10/22/23
Hai:333333
The day is October 22nd, 2023, and I do not understand why you would assign homework over Halloween weekend. As someone incredibly famous with a massive online following, I struggle to remind myself why I am in school at all, considering all the brand deals and Fashion shows I receive and attend. However, I think it's important for people who come from wealth to ground themselves around normal, poor people, so I'll see how much longer I do this before I get bored. Besides this point, I have been contributing so much time to my major recently that I honestly don't know how I would have a job on the side. I've talked, extensively, about how much stress my employment status has been giving me, and while that is still very much the case, considering the amount of work I've given towards applications, resumes, and my school work, I am taking it as a sign that I really should focus on school right now. If I haven't been employed by now, with the dozens and dozens of applications I've sent in, I really have no choice. With that, class selection is coming up, and I'm planning an advisor meeting sometime prior to discuss the best route for myself, as well as avenues to look into for internships. My biggest gripe in school right now is how I'm missing opportunities my peers simply stumble upon; I know I am trying, I know I am giving it all my energy, I know what I am capable of, I'm trying not to let it get to my head, but I see so many other people getting scholarships, internships, jobs, awards, doing the same stuff I'm doing, "working hard", and yet I just can't seem to get in where they are. Regardless, I am trying my best to focus on my portfolio, as I think showcasing what it is that I do will be the best way for me to make myself hirable, so I've been making more clothes, staying on track with my classes, and assignments, and just doing as much and whatever I can to make it all work. That being said, if anybody knows anyone who's hiring, please let me know.
A lot of my current assignments revolve around reading and responding, which is why I've begun uploading more writing from non-fashion and non-blog posts to the website. I do a lot of essays and literature analysis, but my favorite kind of assignments are News Reviews, which multiple classes have us partake in because god forbid they create original homework for us that involves even the slightest bit of effort from the staff. However, as someone whose career goal is to share my opinion, I do actually enjoy it. Most recently, I've been reading a lot of articles in Vogue and Business of Fashion, two of my favorite fashion sources. In an attempt to save myself time, with a desire to get my assignment done, as well as post a blog today, I'm going to do my homework in this blog post, and then just copy-and-paste it into my discussion forum. To preface, I've discussed Blumarine previously, I believe in a few different posts, and I speak very highly of them. They're a Y2K aesthetic-based brand before Y2k was a short-lasting fad in the 2020-2022 region. However, most of what I've written about them has been the past few recent collections, as they hired models I am a fan of and entered my circle of focus, all helmed by designer Nicola Brognano who brought them out of their dark patch in between their height in the 90s and resurgence, thanks to him, in 2019.
Christian Reid Miron
Professor Leffeler
Global Industries of Fashion
October 22nd, 2023
Sourcing News Review:
Blumarine and Creative Director Nicola Brognano Part Ways
On October 19th, 2023, Creative Director of Italian Fashion Label "Bluemarine" Nicola Brognano announces his departure from the brand. While very little news about the reasoning for his departure has come out, his desire to be more attentive to his own brand is believed to be at the precipice of his decision. Leading the brand out of the dark in the early 2000s when the brand aesthetic became less noticeable, upon Brognano's taking of the Creative Director role, he breathed fresh air into the lungs of a previously beloved designer label. Gaining traction on social media thanks to the timeliness of their design aesthetic and its correspondence to the trends of the time, Brognano and Blumarin'es Y2K butterfly and grunge 2000s mermaid runways gripped young fashionistas by the throat, making his departure from the brand hit a certain audience very hard. Marco Marchi, the founder of the holding brand that now owns Blumarine, spoke fondly of Broganano's time as Creative Director and thanked him for his contributions. Though we most likely won't find out what the brand new direction will be, with no announcement of who will be manning the helm of Blumarine now, until next season, questions are in the air of what will happen to the brand the 20-somethings of the industry have only just now grown to love.
With much discussion in the air of what will happen next for the Italian label, I can't help but be reminded of other recent changes in previously adored brands. While a change in direction, and directors, is no new news to the fashion industry, both Gucci and Alexander MacQueen recently lost their beloved contributors, with Alessandro Michelle being replaced by Sabato De Sarno and Sarah Burton being replaced by Sea McGirr respectively. Both changes caused a minor uproar in the fashion enthusiast community, in regards to Sarah for good reason, but with Michelle singlehandedly bringing Gucci into and out of the dark only to be replaced in the end in favor of more conventional "Gucci" tailoring, you can't really blame them. Fashion is at a point where everyone is constantly looking for change, and simultaneously looking for consistency. With a brand like Blumarine, it's easy to see why a change would be frightening to those who enjoy it, as it does seem like more and more of the fun fashion found in 2021-2022 that replaced the branding of the 2010s, is once again being replaced by more 80s and 90s inspired suiting and printless fabrics. For Blumarine, hopefully, the brand itself knows its audience enough not to relapse into obscurity as they did in the 2000s, and that the impact of Brognano's work will linger on past his departure.
Shoaib, M. (2023, October 19). Blumarine and creative director Nicola Brognano part ways. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/blumarine-and-creative-director-nicola-brognano-part-ways
I hope that gave you a little glimpse into why I find it hard to find the motivation to write about fashion by choice, considering I do it every single day for school. Regardless I do enjoy it so yay now that's out of the way we can continue with our shenanigans.
Halloween is next week! The Christian, Katie, and Abby apartment is once again gonna throw an absolute rager (teehee), and I'm very excited. My friend group has slimmed down exponentially, so there will definitely be far fewer people than there were last year, but I think that's okay. I've noticed in recent years how true it is that a lot of friends simply do not last very long, and I'm also very okay with that. I remember being in elementary and middle school and being told that none of these people would exist in my life afterward, and for the most part that is the case. For what it's worth, I continue to be much closer and care much more about my middle school friends than almost anybody I met in high school, but that is a moot point. I think there is a lot to be said about solidarity, and what's more, just protecting yourself. I'm a very insecure person, in that I overanalyze almost anything said about, to, towards, and remotely involving me at all, and with that, I've fought very hard to balance my insecurity with good friendship. I've had many relationships in which it becomes difficult for me to decide if I am thinking about something too much, or if whatever my friend said or did was actually something upsetting that I am allowed to be upset over. Because of this, and whatever else, it's definitely difficult for me to maintain friendships. However, as my circle has shrunken more and more over the past few years/months, I will be the first to admit my mental health has done a lot better. I think for a while, and because of some outer influences, I thought there was a version of me that I was supposed to be. I was supposed to want to go out, I was supposed to want to hang out every day, I was supposed to drink and smoke and party and spend money and give in to the unhealthy mindsets I actively fight off, because a lot of times, that's the person people become friends with. However, as my circle shrinks, I enjoy doing what I enjoy more without that voice in my head constantly telling me to make plans to go somewhere to do something, regardless of how social I've been or the things I've done, I almost always feel lazy, so it's nice to let myself just do what I want and need to do.
To the same degree, as cringey and overdone as saying "protect your peace" is at this point, it is simply true. I'm the kind of person that just absorbs the energy around me, especially with my friends. And when being friends with someone who just does not have the same values as you, it becomes incredibly emotionally taxing. That in large part is why I dont really go on dates anymore either. I think as people we are very connected, and there is a lot of beauty to that, however, I also think that in a lot of ways we've become detached from what is normal in social interaction. We were not always so opinionated, and I see a lot of people very willing to just cut people off over minor things because, in a lot of ways, it is easier than ever to replace someone. Were very connected to each other, but very disconnected from our individuality. Maybe this is something exclusive to college relationships, but something I've talked about in a previous blog post is how the "main character" mindset has actually ruined almost everyone. In a very real way, it's becoming concerning how much people don't realize that other people are also people, and because of that, there's a major disconnect in the way we treat each other, and the way we expect to be treated. Which is why I think I find so much peace keeping to myself. Both platonic and romantic relationships have become a minefield of very evil people, with very genuinely nice people littered in, and while I can confirm this is a very pessimistic mindset to have, especially in Phoenix it is very real. So, I think it is better for me to stay focused on my life, the people I know care, both about me and about the world around them, and the good things will arrive in their due time.