recently gave a candid speech about her latest chronicle, Hijacking the Runway, at the Raymond A. Rich Institute for Leadership before a crowd of 200. Agins insists on providing her readers with the unvarnished truth - from who hosted the most “swinging afterparties” (Sean Combs) to which celebrities have hoodwinked their way into a seat at the fashion table. When asked if writing this book tarnished her relationship with certain celebrities, Agins explains that she has always been “respected, not beloved.” Just one of the sacrifices made by people who choose to follow the story, wherever it may lead. The book provides an exhaustive chronology of the encroachment of celebrity on the fashion industry since Charles Frederick Worth’s time. Agins identifies the watershed moment as the early 1990s, when celebrities began to fill the front row seats at Fashion Week, sometimes turning documentary photographers into little more than paparazzi. Also during this time, Anna Wintour made the editorial decision to make actresses, athletes and reality stars the face of Vogue magazine. Fame, not fashion, became the rule. Well-known entertainers like Jessica Simpson and Kanye West have both started to design their own lines, using the aid of their already established personal brands and the help of more experienced designers. According to Agins, Jessica Simpson’s shoe line (designed with the assistance of Vince Camuto) brings in $1 billion a year at retail. These numbers nearly double those of household name and Parsons Design graduate Donna Karan, who brought in a mere $662 million before selling her brand to fashion conglomerate, LVMH. Kanye West has also achieved some success in the fashion industry with no formal design training. For his collaboration with Adidas, West produced 9,000 pairs of his Yeezy brand sneakers priced at $350 a pair. Within minutes of the 2015 release, the shoes sold out, generating over $3 million in revenue. As a result of this celebrity-branded boost, Adidas global revenue rose 17% in the latest quarter. It seems that with enough fame, a fashion line is sure to follow. To aspiring fashion designers, this phenomenon may seem unjust: after enduring years of schooling, no sleep and harsh critique in order to develop one’s talent, it could all be overshadowed by someone with a pop hit or a pile of cash from cable television. “Fret not,” says Agins.
She ensures that there will always be room for true innovation because it’s all about identifying the “white space,” (a term used frequently by this journalist) through investigating which markets are still not being catered to by the fashion industry, and who is being left out? Assuming that all the white space has been taken up and that there are no new ideas in fashion is “wrong, wrong, wrong,” says Agins. She suggests, as an example, thinking about one customer who designers consistently neglect--to their detriment: women over 40. These women have a substantially higher flow of discretionary income and social influence, but are forced to browse racks of short skirts and cropped tops designed for girls who can barely afford dinner. Agins challenged new designers to take the bait and create a bridge line of dresses with some very specific details, for the customer saying,“I’m 63 and my arms look great, but…” Most women, as they get older, want a sleeve, a higher neckline and a longer hemline. There are some notable celebrities mentioned in Hijacking the Runway who have made a more dignified transition into the industry by skillfully identifying white space. Victoria Beckham and the Olsen twins had to work harder than most designers to shake off their celebrity images in order to avoid scrutiny. Although these women showed impressive work, many accused them of receiving outside help. Agins powerfully disagrees, stating that the three of them are absolute “workaholics.” When considering Beckham’s career, Agins declared, “…she’s a designer. Period.” She wanted a beautifully tailored sheath dress that was impossible to find, so she made one herself. Turns out that many, many other women wanted one too, even at $2700 a piece. Similarly to Beckham, the Olsen twins want to keep their former acting career far away from their clothing label. Neither Mary Kate’s nor Ashley’s name appears on apparel sold for their two lines, “The Row” and “Elizabeth and James.” Instead of exploiting their name, the Olsens managed to find legitimate white space in the industry—creating luxury basics using high cost, high quality materials, and selling out. The Olsens managed to prove critics wrong when they won a CFDA award in 2012. Beckham also garnered praise for her 2011 collection, taking home a British Fashion Award. After years of hard work and dedication, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen gave themselves a new public image that had nothing to do with solving mysteries or hosting parties. As for Victoria Beckham, Posh who? So, if celebrities have indeed “hijacked the runway”, at least Agins has given us a behind-the-velvet-rope tour of who is real, who is fake, who possesses a true talent, who is simply bored and who has the work ethic to be around for the long term.
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The Backstory 30 years of Marist Fashion
1993 Mod’Spe Paris fashion business school is founded. The school offers both Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs that prepare students to become highly qualified fashion marketers. Calvin Klein’s latest muse, Kate Moss, rises to fame as a part of the controversial “heroin chic” fashion trend. This trend is a reaction against the “healthy” look of supermodels like Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer, popularizing pale skin, dark circles underneath the eyes and angular bone structure. 1995 Hit movie Clueless is released. Protagonist, Cher Horowitz, portrayed by Alicia Silverstone, instantly become a style icon, teaching the world the importance of designer greats like Azzedine Alaia. The average movie ticket costs $4.35. 1996 Alexander McQueen wins the British Designer of the Year Award, despite the negativity surrounding his controversial fall 1995 “Highland Rape” collection. His reputation is solidified as a leading fashion visionary. 1998 The first iMac is released. It is noted for its colorful exterior panels and 15 inch monitor. It targets the lowend consumer with a $1,299 price point. 1999 69 fashion design and merchandising students are enrolled in the Marist Fashion Program. Former director of the program, Elizabeth Sordes, retires. 2000 NYC apartment rent is approximately $3,700.00/month. The average pair of Converse All-Stars costs approximately $26.31. 2001 The fashion facilities in Donnelly Hall are renovated after many years of having only two rooms available for both student and faculty use. The new renovation adds two design studios, two classrooms, and a computer lab, in addition to multiple offices for the fashion department faculty. 2002 The Marist College Fashion Program presents its very first student run boutique, Fashionology. 2004 Online shopping begins to gain momentum, earnering over $72 billion in sales. 2006 Radley Cramer is appointed director of the Marist College Fashion Program. The Devil Wears Prada is released in theaters. The average movie ticket costs $6.55.
2010 The average pair of Converse All-Stars costs approximately $45.98. Ecommerce generates over $197 billion in sales. 2013 The Marist Fashion Department sends its first three students to study abroad at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The students take design and merchandising courses as well as study Mandarin and Chinese culture. 2014 Marist acknowledges designer Betsey Johnson’s remarkable career with a Silver Needle Icon Award during NYFW on February 12th. Anna Wintour stirs controversy by placing reality star Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West on the cover of American Vogue. Marist Fashion changes its Fashion Design degree program from a Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) to a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). The Fashion Merchandising degree program changes from Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) to a Bachelor of Science (BS) with an accompanying choice of concentration in Business, Product Development, or Fashion Promotion. Web sales blow past the $300 billion threshold, closing the year at nearly $305 billion in revenue. 2015 The Marist College Fashion Program’s student run boutique Fashionology, changes its name to MPORIUM. The same year, River & Stone, a private label developed by Marist Fashion students, is created. Marist Fashion Program returns to New York Fashion Week, hosting a reprise show of Korean designer, Son Jung Wan’s spring 2016 collection. 2016 Apple’s least expensive iMac to date currently retails for $1,099. It features a 21.5 inch screen and Retina display. Reality star turned model Kendall Jenner, and pop singer Justin Bieber are cast as the 2016 Calvin Klein campaign stars. Approximately 483 fashion design and merchandising students are enrolled in the Marist College Fashion Program. The third issue of the Marist Fashion Magazine is released both domestically and internationally. Marist hosts the 30th annual Silver Needle Runway and Awards at the Mid Hudson Civic Center. After serving 36 years as president, Dennis Murray retires.
1984 The first Macintosh computer is released. It is introduced during a Super Bowl ad, boasting a mouse, fast speeds, and a 9-inch monitor. Retail price is $2,495. 1985 Donna Karan produces the “body suit” which is deemed both innovative and functional for females to wear either day or night, as well as layer with other pieces. 1986 The Marist College Fashion Program hosts the first Silver Needle Runway Show on campus in an academic building, with 100 people in attendance. 1987 Dirty Dancing debuts in theaters, inspiring an era of crop tops, midi dresses, and classic denim. The average movie ticket costs $3.91. 1988 Anna Wintour becomes editor-in-chief of American Vogue. Her first cover model wears a bejeweled Christian LaCroix jacket paired with a pair blue jeans. This is the first time high and lowend fashions are mixed on a major fashion cover. 1989 The Marist College Fashion Program invites designer Michael Kors to the studios to work with fashion design students and critique their portfolios. 1990 NYC apartment rent is approximately $3,200.00/month. The real estate market begins to settle from the dramatic price hikes of the previous era, however there is still a staggering increase. The average pair of Converse All-Stars costs approximately $27.56. The Marist College Fashion Program invites designer Marc Jacobs to work with fashion design Students and critique their portfolios. 1992 Celebrity Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg is cast as the Calvin Klein campaign star. The Perry Ellis spring 1993 collection debuts highlighting several grunge trends such as flannel shirts, printed “granny” dresses, Dr. Martens, and knit skull caps.
1974 Diane Von Furstenberg designs the “wrap dress”, blending both comfort and style in a flattering silhouette for nearly every body type. 1975 A pair of Converse All-Stars costs approximately $8.18. 1976 Roy Halston Frowick becomes one of the most popular designers of the decade, creating the widely praised minimalistic draped gown, as well as his signature jersey halter dress. 1977 The Bennett College, an all girls preparatory school in Millbrook, New York, files for bankruptcy. One hundred Bennett students then transfer to Marist College in hopes of completing their education. Twenty-eight of those new students declare a major in Fashion Design and Merchandising. The World Trade Center in NYC is completed. Subway fares are 50 cents per ride. NYC apartment rent is approximately $335.00/month. Saturday Night Fever debuts in theaters. The average movie ticket costs $2.13. 1979 Dennis Murray is appointed as the third President of Marist College. Celebrity model and actress Patti Hansen is cast as the face of Calvin Klein Jeans. 1980 Calvin Klein begins to build his empire with denim, underwear and eventually a men’s line. Celebrity model Brooke Shields is cast as the 1980s campaign star. Shields is only 15 years old when the campaign is released, accompanied by the tagline, “Do you want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” CBS deems the commercial inappropriate and bans it from broadcasting. The average pair of Converse All-Stars costs approximately $17.38. 1982 NYC apartment rent is approximately $1,700.00/month. Real estate pricing is rapidly increasing in the NYC Metro area due to many prewar and postwar apartments getting converted to coop apartments. Pat Benatar’s hit single “Shadows of the Night” is released, Benatar had a significant influence on trends such as leopard leotards and black two-piece suits.
—Meghan Fazio and Sabrina Whitford
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prime amazon the race to now By Melissa Anneccini
Why go grocery shopping when @amazon can deliver them right to my door? #primenow
I ordered a wifi router at 4:30 pm and it was here by 6. Incredible. #primenow
Neatly laid out on a white down duvet are three Greek yogurt containers, a pint of blueberries, a package of energy bars, four deviled eggs, a bottle of Perrier, and some almonds. A window into early 21st century eating practices, sure, but also a recent Twitter post that mentioned: #businesstravel, #hotelgroceries, #byebyeroomservice. Another traveler posts about being saved from an Airbnb rental that didn’t have a hairdryer. Still others comment that they are able to order gelato, scotch, Indian food, toilet paper, charcoal briquettes and cold medicine, all from the Internet’s largest bookstore. All delivered in an hour or less. Most of these entries include other qualifiers, like: #thefutureisnow, #disruption, #witchcraft. Witchcraft implies magic, but what the Amazon empire is being built on is pure strategic analysis. In major hubs, Amazon PrimeNow can provide nearly any commercial product to its customers wherever they may be, whether at home, at the office or on a date, in mere moments. This is the sort of on demand, needs-meeting that for most of human history only the most wealthy or powerful could expect. Amazon provides goods, certainly, but the true product is convenience and a kingly self-concept. Most of the products that make up PrimeNow orders are food, technology or household needs, which if it stayed that way, would make Amazon a great delivery service, not a disrupter. In order to implement total take-over, not only do serious product gaps need to be filled, they need to be stocked with Amazon merchandise. Private labeling is taking products or services, typically those manufactured by one company and offering them under another company’s brand. In the grocery industry, Heinz is a top ketchup brand. “Great Value,” Wal-Mart’s private label, also sells ketchup but at a discounted price. Imagine that Heinz won’t sell their ketchup through Amazon, but customers really want and need ketchup. Amazon could make their own ketchup and sell it under their own brand name in order to fill the gap in its stock. The company has already developed a private label brand called Amazon Basics, producing computer mice, USB cables, and other small electronic aids. Amazon ketchup could well be next. One giant gap in Amazon’s product assortment was described by a customer on Twitter as a failure to sort out its priorities—“Why,” asked the customer, “can I buy a turntable any time of the day or night, but not a suit in a wardrobe emergency?” The link between Amazon and fashion has proven to be less natural than with books, food or housewares. The bookselling industry is black and white because readers are loyal to authors or content areas, not publishers or retailers. In contrast, the fashion industry is bound by certain unavoidable factors such as brand loyalty, aesthetic, quality and fit. As challenging as these components will be to overcome, Amazon’s ambition is to take on
department store greats like Nordstrom, Saks and Bloomingdales along with mainstream mall favorites. With the goal of total market dominance, Amazon will leverage the strength of its new brand image and the addictive quality of PrimeNow, to launch Amazon Fashion Private Label. Appointing fashion powerhouse and Piperlime founder, Cathy Beaudoin, as president of Amazon Fashion was its first act of ruthlessness. Piperlime was an early online retailer of coveted items like high-end shoes and handbags. At its peak, 250 footwear and accessory brands like Frye, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Chloe were regularly stocked. Beaudoin pioneered celebrity and designer partnerships such as those with Rachel Zoe and Olivia Palermo. Among Beaudoin’s early observations was that Amazon’s predictive algorithms don’t work for fashion. Fashion consumers are fickle and difficult to pin down. If somebody likes Levi’s 501 jeans, it doesn’t mean that they will be equally taken with the very similar 510— worse yet, it doesn’t indicate that they will like any other denim brand on the market. Amazon must convince this very particular consumer that its fashion brand is just as trustworthy as a company like Levi’s in terms of fit, materials and, most importantly, style. By positioning the Amazon brand at top fashion events, Beaudoin is attempting to achieve this. From sponsoring the Met Gala, which is considered to be the industry’s premier red carpet event to New York Men’s Fashion week, Amazon Fashion is working to shake its “discount” identity. Partnering with Vogue and the CFDA on an “unscripted” reality television series about young designers, and mounting a large scale advertising campaign in New York City, both serve to place Amazon Fashion in the minds of consumers as a viable option for the purchase of wardrobe items. When they do visit the new Amazon Fashion page, they’ll find a vastly different aesthetic and navigational system than is found on the regular site. Beaudoin established a home base in Brooklyn, New York where 19,000 high quality images are being shot every day. The company believes that live models, instead of plastic mannequins used by most stores, allows for the best depiction of fit and silhouette. Discomfort. Irritation. Inconvenience. According to Amazon and its social media fan-base, these are problems of the past. If Amazon Fashion can win the approval of the fashion consumer as it continues to sell brands other than its own, its private label is poised to begin filling all remaining gaps. There has always been tremendous rivalry among fashion brands to be the first and the fastest to capture and deliver current trends before they are out of style. Amazon will be in direct competition with the same brands it carries. Its industry-shaking promise to those other brands is that they will have to start competing with “Now.”
No it isnt magic, but it sure comes close. #primenow
The future is offically here . . . in 2 hours or less. #primenow
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senior merchandisers
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at play
PHOTOGRAPHER: Dennis Golonka DESIGNER: Renee Tomic
LOCATION: The Gardens at Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, Hyde Park, New York
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Jake Jones DESIGNER: Chloe Havercroft LOCATION: Vanderbilt Grounds, Hyde Park, New York
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Dennis Golonka DESIGNER: Rachel Hamel LOCATION: Third Floor Servants’ Wing, Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park, New York
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CW Fasteners & Zippers 142 West 36th Street #5 New York, NY 10018
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arrivals & departures
PHOTOGRAPHER: Dennis Golonka DESIGNER: Taylor Harris LOCATION: Vanderbilt Estate Carriage House, Hyde Park, New York
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Jake Jones DESIGNER: Chloe Li LOCATION: Bellefield Grand Staircase, Hyde Park, New York
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Dennis Golonka DESIGNER: Zoe Johnson LOCATION: Chambermaid’s Bedroom, Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park, New York
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Dennis Golonka DESIGNER: Karla Melendez LOCATION: Empire Guestroom, Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park, New York
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fashion fast GOING ON AN APPAREL DIET The opposite of sustainable is untenable ; or a state of being that can’t be maintained for long. The emotional rush elicited by true love, the physical euphoria that comes from a good workout, or the deep satisfaction felt after a decadent meal are all wonderful, attractive states, but not lasting. For some, bargain-hunting results in the same sort of high. In fact, the lure of low prices and trendy styles that change almost weekly and the desire to snag a good deal can turn into an obsession. Simply put: it’s addicting, and wardrobes grow bloated with new additions, on an almost constant basis. Consumers are bombarded with the message that more is more. Incentives to “earn” items beyond what is needed include: buy one, get one sales, 50% off your next item coupons, gifts with minimum purchase and free shipping offers. The initial thrill of a new purchase or a “free gift” quickly fades and must be revived repeatedly, looping shoppers into an endless, unfulfilling cycle. After a few weeks, new scores can go from being frequently worn to sitting at the bottom of the drawer—or worse yet, part of the 68 pounds of textile waste produced by each American every year. That garment workers worldwide spend long hours, often for little pay, constructing objects that are destined for the dump, is an especially hard truth to learn. In can be frustrating to recognize this and yet not know how to make a change. Modeled after the “Six Items or Less” movement from 2010, UK campaign group Labour Behind the Label launched the Six Items Challenge as a way to show people how to do more with less. The “fast” was originally marketed as a fashion diet for fashionistas who couldn’t stop shopping; Labour Behind the Label (LBL) then adopted the idea in 2012 as a fundraiser for workers’ rights. Through the Challenge, LBL brings awareness to the risks of fast fashion and in turn, raises money to fight for the justice of garment workers. Before the challenge, participants choose six clothing staples from his or her wardrobe (excluding underwear, accessories, athletic wear, outerwear and footwear) and pledge to wear those items—and only those items—for six weeks. Running from February to March, the event provides an opportunity to practice personal sustainability; to explore what is really necessary and what isn’t.
GSI GSI E XIM A MERICA, I NC. EXI
A fearless group of Marist fashion students recently took on the task, raising almost $2000 for Labour Behind the Label:
Rebekkah Colclasure I specifically chose garments that were simple so they could easily be mixed and matched with accessories. I never realized how many looks you could get from one article of clothing—it really goes to show how much we have that we don’t need.
John Scott I dress monochromatically all the time anyway, so this challenge was mainly about shape for me. I like oversized things; mostly black, but I always wear white socks and white shoes. 1. Cropped black slacks 2. Oversized Black T-shirt 3. Black Pique Knit Pullover 4. Big White Dress Shirt 5. Slim Black Pants 6. Black Cashmere Turtleneck
Alexa Abrams I was very excited to choose my six items for the challenge because I find the concept of using fashion as a medium for a cause to be very powerful. 1. Gray Swing Dress 2. Chambray Button Down 3. Red Patterned Dress 4. Cream Knit Sweater 5. Black Leggings 6. Skinny Jeans
1. Black Leggings 2. Maroon Jeans 3. Black Sweater 4. White T-Shirt 5. Black Dress 6. Gray Cardigan
—Kelsi Kobata
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Check out how it works: six basic items become multiple ensembles by turning the flaps.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY Jennifer Belton
V-neck blouse with large ruffled sleeves
Black turtleneck sweater with shoulder detail
Black turtleneck
Relaxed, mid-length slip dress for easy layering
Knee-length full skirt with brushstroke print
Mid-length slip dress
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2016_4-Marist Fashion Magazine-Output_4_7.pdf 1 4/7/16 11:28 AM
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DESIGNER: Kristen Wong PHOTOGRAPHER: Isabelle Hanke
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60 hours: level II at ecole lesage, paris
1. Chain stitches can be tedious; they have to be close and even, but still maintain a small gap to simulate a translucent appearance. 2. Chenille (French for caterpillar) creates a furry pile.
5. Cup sequins are more difficult to embroider than any other type. Their radius has to be properly gauged with the size of the hole in the middle of the tiny accent. 6. Applying individual sequins is difficult because they tend to stick together and it's important to only have one sequin on each stitch.
7. The hardest part of achieving the "fish scale" texture of the flowers is making sure everything looks randomly places, when everything else is uniform and perfect. It goes against everything the beader is taught.
3. When metallic thread is intertwined with a solid, the work is more rigid, and therefore less giving to the beader. 4. Beads must be transferred individually to the working thread with a knot placed at the appropriate length; this doubles the time.
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Interview by Sabrina Whitford
cobblery the practice of problem-solving
up where physical therapy and medical science leave off—when that happens, craftspeople like Nelson, “build the shoe” around the injury rather than forcing the injury into the shoe. This often leads to the establishment of a true bond between client and cobbler. In an ironic twist, not lost on Nelson, he describes one of his most memorable clients as a garment factory manager from Bangladesh— yes, precisely the sort of factory churning out low cost, fast fashion to insatiable western consumers. The man sent Nelson an email describing his mother’s difficulty with a clubfoot and the absence of orthopedic shoe stores in his country. In order to be able to assist, Nelson needed a plaster cast of the mother’s foot so he began emailing video links back and forth on how to create a cast. Then geopolitics got in the way—and, for a period, the Bangladeshi government shut down Youtube in response to the Arab Spring. Still, Nelson and his client found a way. Soon the casts were in the mail and Nelson got to work. Six months later, he received a picture of the man’s mother dancing at a wedding. “Every few weeks, I get a great project like this. In the meantime I dye the wedding shoes and fix the red soles of the Louboutins.” It actually has “nothing to do with shoes,” he says. “It’s about being a shopkeeper—it’s about the people.” Nelson’s compassion is clear even in the language he chooses to describe non-medical services on his website—as if he understands that our shortcomings, our human frailties, our bad decisions can all be expressed by our footwear, or perhaps how we wear our footwear, and he forgives us. Under the heading “All Types of Shoe Repair,” you’ll find these services: EXTREME MAKOVERS Recrafting the shoes you love with new heels and soles TO DYE FOR Leather, suede, and fabric coloring NIP & TUCK Cosmetic repairs for rips and tears HOLDING IT TOGETHER Zippers, buckles, elastic and snaps COUPLES’ THERAPY When you’re committed to wearing the wrong shoe . . .
In a small city on the Hudson River, an hour or so north of New York, vestiges of its former economy, way of life, and vitality remain. The credo, “Here shall the press, the people’s right maintain,” is posted proudly outside the Poughkeepsie Journal building. The stately main post office, a New Deal project, stands intact and has been named among the country’s most beautiful. Main Street is a wide central boulevard that once bustled with shoulder to shoulder foot traffic. Within a humble storefront, on a side street, “Mark Nelson: Custom Cobbler” practices his trade, another business absent from most modern cityscapes. His shop is a gathering spot for the community—a lively hub on an otherwise quiet commercial block. Thick with the smell of leather and bursting with mallets, iron lasts, stretchers and riveters, Nelson describes his shop as “a small place where you have direct contact with people, and do a real thing, that is good.” His job is as much about compassion, forgiveness and empathy as it is stitching, gluing and buffing. Our shoes reveal much more about us than perhaps we realize and Nelson, whose clients travel from as far away as Texas to visit him, takes note of it all. Even in a world dominated by the convenience of e-commerce and the lure of free shipping, there is a desire among people to interact. Nelson asks, “Don’t you think we still want relationships and to connect to other people? Of course we do!” The Internet doesn’t provide that. Well, not usually. Of course his far-flung clientele find him online, and it’s not so difficult to do. He is one of the few practicing true cobblery, the craft of making shoes. “Nobody does what I do,” states Nelson. “Why? Because it takes 25 years of practice to even get to the starting point. I haven’t even peaked yet!” Shoe repair and shoemaking are two different things. Nelson can do both, but speaks most passionately about his fascination with the latter. Of course, there was a time when all footwear was custom- made and the uniqueness of the individual was acknowledged. Nelson eloquently tells the story of the shift by beginning with the colonial period, moving through the history of industrialization and WWII to the present day. With the dawn of mass-production and factory-made footwear, the peculiarities of the human body have become largely ignored and when an ill-fitting shoe wears out or causes pain, people will likely replace them with another pair of inexpensive, ill-fitting shoes. When asked who to blame for this mentality, Nelson’s response includes discount stores, big box stores, and large e-tailers. There is still a market for fine custom shoes, but it is a tiny sliver compared to what it once was. This is why most shoemakers, or cobblers, today spend their time problem-solving rather than making bespoke brogues. They pick
stretching, padding, and cutting down heels
The craft of cobblery is no longer common, but it certainly isn’t dead. There will always be people whose bodies don’t conform to factory standards, whose pain is unbearable and for whom there is no place else to turn. There will likely always be those whose abiding love for a certain pair of shoes forces them, again and again to resole or re-stitch or rebuild them. When we come, Mark Nelson will be waiting.
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Adrianna Cicinelli LOCATION: Mark Nelson Custom Cobbler 17 South Hamilton Street, Poughkeepsie, New York
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linguistically different communities existed within a few miles of each other. Unlike other parts of North America where these different groups often battled each other, in the valley, these different peoples engaged in commerce with each other, attended religious services together, and inter-married. The region was one of the most contested battlegrounds of the American Revolution (George Washington spent more than a third of the American Revolution battling the British up and down the Valley), and in the nineteenth century, the River emerged as one of the major commercial conduits in the world, helping to fuel the economic rise of New York City. The region’s great beauty attracted painters like Thomas Cole and Frederick Church, and authors like James Fenimore Cooper and Washington Irving, who artistically rendered the region as a symbol of America’s identity and potential. Indeed, America’s first recognized schools of literature and art – the Hudson River writers and the Hudson River School of Landscape Painting – emerged from the work of these early artists. Hudson River landscape painting was among America’s most popular art-forms in the nineteenth century, with thousands of people journeying up the river to visit the historic sites and view the striking scenery. For the young United States, without many of the key characteristics of a national identity, such as its own language or a mythical past, the Hudson River landscape, in the words of Fran Dunwell, “became the focus of a quest for national identity.” One of the distinctive, but generally forgotten, features of the historic Hudson Valley was its peculiar system of land-ownership during the first centuries of settlement. Through the early nineteenth century, a large portion of the valley was owned by a handful of “manor lords.” About one-third of the valley (including much of modern Renssalaer, Columbia and Dutchess counties) was carved into a handful of massive manors under the ownership of landlords (such as the Livingstons and Van Renssalaers) who “leased” land to the tenants who tilled the land. The manor lords possessed leases for several thousand tenant families, many of whom owed the lord traditional services and duties that were more characteristic of medieval England than early America. Leases ran
for several generations and demanded that tenants work several days a year for the lord, or require symbolic payments of rent in fowl and produce. Twice, in the late eighteenth century and again in the 1840s, the Valley erupted in wide-scale rebellion, which was only quelled by the use of the army sent into to suppress the rebellions. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the Hudson Valley emerged as one of America’s first major tourist destinations. Thousands of people, from all across the northeast and Europe, were aided by quicker river travel (via the new steamboat) and journeyed up the river to visit the historic sites, the revolutionary forts and battlegrounds; hike the mountains and admire the waterfalls; as well as view the landscapes being made famous in the works of Hudson Valley writers and painters. In the process the valley helped to establish America’s first tourist industry. Most of the tourists who began to travel up the river did so not to simply see the attractions, but to view those attractions while staying in the new hotels and mountain houses that were springing up throughout the region. The resorts themselves became the destination point, since these new hotels, inns, and “mountain houses” were developed to accommodate the scenic tourist. By the late nineteenth century and continuing into the twentieth, America’s moneyed elites built their castles along the river. New financial titans like the Rockefellers, the Vanderbilts, and the Morgans, became neighbors of the landed gentry of the Livingstons, Roosevelts, and Astors. The twentieth century also witnessed the effort to protect the historic infrastructure of the valley through efforts like the National Park Service and Heritage Areas, as well as the great legal struggles to reclaim the river, including the political battle waged to save Storm King and the establishment of the Clean Air Act. Several of the key National Park Service sites in the Hudson River Valley – the Saratoga Battlefield, the Thomas Cole House, the Roosevelt and Vanderbilt estates and Val-Kill – reflect the varieties of the Hudson Valley’s rich history, distinctive regional culture, and important contributions to the development of modern America.
hudson valley the landscape that defined america BY Thomas Wermuth
As the nation celebrates the 100th anniversary of the United States National Park Service, the federal agency that manages and maintains millions of acres of historic property throughout the United States, including several key sites in the Hudson River Valley, it would be useful to examine why the history of this region has been so compelling to authors, painters, historians, and the millions of travelers who visit the region each years. In 1996, the United States Congress formally named the Hudson River Valley a “National Heritage Area,” one of only thirteen in the nation at that time. Unlike other national Heritage Areas that were introduced to recognize noteworthy events, such as the Antietam Battlefield Heritage Area, or the Lowell-Lynn Industrial Corridor, the
Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area was titled “The Landscape that Defined America” and was recognized not for any single or specific historical event, but for the region’s “significant and ongoing contributions to American history and culture.” In many ways, the Hudson River Valley served as a symbol of America’s identity and promise. The only one of the original thirteen British North American colonies not settled by the English or by English speakers (the first fifty years of the Hudson Valley’s settled history was as part of New Netherlands, a Dutch colony), it was probably America’s first “melting pot.” In addition to the various native groups that already lived in the valley, the Dutch, English, French Huguenots, and, through coercion, African slaves, all settled in the valley and ethnically and
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