End of a Trend

By Roni Rabl “Fashion is dead!” Li Edelkoort, trend forecaster, has declared, describing the fashion industry as “a ridiculous and pathetic parody of what it has been”. Lee Edelkoort is one of the world’s most influential fashion forecasters today. The dezeen magazine describes the Edekoorts storm she fired at the industry during a lecture in Capetown in much wrath “This is the end of fashion as we know it”. Edelkoort’s fire is mainly directed towards the Cotoure Fashion as she remembers it, with precision in the attending to each garment. Haute Cotoure as it was is lamented. She claims today’s designers endlessly recycle trends from the past. Another firing squad was placed against the “perversion” of modern marketing. Everything is repetitive and seems so much alike. Professional fashion editors are replaced by young bloggers who own no knowledge or critical perspective. Magazines are filled with “Opinion pages” without any professional point of view. Choosing and Merchandising collections is becoming a profession highly in demand. The ability to fish the best pearl out of a multitude of “same looking” designers, is becoming tougher each season. After fishing out the best pearls from the sea, we start the real working process of adapting those pearls to the real world. It begins with the fabric choices, promoting talented young designers while giving them a stage from which they can perform. Precision in design and merchandising is key - how to funnel and plan great ideas and creativity, to become a coherent and “sellable” collection, while still unique and innovative. This is the task, we at Roni Rabl do best!