StyleZeitgeist Podcast

Eugene Rabkin is back with Philippe Pourhashemi to discuss the Spring / Summer 2005 women's shows in Paris and Milan. They talked about Alessandro Michele's debut at Valentino, the need for change at Rick Owens, their different takeaways from the Dries Van Noten without Dries debut, the stagnant and bland luxury market, why Haider Ackermann is a brilliant choice for Tom Ford and what it means to hire a real designer at the helm of a big brand, and much more.Support the show

On this episode we speak with the London-based fashion and interior design journalist and photographer Mark C. O'Flaherty. Mark is the author of The Narrative Thread, a book about the relationship of fashion collectors to their clothes, and a regular contributor to the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, the World of Interiors, among others.We talked about the early '90s London club and queer culture and how it influenced London's fashion scene, Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's enduring sway over it, his work with Alexander McQueen, about the now forgotten London fashion heroes Body Map. We discuss Mark's almost accidental career, the difference between writing about and shooting fashion and interiors, and frustrations about doing genuine journalism today.Support the show

So, you want to get a job in fashion? But how? Or are you curious about what goes on behind the scenes of creative director musical chairs? On this episode we speak with Alice Bouleau, Partner at Sterling International, a premier executive search agency. Alice places creative directors and high level executives all over the world in some of the most prestigious fashion houses. We dive deep into how the fashion recruitment process works, examine why some designers actually don't want creative director positions, the blunders that happen along the way of recruitment, the current creative director musical chairs environment, why you have not gotten a response to your resume by applying via LinkedIn and Indeed, common mistakes applicants make, and qualities Alice looks for in a candidate. Last but not least, Alice gives Eugene some career advice.Support the show

So, you want to launch a brand? But do you know how it all actually works? For this episode we invited our old friend Joseph Keefer, who has had a long career in fashion on all fronts; retail, production, merchandising, and design, and who has launched his brand JKEEFER in 2020 in New York City. Joey is one of us, he grew up in the skate, punk, and hardcore scenes in Washington, DC. He started in retail as a teenager, and has moved from gig to gig, slowly learning the ropes. On this episode we go through Joey's journey that has included gigs at Odin, the pioneering menswear store in New York, and SSENSE, among others. We talk about the golden age of New York City's men's fashion in the mid aughts, in which Joey has participated, working closely with designers Robert Geller and Siki Im, the nuts and bolts of merchandising and production, and how his various roles have informed his design practice. Support the show

We are back with Philippe Pourhashemi to discuss this past menswear season. We talk about the shows at Pitti Uomo, Milan, and Paris, from the strange department-store-bound debut of Marine Serre at Pitti Uomo, and an unexpectedly joyful show of Pierre-Louis Mascia, about how bad the Milan shows were this season, the gimmicks at J.W. Anderson, the impotence at Prada, about the grotesque spectacles that Pharrell puts on at Louis Vuitton, and how Japanese designers like Undercover, Sacai, Kolor, and the newcomers like Masu and Taakk continue to make Paris look creative. We go in depth about Dries Van Noten’s last bow, the show itself, and Van Noten’s legacy. We discuss the spectacle of the Rick Owens show, asking when is spectacle good and when is it not enough? And much, much more. Support the show

Eugene Rabkin speaks with the writer and fashion commentator Derek Guy. Derek has come up in the days of forum culture, has written much about menswear, and has become a reluctant Twitter star. We talk about his style journey, the death of masculine shame about fashion and its unintended consequences, about why so much clothing has by and large has gotten so bad, why the notion of quality and expertise disappeared, why the level of discourse in the glory days of forum culture was so much better than anything you can find on social media today, and about considered consumption and taste in general. Support the show

On this episode we speak with Lorenzo Osti, the son of Massimo Osti, about the life and legacy of his father, the pioneer of modern men’s fashion. We talk about Osti’s design ethos, work methods, and innovations, and how the newly established brand Massimo Osti Studio carries on Osti’s legacy today.Support the show

On this episode we review the Fall/Winter 2024 fashion season in Milan and Paris, including the Alexander McQueen debut and the feedback it has received, the state of Balenciaga and Demna, Ann Demeulemeester, Sacai, and more. Philippe shares thoughts on his new favorite brand, Hodakova, and we talk about why the Dior show was an ad, why the smaller brands like Gaucherre and Lutz Huelle are important, and much more. The question of the day, considering the debuts we have witnessed over the last twelve months - is the new generation capable of producing a great designer?Support the show

On this episode we speak with Natasha Degen, Professor and Chair, Art Market Studies, Fashion Institute of Technology about the uneasy symbiosis of fashion and art that she examines in depth in her recent book Merchants of Style: Art and Fashion After Warhol,. We talk about the encroachment of corporate luxury fashion on the art world with Warhol as the pivotal figure, the degradation of the art museum, art and fashion collaborations, Raf Simons and Sterling Ruby, Marc Jacobs and Takashi Murakami, Virgil Abloh and Pharrell, Bernard Arnault's and Francois Pinault's forays into art as the new Medici, and what is lost when art becomes sponsored by the private sector and consumed by the masses.Support the show

On this episode we are back with Philippe to discuss this past men’s season shows at Pitti Uomo, Milan, and Paris. We talk about the contrast between Luca Magliano and S.S. Daley, Gucci, Prada, and Zegna (best of season in Milan), why Rick Owens was the show of the season and Yohji Yamamoto was a letdown, the continued elegance of Dries Van Noten, and Rei Kawakubo’s uncharacteristic feeling of lightness, Hermès’ uncompromising quality, why the Japanese newcomers TAAKK and MASU (not covered by Vogue Runway, but covered by us) made Paris exciting, and which small brands we loved and why we are going to lean into supporting smaller brands this year. We wonder out loud, how bad can Louis Vuitton and Dior get? We cheat a little in the end by discussing Galliano’s Maison Margiela Artisanal show, because how could we not?!Support the show

On this episode we speak with Maria Wiesner, the styles editor of Frankfurt Allgemiene Zeitung and the author of a book about the life and work of Jil Sander (published earlier this year in German by HarperCollins). We discuss the formative years of the Queen of Minimalism, how Bauhaus and Hamburg honed her aesthetic, how her trail-blazing, uncompromising vision of minimalism paid off handsomely in the ‘80s and the ‘90s, and her ill-fated deal with Prada.Support the show

On this episode we discuss the work of Phoebe Philo and the role she has played in defining contemporary fashion, the aesthetic direction and the business model of her new eponymous brand as compared to her work at Celine, the reception of the first two drops, and what the future holds.Support the show

We are back with our regular guest Philippe Pourhashemi to review the Spring / Summer 2024 women’s season. We discuss in depth the debuts of Peter Do at Helmut Lang, Sabato de Sarno at Gucci, Peter Hawkings at Tom Ford, and Stefano Gallici at Ann Demeulemeester. We talk about the brilliant Undercover outing (spoiler alert: best of season!), Sacai, Rick Owens, Comme des Garçons, Dries Van Noten, Prada, and many other shows.Support the show

On this episode we speak with Julie Zerbo, the founder of the Fashion Law, a fashion media outlet dedicated to fashion, law, business, and industry analysis. Her being a lawyer by education, we find Julie's perspective on fashion both original and pertinent. We talk about Julie's professional journey, the obstacles she faces running an independent publication, and her views on the current state of fashion.Support the show

We are back with the journalist and critic Philippe Pourhashemi to discuss the recently finished Spring/Summer 2024 fashion season. We review shows from Pitti Uomo, Milan, and Paris, including Rick Owens, Dries Van Noten, Lemaire, Sacai, and more, and we discuss Pharrell's Louis Vuitton debut.Support the show

On this hot-take episode with Philippe Pourhashemi we discuss the recent firings of Ludovic de Saint Sernin from Ann Demeulemeester and Rhuigi Villasenor from Bally and their implications. We speak about hype versus talent, what makes the right fit between a creative director and a brand, the relationship between management and creative, brand building and reputational risk, and much more.Support the show

We reconnect with the journalist Amy Odell to discuss the problematic legacy of Karl Lagerfeld, the late designer of Chanel, and the new exhibit devoted to his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. We try to answer one of the central questions of creativity - can you separate the art from the artist? - and dive into other aspects of Lagerfeld's life and work.Support the show

Our guest is Lauren Sherman, former senior correspondent at the Business of Fashion, a top-notch reporter whose no-nonsense writing cuts through much of the industry noise. We discuss why fashion journalism used to be a much richer field, why honest reporting is beneficial to fashion, why it’s imperative for a brand to develop a core audience, why LVMH excels at retaining talent, why brick and mortar retail matters, and talk about her new and exciting role at Puck News.Support the show

We speak with the casting director James Scully about his trajectory of working in fashion, from his days at the iconic New York boutique Charivari in the ‘80s to his days at Harper’s Bazaar and the changes he witnessed while being there, to becoming one of the best casting agents in the fashion industry; his whistle blowing on the rampant abuse of models and the changes it engendered. James’s is a brilliant story of working his way up in fashion through sheer love of it and his talent. It is also an important one because it provides a rare glimpse of what goes on under the hood of the fashion industry. Support the show

We are back with Philippe to review this past Fall / Winter 2023 Women's fashion show season. We dive into many shows, concentrating on the many debuts, of Daniel Lee at Burberry, Ludovic de Saint-Sernin at Ann Demeulemeester, and Harris Reed at Nina Ricci.Support the show