A carefully picked selection of fashion, ethics + culture from this week around the web
Do Fashion Trends Still Exist?
In 1937, the English author, critic, curator and fashion historian James Laver drew up a rudimentary timeline of how trends evolve. According to Laver’s Law, when a trend is in fashion, it is ‘smart.’ One year before this it is ‘daring.’ And 20 years later, it becomes ‘ridiculous.’ 50 years, Laver said, was how long it took for a trend to begin to creep back into style.
What has become of the traditional fashion trend, now that fashion seasons have multiplied and blurred into an almost constant stream of ‘newness’ and an Instagram post can make a look go viral overnight?
Edun’s Ali Hewson and Danielle Sherman Talk Ethical Fashion
Edun appointed Danielle Sherman as creative director a couple of years ago to make some drastic changes. New York-based Sherman—who is also a cofounder of The Row—provides the luxury touch and nonchalant sophistication that is needed to push ethical fashion outside the box. I caught up with both Hewson and Sherman at an intimate Edun London dinner.
Your Clothes May Soon Be Made with Fish & Spiders
According to Telegraph , there’s just been a major breakthrough in the search for sustainability — but be warned, the findings are a little bit weird, even if you were totally unfazed by the introduction of fish skin as a luxe alternative to conventional leather. The site reports that designers are also looking into materials such as recycled eel skin, Pinatex (a fabric made of pineapples), and even DIY vegetable leather (made of green tea, sugar, bacteria, and yeast) as possibilities to replace the real thing.
Sustainability: What slow fashion means to me and why I choose to wear my values
Slow fashion is the antidote to the juggernaut of cheap, disposable, unsustainable fast fashion. Christina Robert describes why she has embraced it and what it means to her
Technology Has Made Life Different, but Not Necessarily More Stressful
Among New Year’s resolutions shared on Twitter, unplugging digitally came right after losing weight and quitting smoking. People are flocking to digital detoxes, screen-free bedrooms and apps that nudge you off your phone. It is all in response to the notion that digital technology — like round-the-clock email and friends’ envy-inducing Instagram photos — is stressing us out and making us unhealthy.
Discarded Glasses Become Vessels To Grow Plants
Looking for a way to use abandoned objects for the greater good, Alicja Patanowska created The PLANTATION. The PLANTATION consists of objects made from found glasses and porcelain components that when combined allow for the observation of plants growing, both stem and root.
A Scientific Ranking Of The Sexiest Types Of Creativity
What’s hotter, playing in a band or building a website? Science Weighs in.
I’m intrigued. Is creativity a skill I can beef up like a weak muscle? Absolutely, says Mark Runco, a cognitive psychologist who studies creativity at the University of Georgia, Athens. “Everybody has creative potential, and most of us have quite a bit of room for growth,” he says. “That doesn’t mean anybody can be Picasso or Einstein, but it does mean we can all learn to be more creative.”
In Google’s Inner Circle, A Falling Number of Women
Meanwhile, there is the very Google-y approach of gathering data on precisely when the company loses women, then digging deeper to figure out what is happening and to try to fix it.
image via darkagain | edit by Juliette Donatelli