I am lying in the exact same position as the last show, thinking over and over again of the three day fash "week" that's just finished. I totally burned out, one for the extreme serial posting and two for the info overflow I experienced in Technopolis.Lots of moaning going on, that you already know. Oh well people, there's always the good news and the bad news, and in this order they follow:
The Good News:
- Designers' and stylists' work was of high standards. Whether of my taste or not, purely original or somewhat borrowed, it was of high standards.
- Spiros Poros' exhibition of Cuban ballarinas and boxers at training still had the smell of NY and showed the determination of these national teams to achieve a lot being given nothing. It was no Helmut Newton material but most certainly it was food for thought.
The male model-turned-photogrpher was there in person, along with his wife, model Kylie Bax and their children. Sweet picture. (Love those tights kiddo!)
-Sponsors Hall. I was a bit troubled as to where to place this one. At the end of the day sponsors should not/are not really part of the cause here. They all seemed to have pleasant surprises that kept the public happy though so this grants them a place on the positive side of my list.
In this shot, the Swatch' space, where impromptu shoots took place for the brand's competition to win a trip to Madrid's fashion week. Surely this was in the spirit of it all.-The stylish ones. Ok this is subjective. What is stylish anyway? There was no style-wave, but I did get a glimpse of many interesting details.
- Hall A. One and only. I quite liked that to be honest. Just one hall, no running breathless between spots and shows. There is something about the location of Technopolis too, I like it. It is young, urban, approachable, hip, so close to the bars of Gazi. Shame there were no fash-week parties going on as a fellow blogger pointed out last night.
- Eleven shows and one video projection. Fifteen designers. We all know there are about 30 more members of the HFDA. But this fashion week was not associated with the Hellenic Fashion Designers Association. Thus the name change to Fashion Week Athens from Hellenic Fashion Week (?) The designers-members showing here did so independently. Now let's not go into this because (valid) rumour has it, it's not as simple as it seems...
- The eyeballs. A nice project, don't get me wrong, but so last year. No, it was literally there last season too. At least, if you are gonna plant them again, make sure they are at a presentable state.
- This light. WTFx2. I am sure it was visible by satellites too. What for? It was blinding and had no reason to be there. Saying that, the wide spaces between the floor tiles combo with this light could have (but hope they did not) caused fatal accidents to visitors, heels or no heels. I swear it crossed my mind to look for that plug and pull it out in rage.
- Hall A. One and only. I quite liked that to be honest. Just one hall, no running breathless between spots and shows. There is something about the location of Technopolis too, I like it. It is young, urban, approachable, hip, so close to the bars of Gazi. Shame there were no fash-week parties going on as a fellow blogger pointed out last night.
- The night boutique. More organised, nicer space, more interesting stuff for sale, better prices. Improved, liked it.
and the The Bad News:
- Eleven shows and one video projection. Fifteen designers. We all know there are about 30 more members of the HFDA. But this fashion week was not associated with the Hellenic Fashion Designers Association. Thus the name change to Fashion Week Athens from Hellenic Fashion Week (?) The designers-members showing here did so independently. Now let's not go into this because (valid) rumour has it, it's not as simple as it seems...
- Barely any foreign press. Wtf? Some official source said that the foreign press had no interest in coming since we had no international guests this year (last year Marios Schwab, Custo Barcelona and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac showed as guests of honour). Such a joke! Member of the foreign press told me (previous fash-week) when asked to join me at Schwab's show: "I saw him in London sweetie, did not travel this far to see other fashion week residents, did I now?" That's right.
- The eyeballs. A nice project, don't get me wrong, but so last year. No, it was literally there last season too. At least, if you are gonna plant them again, make sure they are at a presentable state.
- This light. WTFx2. I am sure it was visible by satellites too. What for? It was blinding and had no reason to be there. Saying that, the wide spaces between the floor tiles combo with this light could have (but hope they did not) caused fatal accidents to visitors, heels or no heels. I swear it crossed my mind to look for that plug and pull it out in rage.
- Oh the tiiiiles. I've already commented on that one, here's the visual.
I am sure there are things I am forgetting to mention here. The fact alone that people had invites but did not manage to see the shows even though they arrived on time is bad planning any way you see it. On the other hand, it was nice to see designers who were not participating this time around, coming to see fellow designers' shows and support their work.
(Feel free to comment / add stuff as this post is becoming too long)
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2 comments:
I agree in so many levels! It was quite a downhill ride since last October and it's such a pity foreign press and buyers aren't showing any interest. The organization of the event may have sucked, but many of those designers (especially the NEWCOMERS) should be given a chance for international acknowledgment.
I've really enjoyed reading your coverage.
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