Jimmy Eat World
PR's Tumblrdome
macklin celebrini has autism
Game of Thrones Daily
Mike Driver
d e v o n
cherry valley forever
Kiana Khansmith
tumblr dot com
Cosimo Galluzzi
untitled
KIROKAZE
Cookie Run:Kingdom Official!
gracie abrams
titsay
Fieri Frames
Fai_Ryy
No title available
Love Begins
Today's Document
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Mexico
seen from Jordan
seen from United States
seen from Brazil
seen from T1
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Indonesia
seen from Ecuador
seen from United States
seen from Japan
seen from United States
seen from T1
seen from Türkiye
seen from Venezuela
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
@ilovemickeydrexler-blog
THE CONCEPT OF A RETAIL STORE HAS DRAMATICALLY CHANGED. YOU NO LONGER NEED TO PHYSICALLY WALK INTO A STORE TO BUY SOMETHING. TODAY, ALL YOU NEED IS A COMPUTER, A PHONE OR AN IPAD. TWENTY YEARS AGO, THERE WERE FEWER FASHION BRANDS COMPETING IN THE SAME SPACE. THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE, THOUGH, IS THAT 20 YEARS AGO, THERE WAS NOT THE SAME LEVEL OF INFORMATION OUT THERE.... THE WEB OFFERS INSTANT INFORMATION AND ACCESS. CUSTOMER ARE NOW SMARTER BECAUSE OF THIS. WSJ
Steve Job's yacht, Venus, was christened in Netherlands on Sunday, while the next morning in Cupertino, California, Apple announced a shakeup in senior management. All this press reminded me the close relationship between Drexler and Jobs. Drexler began serving on Apple's board of directors in 1999, Jobs joined the board of GAP shortly after. Growing up in San Francisco, they were heroes who became legends. I'll return at some point to discuss their kindred spirits, but for now I'll highlight two Drexler quotations from a CNBC article:
"YOU WANT TO CONTROL YOUR DISTRIBUTION. IT WAS ACTUALLY MY CAREER LESSON."
"THE TAKEAWAY IS, REALLY JUST HAVE A HUGE CONVICTION ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AND DON'T BE AFRAID."
There are so many threads to weave into this conversation about the increasing intersection of food and fashion culture, but I'll begin with two instances where Mickey Drexler uses food as an analogy to his retail genius.
First was in October 21, 2011 during a Financial Times lunch with Vanessa Friedman at Pulino's, a pizzeria on the busy intersection of Houston & Bowery in New York City. He correctly predicts the shop's best seller as the classic Margherita and goes on to note that the most popular cookies are always chocolate chip, then raisin oatmeal. For ice creams, chocolate and vanilla are perennial best sellers. Questioning the waiter, his predictions are confirmed.
Drexler's first point in euphemizing fashion to food was to describe how diners and shoppers both expect consistency and familiarity in selection, but the retail / food analogy goes further. Not only do 'specials' represent the more experimental and seasonal items, but hospitality and service play a crucial part in both industries. In another interview more recently with philly.com, Drexler explains that "he uses a lot of food metaphors and compares J.Crew to a fine restaurant or hotel more than he does other retailers."
All of this makes plenty of sense and aren't particularly groundbreaking insights, but where things get interesting is discussing all of this tangentially to the ideas presented by William Deresiewicz in his opinion piece for the New York Times titled A Matter of Taste? "Foodism has taken on the sociological characteristics of what used to be known...as culture." It requires a "sensual responsiveness...the basis of artistic sensibility." I'm going to paraphrase a lot here: Deresiewicz argues that despite requiring knowledge and connoisseurship and encouraging its disciples to distinguish subtle differences and make fine judgements, food is not art. Although meals can evoke emotions, the range and depth of these feelings are limited.
We hear so often that fashion can be, no is a form of art. It is narrative and referential, and at its highest echelons gives us insight to others and allow us to reappraise the world and ourselves. So trying to tie this all together, another topic frequently mentioned in Drexler interviews is the idea of homogenization in tastes and ideas. Although vocally anti-elitist, Drexler's fashion career dances the line between the elitism of cultured taste with plebeian accessibility. Does the American public's relationship to fashion inhabit an area between that of food and art?
[See also: Luxirare]
6 months ago, I called to inquire about a porcupine beaded long-sleeve that I had seen in one of their editorials. She promised to get back in touch, but never did. I still think about that shirt.
"MY PERSONAL OPINION ABOUT THE WORLD IS THAT IT'S HOMOGENIZED...SAME LOOK, THE SAME GOODS, SAME BRANDS." - WWD
The fucking best, but I wish he would elaborate a bit more on the idea that in a homogenized world, scarcity means good taste. Is this a post hoc fallacy or simple reality in our information age?
"PUT ME ON THE LOUDSPEAKER." He makes regular announcements at headquarters, sort of like the principal of a school. - philly.com
Raise of hands, who would tune into a radio station of just Mickey announcements interspersed with fan letters read in the soothing alto of Jenna Lyons? What? Just me?
Shout-out to my boy, Charlie Rose.
Let's start this blog right: A cute picture of Mickey.