To These Guys, Flannel will ALWAYS be Cool

   By Andrea Yancy

    The outdoor industry is not one of style. It is an industry where flannels replace suits, and cords replace skirts. It’s where jeans and a clean t-shirt is considered professional dress, and heels are viewed as a foreign object. All of this is not good news for a girl like me, who owns like 10,000 pairs of heels and two pairs of flats. Shopping for flats is like shopping for car parts; I just don’t get it.

 

Fish Out of Water

    As a new addition to the outdoor industry, the whole lack of style thing was a hard transition for me. I knew my style was different, but I never knew how different until I went on my first buying trip. Talk about a fish out of water, I was more like a fish in the desert. I knew immediately stepping into the first showroom that I was different. All I could see was flannel, and all they could see was my silky blouse. I knew that there were a variety of ways one could do flannel, but never did I know that you could do flannel that many ways. Not only did I see every color in the rainbow flannel, I saw flannel lined pants, flannel t-shirts, flannel hats, flannel shoes... Not all on one person of course, but still, a lot of flannel. On top of the flannel, I saw many women sporting all types of boots. Not the brightly colored wellies that I love beyond words, but classic riding boots with little twists. That is one thing I do have to give them credit for, the women wore super chic boots. So chic in fact, that I was about to trade in my pop colored wellies for a pair of gorgeous black riding boots made of the richest leather. Then, I realized that color is what I live for and I can do traditional another day.

 

Maybe Flannel Can be Chic

    As I continued walking the endless isles of booths jam packed with next year’s product, I began to think. Maybe the casualness of the outdoor industry’s style is considered stylish. Sure, it’s not the high fashion, perfectly put together look that I’m used to, but if everyone is sporting the casual look. Is that stylish? It’s not the typical style you and I would consider, but I’d say yes. And if you dig deeper into the outdoor industry, you’ll find out that everyone just loves the outdoor industry. It’s an industry where no products are favored over another just because a celebrity rocked it on a red carpet and new brands are embraced with open arms. It’s an industry where a product is popular because it works and not because it looks good. It’s an industry that “I’m going skiing,” is a much more acceptable excuse than “my dog died,” if you are going to miss work.
    The outdoor industry is not one you and I would ever consider stylish. But if you consider their love for the outdoors, their laid back attitude, and their “I don’t care about what I wear” persona, they are extremely stylish and super chic.
   
For More Information...
"Friday Faves: Outdoor Retailer Madness." Web log post. Under Solen Media. 22 Jan. 2011. Web. 6 Feb. 2011. <http://undersolenmedia.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/outdoor-retailer1.jpg>.
Outdoor Retailer, Salt Palace. Salt Lake City, UT. January 20-23, 2011.

A Day in the Life of the Dream Job

By Andrea Yancy

     It’s the job that the majority of freshmen say that they want to have after graduation. It’s a job that is every one thinks they want to have, but do they really? Do they really want to be a buyer for a major company, well for any company for that matter? The intense pressure, long hours, on call all the time. It’s something that school doesn’t prepare us for. What about market, where buyers spend the majority of their budget dollars for a season in a weekend. Can they keep track of what they are buying to make sure there is no overlap and no gaps? Well, I’m going to give you a glimpse into the day of the life of a buyer at market. Pay close attention though, you may miss something.
    Outdoor Retailer is a trade show that focuses on the outdoor industry: skiing, snowboarding, mountain climbing, anything that involves the outdoors, Outdoor Retailer has it. Not interested in the outdoor industry? Trust me, even if you aren’t, you can’t help get excited walking into the major showroom and isles of booths that display next year’s hottest products while DJs are mixing the latest hits. The first day is always dedicated to walking the isles to get a grasp of your surroundings. You make notes of booths you will want to stop by before the end of the weekend but continue walking because there is a lot of ground to cover. Every booth transforms the product into a lifestyle, some are tree houses, others are snow forts, but every booth embodies what the brand image is. Presidents, CEO’s, owners, designers, are all disguised as they dress down to jeans and t-shirts and help buyers pick out product that will be right for their store.
    Now to day 2, you are fully booked from 9am-6pm with no lunch breaks. Yikes! Talk about exhausting. It is a mad dash from appointment to appointment because if you are late, it cuts into your time to see everything you need to see and you could make an expensive mistake.  Notes are extremely important ,too. A day of looking at one ski line after another, they all begin to blend together. Also, they all follow the same trends, so it is important that you do the best of this and the best of that, and the only way to make the best decision is NOTES! What kind of notes do you take? Not the kind of notes you take from a lecture that you’re half listening to, but notes that answer the questions you may have about a product. If you ask a rep a question about a product, WRITE DOWN THE ANSWER. I guarantee you after two more meetings you will not remember if that jacket has a removable powder skirt or what shade of a blue those pants are.  The product you are looking at and the product that you are selecting, is the merchandise that will sit in your store and generate profits. If it does not sell, you lose money! Scary thought isn’t it? That’s why it is important to be on your game at all times. By the last meeting of your booked day, it would be easy to slack off, but this isn’t school. Your in the big leagues and your last appointment of the day is your most important one. It is a vendor that was recently sold and resold again. The first company that it was sold too, completely messed up the quality and fit of the product, but also shipped the product out extremely late. The product that didn’t have quality issues and you didn’t send back, you couldn’t sell because it was too late in the season. It is important that you first address these issues before continuing on looking at the line. You speak with the owner of the company, Jim, and he explains to you what happened and how it is being fixed. He realizes like a boyfriend who cheated on you, that they have to regain your trust, and he will do whatever has to to regain your trust back. Perfect! Let’s just hope unlike a bad boyfriend, he’s telling you the truth. By the end of the day you’ve spent 1/5 of your budget....and have a completely booked schedule the next day. So what do you think about your dream job? Or isn’t it anymore?

Notes:
Outdoor Retailer, Salt Palace. Salt Lake City, UT. January 20-23, 2011.

Fur, Feathers, & Native American Tribes All Brought Together.

U of M Seniors Hit the Runway With Their 2011 Lines Titles Distortion

By: Delaney Nelson

        As we (myself along with a few other FRM students) entered Rapson Hall on the U of M campus expectations weren’t exactly set yet. While waiting in line at Will Call local industry professionals along with students, fans, family members, and other excited fashionistas began to flow in. Spotting Allison Hamzehpour, president of Ignite Models, and Mary O’Reagan, Senior Fashion Editor for Metro Magazine, the excitement for what was to come began to grow.

The sophomore designers were just finishing as we took our seats. As I paged through pamphlet featuring the different senior designs I noticed only one male in the lineup, right away this struck an interest. Nick Ruffalo was among the 18 senior designers set to show for the night. How would he stack up against the other 17 women that were to dominant the show? We were about to find out!

Robin Robbinson took stage to the stage to announce the next generation, the Junior class. It was exciting and interesting to see what the talent looked like for next year, but anticipation to see what the senior class had in store was building.

One by one each of the 18 designers showed off their unique designs. Finally the 11th designer to show was Nick Ruffalo. From the music to the designs it screamed tribal influences. I quickly began to record his unique designs; barefoot models, 2-3 stripped bands painted on legs and arms, short textured hemlines, feathers, headdresses. The designer showed his looks on four different models. 

      These Models walked the runway sporting leather ankle and wrist bands with long feather coming up and out of the bands. A feather headdress that reached the floor was another unique element to his show. And to make this influence even stronger the designer had all of his females models walking barefoot.  According to the Nick’s Concept Bio in the fashion show pamphlet he “creates an eco-conscious line using recycled couch leather, scrap fur, and vintage feathers paired with unbleached silk and muslin.” His line was made up of three main colors, golden yellow, darker blue-green, and mango red; all of course hand-dyed.

     From the texture, cut, colors, fabrics used to the music chosen for the models to walk to, Nick brought the Native America tribal influence not only to his designs, but to the whole Rapson Hall. I don’t think that a single individual watching his show could argue otherwise. Even as Nick took his walk down the runway with his models his own style reflected this. So how would this single lone male amongst 17 women designers stack up? He brought something unique, distorted, and truly breathe taking to the 2011 Senior Fashion Show Distortion. My opinion is only one of many though of the viewers that came to the show that night, but his designs are defiantly ones that created an impression.

Contributors:

University of Minnesota

Robin Robibnson

Nick Ruffalo

Photos:

Stacy Schwartz (City Pages)

Work Cited:

Distortion: 43rd Annual College of Design Fashion Show. University of Minnesota, Rapson Hall. Feb. 19, 2011.

Schwartz, Stacy. U of M ‘Distortion’ Fashion Show: Next Crop of Local Designers? 2011. Photograph. Minneapolis. City Pages. 20 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www.citypages.com/slideshow/u-of-m-distortion-fashion-show-next-crop-of-local-designers--32616978/25/>

Pictured:

Model #! modeling Nick Ruffalo pants with side sticking, tank top and feathered headdress with tail.

Model #2 featured Nick Ruffalo leather ankelts with feathers.

Nick Ruffalo taking his walk at the end of the show.

Fashion Hot Issue

Fashion 60’s to 80’s- trend is on its way

Fashion trend is a style cycle that is continuously evolving, the old becomes new and the new becomes old. Fashion is decided by media or other sources. Fashion forward retailer stores like Forever21, Urban Outfitters, and H&M are people’s favorite to go and shop. They are fast fashion retailer stores that offer merchandises depending on “what is hot” in the moment. Browsing around the Mall of America, H&M and urban outfitters are always busy with customers. Forever 21 just had their brand new store opening in Rosedale Mall. Forever21 is a huge impact for Rosedale Mall which once the store opens, people comes in and out to browse around. 

In H&M, a sales associate wore an easy piece of short shirt or baby tee, which was the trend in 2008. Many of the people wore mini skirt with tight, flare jeans or pants, maxi skirt, camel coat, sleeveless fur coat, and baggy shirt (flannel shirt in boyfriend style). It seems fashion of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s are all in one mixing together.

                              The right side is an example of cozy short shirt that wear with shorts (H&M)

People wear accessories as a staple piece that goes together with an outfit. During the new opening Forever21 in Rosedale mall, people were picking and buying floppy hats and floral headwraps. In the Mall of America, many women wore leggings in animal print and high knee socks with wedges, sole platform shoes, and lace shoes in light colors of nude, beige, and animal print (booties). They wear socks together with flats, boots, high heels, clog, wedges, and almost every other shoe.  Socks and shoes are a very clever idea.

                                                Great mixing shoes and socks, it is H&M mannequin.

Coming out from Urban Outfitters, a college girl dressed up fashionably chic by layering black shirt with sweater, legging with leg warmer and high knee boots.  It is a very functional fashion idea to wear when everyone wants to feel warm and comfortable, in every outfit they have in this freezing weather.  

                        In urban outfitters, leg warmer is shown in youthful and sophisticated look.

 What’s hot in fashion trends make people addicted to shop. Fashion is always what’s “in “and people choose to dress up in anything from retro to chic, vintage to eclectic style. Do we know why people love to shop more and more? Yes, we do.   

By. Felicia Ngatino

'Clothes Reflect People As A Whole’ An Inside Look At A Minneapolis Designer

    The trendy uptown bar was buzzing as Leslie and I sat down for our interview. Picture one of those really sophisticated people, who presence makes you want to be more like them, this is what Leslie broadcasts to the world with her sense of fashion. A recent graduate from the University of Minnesota’s  College of Design, Leslie has been obsessing about fashion since she was a little girl. Her first recollection of fashion came when her grandmother would let Leslie create and sew outfits for her doll collection.
    Now that she is a graduate, Leslie wants to take her talents to the stage, as in theatrical costume design, in the movies, or simply styling for a television show. Her fever for the theatre comes from her love of history. Picasso is her most inspirational person from the past. He is not only famous for his paintings but he designed sets and costumes for the theatre. With her head and heart in right place, Leslie feels that she needs to move to New York or California if she wants to make a name for herself. While she admits that there are possibilities here, but that they aren’t for her. Her aspirations are to make it big and be in the midst of the chaos that is New York
    As we continued talking I thought it would be interesting to be  in the mind of a designer while she is working on a collection. Leslie told me her experience with her final project. The designer starts with an idea. It may not be the best, but research and imagination go into this step and make the idea come alive. For this particular project each designer was asked to do something with two ideas that were opposite from each other.  Leslie chose comedy and tragedy and began  drawing inspiration from Romeo and Juliet. Research on the movies, the play, the author, and then the fabrics and styles of the time period. When the research process if done the fun begins. Leslie starts by sketching her ideas, and begins pattern making. Then the fabrics and trims are chosen. Then the pieces are cut out and sewn, fitted, usually, to Leslie from her bust form which is her exact measurements. This process seems short, but the whole project took her from January to May.

    As I stated earlier, Leslie has impeccable style. She’s the type of girl who seems effortless, so I wanted a little inside dish on how she achieves her look. Leslie says that ‘clothes reflect people as a whole’. Which to her means that we are all connected by fashion whether or not we are in the business. Leslie stays true to herself by purchasing clothes from stores she could see her designs fitting in. Vintage and local designer shops are her fav, but she doesn’t discriminate against Target and the big names like Urban Outfitters. She says that you should watch trends and interpret them in your own unique way. ‘If you feel like throwing pearls on with an army coat, then do it!’ This is how she stays true to herself.
    Like any good conversation, ours had to come to an end. Reflecting back the most significant thing that Leslie left me with was to her ‘clothes reflect people as a whole’. That no matter what we are all connected by a little thing called fashion.

Maritza Ramirez: The Spanglish Designer

In my search for a local fashion designer to interview, I came across the name Maritza Ramirez. I looked at her clothing sold in Cliché in uptown and immediately fell in love with her style and knew I had to meet with her, even better was that Maritza was eager to meet me with me to tell me all about herself.

                Maritza calls herself “a little Spanglish fashion designer”.  She grew up just north of the Twin Cities in Forest Lake, after meeting with her I found we actually went to the same high school! Maritza’s passion for fashion started in high school when she began taking some sewing classes. After graduation she went to further her education at St. Catherine’s University where she majored in clothing design and minored in art history. When Maritza started college she really wasn’t sure what she could do with this love of fashion that she had but she thanks the support of her family and friends who pushed her to go for her dreams of becoming a designer.

                Maritza’s first break into the fashion world was when she designed clothing for a band in the Voltage fashion show in 2009. Cliché boutique quickly took notice of Maritza’s whimsical and feminine designs and offered her the opportunity to sell her designs in the store. Much of Maritza’s designs are inspired by architecture, traveling and the local Minneapolis scene. When designing her garments Maritza says “its all about balance”.  She uses a muted color palette with lots attention to detail. Her look is very structured and tailored with feminine pleats and gathers.

                Maritza keeps her life busy, busy, busy.  She is a one woman show and does everything from the designing to the production of her lines. Maritza jokes that she does actually have an assistant, Pinny, which is actually not much of an assistant but rather her dress form that she spends many hours with. Along with designing for fashion shows throughout the Twin Cities, she has even developed her own fashion show called SCENEaSOTA.  This November will mark her third year running SCENEaSOTA. It began as a very amateur fashion show while she was still in college featuring local designers.  This year it has grown and will feature pieces from fresh designers and more experienced designers along with some new accessory designers.  This past spring Maritza also mentored students in the Apparel Design program from St. Catherine’s in designing their end of the year fashion show. And if all that isn’t enough on her plate she also works at Macy’s in the cosmetics department while she is getting her designs out and known in Minneapolis.

                With Maritza’s amazing passion and drive for success you would think it would be only natural that she would seek to be in New York or L.A. but like many local designers, she believes that there is great fashion scene in Minneapolis and wants to help it grow.

Miss Pamela

Aspiring Designer.

I was fortunate enough to sit down with aspiring, local designer, Pamela Krempely, who will be a senior at the U of MN this fall. She started college at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana as an apparel design student, but soon transferred in order to be in a more metropolitan area. As a child, Pamela recalls wanting to be an artist. Her first memories, involving fashion, consist of playing dress up with her sister and older cousin. That, she explained, was when she first learned how to accessorize.

Pamela wasn’t always so sure that design was the direction she wanted to take in life,   “I’ve always known I wanted to create something; I just never fathomed the depth of it until I learned what I was capable of,” she shared. But what, exactly, is it about fashion design that personally intrigues Pamela? She explained that the different ways in which people can see fit on a body and create something so aesthetically appealing and shocking has always interested her. “I’m always curious to see how that person sees,” she revealed.

Pamela admitted that dresses were her favorite garments to design, as well as abstract, impractical designs meant to be wearable art. When it comes to Pamela’s personal style and fashion choices, she is influenced, mostly, by color and fit. Saying, “I’m discerning about the newest trends, selecting only what I think accents my shape. Most of the time I just wear what fits my mood at that particular time.”

Pamela’s hobbies include drawing, writing, and sketching/sewing designs.  She is a people watcher, collects fashion magazines and enjoys gathering new inspirations. She considers Alexander McQueen to be her all-time favorite designer, as she gushes, saying, “His work is pure genius to me because no matter how weird he gets, he still has exquisite lines and stays true to the female form.  His use of the feminine shape is always breathtaking to me.” She also shares that McQueen’s attitude about the fashion world and love for abstract Haute Couture is something she can really identify with.

She confesses that her favorite place to shop is Ragstock in Uptown, Minneapolis. She claims that she likes to buy cheap clothing and Ragstock always carries eccentric pieces, which allow her to be creative and put together her own fashions.  Other personal favorites include The Buckle, H&M, Express and Urban Outfitters.

Pamela works part-time at a high end retail store, Republic of Couture, where she is hoping to gain as much experience for her future endeavor, which would be starting her very own boutique. She is definitely aware of the hardships that aspiring designers, like her, will have to experience before making her dreams a reality.

Pamela stated that the hardest thing is having money to pay for upfront costs, like materials. She also mentioned that networking and finding an ‘in’ with the local fashion scene can be difficult. Lacking credentials to back up her skills and talents can sometimes stand in Pamela’s way of establishing her clientele. “It’s frustrating, but I don’t let it stop me from trying.  Eventually someone gives you a chance to do something, even if it’s small; everyone starts somewhere,” Pamela shared.

As for the future, she is extremely hopeful. Pamela mentioned that her dream job would be to own and operate her own boutique, selling her designs and doing custom designs for clients for events (weddings, proms, galas, etc.).  She claimed that she would also like to start a local fashion magazine, which emphasizes local designers, musicians, artists and trends. “I guess my dream job would be to have a lot of little projects that blossom into something surrounding my passion for art,” she added.

Pamela lives by the quote, “Whatever happens, happens.” She has an uncanny sense of personal confidence and knows that personal attributes like her uncanny attention to detail, excellent communication skills and humor will help Pamela get to where she knows that she needs to be.Pamela plans to graduate in the summer or fall of 2011 and has already started to plan her first fashion show, which will act as her senior project. She gives this advice to other aspiring designers, “Don’t give up, always keep an eye out for opportunities and never shy away from a challenge.Posted by: Kelsey Durken