Top emerging cities of style?

[Someday]

It will probably get more and more difficult as more cities try to establish themselves as a fashion capital to compete with Paris. Even Milan, London and New York have suffered over the funelling of talent to Paris.

That is not to say there isn't a lot of talent outside Paris, because there is, but most talented people will be drawn to Paris (or another capital) in the pursuit of success and recognition. Paris is the Anna Wintour of fashion cities; it is a brutal competitor and keeps its' rivals in check.

Having said that, I imagine some attention will begin to fall on China (there's no way around it), Eastern Europe (maybe Poland?) and the Middle East (I'm thinking Egypt) over the next 10 years.

 

[Boluda]

^i disagree, if there is to be ONE fashion capital in the world, its milan. italy is the world's fashion meca. no other country has the expertise italy has. they practically invented haute couture.

...and i think the middle east and eastern europe have a longgggg way to go before becoming fashion regions.

just my 2 cents.

 

[*tata*]

Melbourne and Sydney......we have great fashion deisgners here in Australia....i know (not personally) a few form other states in Oz,..but can't remember which ones

 

[SevenWeeksLater]

I think Moscow/St. Petersburg will be big, as well as Hong Kong/Beiging/Shanghai. I am basing this on the general cultural/economic climate. Both, Russian and Chinese cultures are incredibly rich with art, and both countries are coming into incredible amounts of money. Once the original wave of the new rich with their bad tastes subsides, and their children will get a better taste of what's refined, they will be HUGE players in fashion. It might happen in a long time from now though...

I agree! Look at all the Easter European/Russian models. When you first see them they are still in their faded jeans and tank tops,but give them some time and they are fast learners. Also Helsinki seems like a fun city,I think they will be one of the big players.

 

[greenvelvet]

Cool topic.
I don't think Belgium is boring at all... the people are the friendliest, funniest people around, not all self-aware and self-conscious, and so Antwerp is a full of very un-self-conscious personalities, which means that it never hypes itself so it might never be the 'it' city although people keep trying to make it so... I agree, Faust, it will always stay a subculture. I love it there, and definitely make sure to visit during the sales seasons. Woohoo!
Ahh, Berlin. a whole other subject, a whole other scale of thinking. even if the fashion wasn't cool, just being there inspires me to think bigger or more creatively.

As fashion grows more and more global, I wonder if it won't be so much about big emerging cities having such an exclusive impact as it is about the smaller voices that have a really unique voice. How's about Austin Tx? A little town, but also big "subculture" city with a growing fashion scene?

Or, another place with similar quirky fashion genes is Krakow?

 

[SevenWeeksLater]

I agree people in Belgium are very nice, Dominique is the only agency that wanted to sign me
Austin? Really? From what I've seen I'm not too impressed, just a bunch of "electro", I guess you could call them that, girls in destroyed minis,green sweatshirts,tights, and boots.

 

[haruki]

China is the future for sure, also I hear more and more buzz about Gary, Indiana. I think it might be a place to keep an eye on. I think of it as the Osaka of the U.S.A. perhaps. Lot's of artists and designers are relocating there from more expensive cities. They have a very large tranny community too.

 

[Someday]

^i disagree, if there is to be ONE fashion capital in the world, its milan. italy is the world's fashion meca. no other country has the expertise italy has. they practically invented haute couture.

...and i think the middle east and eastern europe have a longgggg way to go before becoming fashion regions.

just my 2 cents.

Point well taken. I do not disagree with you at all; but I still think that Milan will always be considered the financial hub of European fashion, and Paris the creative one.
It's getting trickier nowadays as cities become more international. The most influential designers in Paris aren't even French anymore; they are being imported into Paris to revive the couture houses.
As long as a foreigner can be wooed to Paris, then Paris will remain on top.

Rome has for a long time been ignored as a fashion capital; as the Paris couture houses falter, there will probably be a new interest on the Roman couture houses- the most profitable couture in the world. But I suspect the rivalry between Milan and Rome has hurt Italy overall-France understands a country should have only one fashion capital, not two. I think this also applies to New York vs. Los Angeles (and vs. Miami), and, to a lesser extent, the Canadian struggle between Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. All of these cities have strong, individual talent; they need to almalgamate to gain stronger footing (from a financial perspective)- an editor/buyer cannot travel to dozens of cities in pursuit of a new look.

I disagree that Milan practically invented Haute Couture, though; it is the backbone of the Paris fashion industry, though, ironically enough, it was founded by an Englishman (Charles Frederick Worth). In this regard, Paris' strength is in drawing the right people to it, but definitely influencing them to look and feel more Parisian.

 

[greenvelvet]

I agree people in Belgium are very nice, Dominique is the only agency that wanted to sign me
Austin? Really? From what I've seen I'm not too impressed, just a bunch of "electro", I guess you could call them that, girls in destroyed minis,green sweatshirts,tights, and boots.

that's just around the university scenes, or street style, which do have that look. But there is some movement in a positive direction toward southern cities--even designers who got their start in NY or at parson's or whatever, and were from here or the other parts of the south, going back and establishing their flagship and studios in their home city. Anthony Nak jewelry in Austin for instance.

Atlanta also has this potential, too. It has a real pride of place and like Berlin has a forward-moving creativity matched with a head for business. Every time I go through the Atlanta airport someone stops and asks me about my shoes, men and women. The older men have style, hats, vests, cool ties, cool shoes, gentlemen funk. With all the hopefully not too of-the-moment attention on the south, Atlanta seems like it could be a destination for fashion motion and is definitely an emerging city in many ways.

 

[tott]

I am a little surprised that Scandinavia is not a big player, considering a big design presence in other realms. They have successful designers, but there doesn't seem to be a strong overall current (and Scandinavian members, please correct me if I have the wrong impression). I would pick Copenhagen to get there first...

As much as it pains me, being Swedish, I also think Copenhagen is more fun and adventurous when it comes to style compared to Stockholm for instance...

I don't have an objective view since I live here (since a long time, apart from my Italian and German interludes), but I perceive Stockholm(ers) as more polished (=stiff?), anxious and stressed about style... There's not so much sense of fun and playfulness.

And I have to admit that my style isn't that exciting either.

In general, I'd say that Scandinavian style is muted, bright colours don't really suit pasty northeners. It's just a fact of life.

 

[SevenWeeksLater]

that's just around the university scenes, or street style, which do have that look. But there is some movement in a positive direction toward southern cities--even designers who got their start in NY or at parson's or whatever, and were from here or the other parts of the south, going back and establishing their flagship and studios in their home city. Anthony Nak jewelry in Austin for instance.

Atlanta also has this potential, too. It has a real pride of place and like Berlin has a forward-moving creativity matched with a head for business. Every time I go through the Atlanta airport someone stops and asks me about my shoes, men and women. The older men have style, hats, vests, cool ties, cool shoes, gentlemen funk. With all the hopefully not too of-the-moment attention on the south, Atlanta seems like it could be a destination for fashion motion and is definitely an emerging city in many ways.

I was just basing my opinion on what I saw and what I described was mostly it. I guess I need to research it more, thank you for pointing that out

 

[Monsieur]

Someday,
that was just so well written! i couldn't have said it any better myself!

 

[greenvelvet]

I was just basing my opinion on what I saw and what I described was mostly it. I guess I need to research it more, thank you for pointing that out

I live in Austin so I guess I would probably see the things in the corners... but I like the "electro"--I'm gonna remember that.

 

[fashionista-ta]

We have a fashion incubator here ... I assume because it's on life support

In the US, IMO only New York is a contender, and it still can't begin to compete with Paris, more competitive with Milan. LA is a joke, and it goes downhill from there. Antwerp is great, a little offbeat fashion center unto itself.

 

[iyemstoopid]

Shanghai, theres so much potential there

 

[Kimkhuu]

I think there are some great designers in Montreal as well (Renata Morales, Yves Jean Lacasse, Andy Thê-Ann, Denis Gagnon, etc etc).

Totally agree, if you don't take into account most Lasalle College graduates' shows, which are in my opinion pretty bad..... Ok, maybe I am really harsh, I never saw ALL the kids' work, but a lot of it is pretty awful!

But I need to agree with you, local talent in Montreal is getting pretty interesting.... Lots of great new designers! One thing that annoys me though is that one of the "most renowned" designer from Montreal right now is probably Dubuc, which is pretty boring in my opinion.....

 

[LoveInColor]

I think that Austin is definitely blooming in the arts - designers, musicians, artists, sculptors... For me, it's a very inspiring city.

 

[nextnewface]

Totally agree, if you don't take into account most Lasalle College graduates' shows, which are in my opinion pretty bad..... Ok, maybe I am really harsh, I never saw ALL the kids' work, but a lot of it is pretty awful!

But I need to agree with you, local talent in Montreal is getting pretty interesting.... Lots of great new designers! One thing that annoys me though is that one of the "most renowned" designer from Montreal right now is probably Dubuc, which is pretty boring in my opinion.....

Yeah, yuck! I've heard about some fashion design students at College Lasalle and their stuff sounds pretty bad (my cousin's a fashion merchandising student and says that most of the design students' work really really SUCKS ).

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Yves Jean Lacasse's designs I think he could become really big within the next few years. At least I hope so! They're starting to feature some of his work in the fashion magazines (I think it was the December Clin d'Oeil... or Elle Qc)

& I agree with all you've said, Someday. However, when it comes to Canada's fashion capitals, I think that the country is so big and so different in all those places that fashion in Vancouver has nothing to do with fashion in Toronto and Montreal. I see Toronto as a fashion capital much more than Vancouver. And I think Toronto and Montreal are similar on certain aspects but also very different. Quebeckers (I think that's how we spell it?!) have a certain mentality that differs from the rest of Canada. There is a strong nationalist ideology and in the past, they have tried to make Quebec a country (and one of the political parties still has that in mind but it's a totally different topic ). Montrealers, for example, see themselves as Montrealers, not as Canadians, if that makes any sense. So for that reason, I don't think we could only have 1 fashion capitals but rather two, Toronto and Montreal. (I'm sorry this is such a long post!)

Anyway, as for other emerging fashion capitals, I can definitely see Chinese and Russian cities grow in importance within the next couple of years.

 

[MilkShake]

Moscow
Barcelona
Hong Kong

 

[kem]

La Salle College

Totally agree, if you don't take into account most Lasalle College graduates' shows, which are in my opinion pretty bad..... Ok, maybe I am really harsh, I never saw ALL the kids' work, but a lot of it is pretty awful!

But I need to agree with you, local talent in Montreal is getting pretty interesting.... Lots of great new designers! One thing that annoys me though is that one of the "most renowned" designer from Montreal right now is probably Dubuc, which is pretty boring in my opinion.....

Im from Toronto , a nd I am searching for a good fashion design program that would allow me to get a job in the industry. now , i was considering La Salle but from what I understand , its not so good. Do you ahve nay suggestion?