Ok. you mut excuse my harsh tone (if it comes out that way). So i work for a specialty men's store owned by Hallmark. I would LOVE to build my own store one day. But there is this store that people kept comparing my store to. It is called Phenom. Today i got off of work rather early and decided to see the store.
I must say that it was impressive. Kid Robot, 10 deep, Limited addition shoes, etc etc. Naturally, i wanted to learn more from the owner about his experiences owning his store. He told me that he has an intern program. I said "Count me in!"
This is where i get pissed.
Maybe he meant to be like this or maybe he didn't, but that guy turned into the most pretentious, condescending person i had ever met. He started telling me how i dress wasn't any good (i just got off work! sheesh) and that I have to know every aspect of street culture to be a part of his store. He started throwing names and stuff at me that didn't even sound familar. I left mad, confused, and with a new hat (it was cheap and looked good enough).
The Question
So my question is this, is absolute knowledge that necessary? So far, i have made designs that appeal to me, and they sell. I'm sure that many of the "street wear" brands were started by people that made what they wanted to wear.
So what do all of you think? Is creating quality clothing lines dictated by the knowledge you have of current/ past trends and brands? Or is it a product of your passion to see your thoughts, ideas, and designs on the medium of your choice?
So my question is this, is absolute knowledge that necessary?
Necessary for what?
For that job, yes it appeared to be necessary.
To start your own company selling your own designs, no it's not necessary.
Quote:
Is creating quality clothing lines dictated by the knowledge you have of current/ past trends and brands?
No, and from what it sounds like, it doesn't seem like the owner of that store thinks so either. From what you describe, he was only talking about it in regards to working in that store.
Thanks. the way the owner was talking was like, if you can't name every designer that works for Ecko, Polo, and Juicy, your stupid and you won't make it in the fashion world.
I didn't really care about being a part of his store, it was just the thought that he has his own store, his own in house brand, and he knows all of this stuff. I was thinking about the correlation.
A little from column A, a little from column B. You don't need to be a pretentious jerk to make it in the fashion world, but it rarely seems to stand in the way
In all seriousness... knowing the field helps. You're likely to be a better designer if you know what other designers are doing. Design in a vacuum can be good, but it's not without its perils. A lot of good design is a dialogue.
So yeah... do you need it to succeed? Definitely not. Will it help? Yup.
But like David said, sounds like this guy was just name dropping - which is a whole other thing.
He sounds like you said.. a pretentious moron. Here's what Joan Jett said about "American Idol" and the contestants who competed for the INXS slot (cant' remember the name of that show):"...these people are not rock stars. Rock stars do not compete on a show to become a rock star. You are either a rock star or you are not. You dont need anyone to tell you that you are if you are a rock star"Not sure how this applies to your story but somehow I think it does.
So my question is this, is absolute knowledge that necessary? So far, i have made designs that appeal to me, and they sell. I'm sure that many of the "street wear" brands were started by people that made what they wanted to wear.
So what do all of you think? Is creating quality clothing lines dictated by the knowledge you have of current/ past trends and brands? Or is it a product of your passion to see your thoughts, ideas, and designs on the medium of your choice?
from what i've learned in researching artists designers is that IT is important to be unique via your personality. So absolute knowledge, past trends etc. are not important because you will need the help and imput of others, like producers, marketing, photographers etc. on your road to success.
The problem is as you become more and more popular and in the public eye, things change. That's why a lot of great artists/designers do not completely achieve success or die-off...as in the music biz.
as for name-drops, some do it to impress, some do it to let you know what circle you are dealing with, others because they are exited/proud about their achievments, etc... its the norm in any buisness, so look at it as part of it.
I recall a past rock-start friend telling me and a bunch of other people about a famous producer taking on his next record...heck, i guess he was name dropping this producers name to all of us. Not a bad thing. he was just exited with the fact and felt good about it.
How's your knowledge? 
