Shit that's on Sale for a Reason

Just doing some online snooping and had a revelation of sorts. Well not a revelation, I think I'm merely pointing out what is obvious: Sale items are ugly. Case in point:

It's like Gareth Pugh for Jacqui E. And do you know it was originally priced at US$315? It's now $95 and not surprisingly it's available in every size. 

The sale area of a store-bricks and mortar or online-is always a bit of a freak show. All the pieces from a collection that just don't work get relegated to the sale area and wait to die. It's like a rest home for clothes on life support. What's sadder is those pieces that could've worked if only some minor detail hadn't been added or if it were done in a different colour. Like the oatmeal single parent having a night out at Tabaret with the gang wrap above. Maybe if it had been done in black or navy? Even then I think you'd be clutching at straws. Next item:

A checkered mall goth at a Nascar meet and greet scarf. Originally US$175! Why pay so much to look so awful? You don't have to. It's a snip at US$53. As if owning this scarf isn't bad enough, paying $53 for it would be enough to make me hang myself with it. 

I've got an idea. Let's put an exposed zipper a few centimetres across from where a zip would normally go. It's never been done before. The reason it's never been done is because it's daft. How's a guy supposed to go to the bathroom? I think if I were at a bar I'd just piss myself. They could be yours for US$93, reduced from US$310. 

In a few months you will want Kenzo

Humberto Leon and Carol Lim of Opening Ceremony are now the creative directors of Kenzo. Hipster alert! Antonio Marras who has designed for Kenzo since 2004 got the boot and the OC duo will show their first Kenzo collection in October for Spring 2012.

According to Getty, Kenzo is to be repositioned in the contemporary sector, with prices expected to range from 200 euros to 1,500 euros ($285 to $2,135).

I think this could go well. I like OC stuff even though the price range is out of my reach. Like the Pendleton collab they did was amazing but fuck, the prices were steep. I think for quite a few years now most people don't even realise Kenzo have a clothing line (except for fashion people) and just think of it as a fragrance brand. Marras isn't a terrible designer but his collections just never struck the right chord with buyers and the public.

Their appointment at Kenzo reminds me of Nicola Formichetti at Mugler. These big brands getting in young(ish) people with creative backgrounds but with no actual design training. A lot of people don't agree with that idea but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Fashion after all is about marketing a product and getting buzz. Formichetti has launched Mugler and it seems to be doing well and the OC duo will undoubtedly do the same for Kenzo.

So what can you expect from the new Kenzo? Well Kenzo under the direction of Marras featured a lot of ethnic/tribal (ugh I hate using those words. So racist right?!) prints and a lot of the clothes were big, flowy and romantic. He's also a great colourist. I think under the OC duo a lot of that romantic flowy stuff will go. The prints will stay because that's what the founder of Kenzo was known for. So I'm guessing ikat print skinny jeans? Or a duffell coat lined in kimono silk? Something like this....