Clear Winners
So you thought that front row fashion editors wore dark glasses at the collections just because they like the look?
Truth is, the amount of flash and sparkle scintillating down the runways makes glitter-glare a real occupational hazard.
Report for World Review of Textile Design
The Big Bang Theory
Visitors to New York’s International Fashion Fabrics Exhibition don’t need to consult the catalogue to find the Alexander Henry booth. Just look for the crowds blocking the aisles.
“This is a golden era for print,” says head designer Philip De Leon, and he’s doing his part to satisfy the market’s apparently insatiable appetite for big, bold,and beautiful prints.
Report for London-based International Textiles on this Californian family affair.
Making a meal of fashion: Soybean Arrives on the Fashion Menu
Soy in clothing isn’t exactly new. Motor magnate Henry Ford talked of it in the 1940s and was photographed wearing the first known soy suit and tie. Soy fibers largely disappeared until recent developments brought soy back to the fashion plate. Now, soybean protein fiber is being touted as a ‘vegetable cashmere’ – an eco-friendly luxury textile offering the properties today’s consumers demand.
Report for International Market News in Hong Kong from special correspondent Tania Casselle, New York.
How Green is Your Tally? Organic cotton first came under the spotlight in the caring, sharing ’90s, when the trend for all things ecological impacted products from detergent to cars.
The fashion industry was not slow to see its chance to turn Green into gold, and the “environmentally friendly” marketing angle was picked up by designers, retailers and manufacturers – some of whom were genuinely committed to the cause, others just going along for the ride. When the natural fiber buzz was usurped by a shift towards techno fabrics, organic farmers took the financial brunt. But after the noisy revolution of the ’90s, a quiet evolution continued as the organic cotton industry built a stronger supply structure, a broader customer base and a more commercial approach to bringing its product into the mainstream.
Article for the subscription-only international fashion and textiles industry site JustStyle.com.
Legislative Session Brings Bucks to Santa Fe
Santa Fe’s hotels and restaurants roll out the red carpets for New Mexico’s State legislature, as politicians and lobbyists boost hospitality industry sales during the ‘soft’ season.
Commercial spaces lure business away from Taos Plaza
Lynne White looks very settled in her Taos office. Offering consulting services to artists and galleries, Brody & White Consulting Inc., moved into the bright and airy space last September, and the 1,500-square-foot office, studded with clients’ work, creates exactly the homey feel that White spent two months hunting for.
But White, like many other Taos business owners, is keeping a careful eye on developments in the town’s commercial real estate market. Full article by Tania Casselle on Taos Commercial Real Estate at New Mexico Business Weekly.
As the doors opened at Trader Joe’s first New Mexico store on August 16, a crowd of Santa Fe shoppers lined up eager to stock their shelves. The opening, however, also met with the sighs of a few Santa Feans — some with retail stores of their own — who said they’d be happier keeping local business local.
Read the full Anyone for a bottle of Three-Buck Chuck? article on Trader Joe’s at New Mexico Business Weekly online.
A Profitable Connection by Tania Casselle
When Video Casa owner Judith Witten opened her second DVD rental store in Taos, she had no idea what a performance it would be to integrate two outlets – and the experience wasn’t at all entertaining.
The challenge of connecting branches ‘divided’ by DSL and wireless bit into profits on her annual gross revenues of $700,000, ate up her 20 employees’ time, and inconvenienced her customers. As it happened, the Taos Sheriff’s department was attempting to solve a similar riddle. “My guy talked to their guy,” says Witten…
Read the full article for New Mexico Business Weekly online.
Movie fans awaiting the follow-up to director Chris Eyre’s hit feature Smoke Signals will not be disappointed by Skins. Filmed on location at the Pine Ridge Reservation, Skins tells the story of Rudy Yellow Lodge (Eric Schweig), a reservation cop whose job includes regular encounters with his unruly but endearing brother Mogie (Graham Greene). The climax of Skins presents a breathtaking moment of defiance at Mount Rushmore, involving a one-on-one showdown between Rudy Yellow Lodge and George Washington.
“Skins is a very patriotic movie,” says Chris Eyre. “Rudy as a trickster is making a statement. He’s counting coup. Patriotism isn’t about waving a flag. It’s about exercising your right to challenge, to question and improve and to open up dialogues about ways to make this country better.”
Read my full interview with Chris Eyre for Indian Country Today.
“Those teepees need Viagra,”said comedian Drew Lacapa. He was watching an old black and white movie where a circle of whooping Indians hopped around Buster Keaton, tied to a stake in the center of a fire. “Do you know that dance?”
Story by Tania Casselle on images of Indians in film, and two movie premieres: Chris Eyre’s Skins and Sherman Alexie’s The Business of Fancydancing. Read the full article at Indian Country Today.
