RSS
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
The Alive wrote
Can Columbus become a Midwestern fashion capital?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
By Brittany Kress
Take a look at the street corners, the sidewalks, the grocery stores. It’s a sea of people in sweatshirts and sneakers, and that casual, Midwest lifestyle is stifling Columbus designers’ best intentions.
Well, so are the makeshift studios they’re working from in bedrooms and living rooms across the city.
But it’s not just quality craftsmanship, training and education, sweatshop-style long nights and promotional efforts that’ll put the city’s designers on the map. Simply put, if Columbus wants to become a fashion capital – and plenty are pushing for it – we’re going to have to start looking more like New York. Or at least shopping a little more local, and with a little more style. Because designers can’t get respect coming from a city of sweatpants.
Alive’s Featured Fashion Designers:
- Columbus Style: Akira Burgess
- Columbus Style: Working from home
- Columbus Style: Brad Osting and Justin Hemm
- Alive & Unedited: Project Runway’s Terri Stevens
- Columbus Style: Shannon Mingus
The Short North is a Mixed District. It’s 1 part art galleries, 1 part restaurants, 1 part bars, and 1 part stores. And only half the stores are “fashion” oriented. All of the stores you listed are great, but I think it’s too mixed to call a “fashion district”. Honestly, it too mixed to even call an “arts district” anymore.
I don’t like the Arena District idea. The area is too expensive already. Too commercialized. And also already too mixed.
I’m talking about a group of local fashion designers setting up somewhere where harly anything else exists. How about the the area between the Convention Center and Columbus State. It was branded as “The Warehouse District” a few years ago, but there’s really nothing over there. And rent is cheap.
What are you looking for? Melrose or Soho or something? Because I think you would be surprised by the ratio of Shops to Restaurants to Office to Gallery to Etc… We aren’t lacking a focus, we’re lacking density.
Are you looking for a garment district? Because we don’t need one of those for a really long time. I would be impressed if we could support one decent fabric store downtown right now.
I do think the co-op idea is great though. I think Clintonville would be the natural fit for it. There are a couple of great fashion co-ops in San Francisco. I can’t think of their names right now, but if anyone is really interested in taking the project on, pm me and I’ll dig them up and you should get in contact with them.
I’d say we’re a bit lacking in both. As far as I’m aware there’s not really any sort of organized efforts to do anything outside of individuals/boutiques in the relatively small fashion scene in Columbus, is there?
Do locals in the fashion industry meet? Do they talk? Do they know each other?
I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a subject I don’t know a ton about on a local level. But I think it’s safe to assume that from an outsider’s perspective, nothing is really going on.
I’m not a fan at all of the Arena District idea. The physical proportions of the sidewalks and buildings alone are imposing and create a lot of dead energy down there for me.
As far as the Short North goes both the City and the Short North Business Association are F’ing it up and squandering an opportunity. Maybe it could be a fashion district. The bones of it are here. Presently this district is getting some attention, but lacks a consistent vision, leadership and contains haphazard execution. The materials used to market this district are embarrassing. They look like some bad 80′s MS word art.
If I had to guess, it seems there is some adherence to a past ideal of what this area used to be (overly gay and that’s changing), denial of that change and friction between those who want to change it. I’d love to see this area declared a fashion district and see it grow up, however I think “design district” is more fitting given the mix.
The bulk of the fashion industry here is corporate. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, it just limits what we can really do. I know a lot of the designers and execs from the Limited and Abercrombie shop in the Short North. I guess some sort of monthly get together wouldn’t be a bad idea to try and spawn some collaborations.
As far as an outsiders perspective is concerned. I don’t see the point. It seems kind of like me wanting to know what’s going on in the insurance industry. For attract and retain initiatives, I see the importance. Just for Columbus residents, I really don’t. I lived in LA for 5 years before I even knew where the garment district was because I didn’t have a need for it.
Not that I’m a fan of the upcoming Highball Halloween, but efforts are being made by the SNBA and volunteers to take advantage of some of Columbus’ national attention in the fashion world.
[url]http://www.highballhalloween.com/couture.htm[/url]
Not that I’m a fan of the upcoming Highball Halloween, but efforts are being made by the SNBA and volunteers to take advantage of some of Columbus’ national attention in the fashion world.
[url]http://www.highballhalloween.com/couture.htm[/url]
Yep. Agreed there are some things being done and lots of hard work going on. I often struggle to see the connection of all these things align.
Not that I’m a fan of the upcoming Highball Halloween, but efforts are being made by the SNBA and volunteers to take advantage of some of Columbus’ national attention in the fashion world.
[url]http://www.highballhalloween.com/couture.htm[/url]
I’m curious: what is it about HighBall that makes you so careful to clarify that you’re not a fan of it?
I will try to be more careful to not make this thread about my opinions of the Highball. But I am willing to discuss them with you at some point. :)
I will try to be more careful to not make this thread about my opinions of the Highball. But I am willing to discuss them with you at some point. :)
Probably not the best place, agreed. I’ll stop in Tuesday.
wait! i want to know too!
Me three.
If only this image were actually what I see around here. The guy has a shirt on that fits him properly, a vest, and an actual hat. Granted, he looks like he’s huffed a lot of methane off the dung pile, but this is still better than most things I see people wearing. He even looks– gasp! As if his clothes may have been made for him!
I’m in the camp of Lord Whimsy– sportswear is the death of humanity.
If only this image were actually what I see around here. The guy has a shirt on that fits him properly, a vest, and an actual hat. Granted, he looks like he’s huffed a lot of methane off the dung pile, but this is still better than most things I see people wearing. He even looks– gasp! As if his clothes may have been made for him!
I’m in the camp of Lord Whimsy– sportswear is the death of humanity.
LOL
If only this image were actually what I see around here. The guy has a shirt on that fits him properly, a vest, and an actual hat. Granted, he looks like he’s huffed a lot of methane off the dung pile, but this is still better than most things I see people wearing. He even looks– gasp! As if his clothes may have been made for him!
I’m in the camp of Lord Whimsy– sportswear is the death of humanity.
It’s too bad the pictures not working, because it sounds like you just described Tigertree.
I think there is large element of Columbus that thinks anything for males that is actually fashionable is somehow feminine.
Good fashion, like good design is a balance of form and function. Aesthetics and their relationship to the self at that moment – matter. If it was all about “function” we’d be running around in government issued denim diapers shitting ourselves.
+100. This is probably the most accurate assessment of anything I’ve ever read on this site.
The proposition that fashion cuts against a deep-rooted Red State egalitarian ethos is an interesting one to me. (And I actually mean “interesting” in the sense of “interesting,” not the more passive-aggressive sense of “annoying” or “stupid” in which it is often used.) At some times it seems stereotypical; at others, spot on. So I’m not sure what to make of it. But as a first cut, at least, it resonates.
Point taken.
But people still target disposable income depending on what’s important to them… and for many demographics (under-25s, women, gay men), fashion is traditionally a very very high priority.
I think there is a lot of good fashion in Columbus. And a lot of bad fashion, just like in Milan, Paris or New York. Drew, I tend to agree with you about scarves in the summer. It’s like wearing sunglasses indoors: there’s no function. But to each his or her own.
Personally, I prefer clothing that is nicely made but relatively inexpensive, so I end up being very choosy and don’t buy a lot of items. I’m not one to dress in an attention-getting way, either. I don’t think I’ve spent more than $100 for any single item of clothing (suits excepted.) I basically avoid department stores like Macys because the clothes don’t fit me – the smalls are way to big. I avoid stores like Nordstrom because the prices are too high and the fashions are too aggressive.
I know I should check out more Columbus-based shops. I think there is a lot of potential for creating awareness and using fashion to market the city.
See, Cookie, we can agree on stuff! You’re getting a hug real soon…I have a friend who says she can track you down!
I’d be happy to meet you, but that’s a little creepy.