In response to this email, Dana Todd added her thoughts in a LinkedIn post. (excerpt shared with permission)
“There’s a lot to unpack here, actually.
My limited time in the industry has left me with some prejudices, I must admit. I think that the “Fashion” (capital-F for Fancy) world is definitely small: clicquish, incestuous, self-feeding, self-righteous. Patron-supported, in many cases.
And the Fashion industry purposely needs its products to seem magical, effortless, transformational, valuable. To sully it with sausage making discussions is simply not done. Just as an artist doesn’t want to have your first thoughts of a painting to be “Say, what kind of brush technique is that?”, fashion designers don’t want you to hone in on the fabrication and supply chain before you are clapping for their creativity.”
An interesting underlying question that Dana’s post brings up is: Does the effort (or understanding of the effort) involved in making clothes decrease the value of the final work?
High fashion has mystique, but why? What is the business case for veiling the production of the designer’s creative vision?
Perhaps exclusivity and obscurity used to add value, but does it anymore for today’s customer in today’s world? I feel like customers now are more interested in the people and processes behind the fancy designs than they have been for decades. Maybe it is just the slow fashion circles I run in. It might be just my technical nerdiness, but I appreciate things more when I get a glimpse into how they’re made.
How about for you? Does knowing how something works strip away the magic or make you appreciate it more deeply?