EUGENE TONG TALKS PUBLIC SCHOOL

How the Style Director of Details Magazine and  Stylist behind Public School balances both jobs. Written By: Caleb Poling | Socialize: @CalebPoling

Eugune Tong of Details Magazine and myself at the Richard Chai event at Scoop NYC. 

     The other night at the Richard Chai event downtown I spotted Eugene Tong, Style Director of Details Magazine, across the room laughing with his friends - Mr. Chai being one of them.

     It should be known I'm terrible at fan-girling. But regardless, I introduced myself to him and immediately felt comfortable. This is the man who has brought ease into menswear when there seems to be too much fuss, and style and editing into the brand, Public School, as it continues to grow as a men and women's brand. 

      I asked how he knew Dao-Yi and Maxwell, the designer duo behind Public School. "We were old friends back when they worked at Sean Jean." he told me.

     With two such labor intensive jobs, I inquired about how he balances both. "It's late hours. Especially the last few weeks, I'd be in the studio with them until four in the morning sometimes." he said, still wearing a smirk on his face - a clear sign he enjoys what he does despite the long hours.

     The success of a brand and a magazine editor working so well together is refreshing, and that type of support is necessary in the world of emerging designers. And with a kiss on his cheek, one of his friends wished him good luck with his travels to Paris. The man dressed in black and white just keeps on going.  

RICHARD CHAI SEDUCES SCOOP NYC

Designer Richard Chai showcases the latest pieces from his Andrew Marc  collection at SCOOP NYC downtown in SoHo Thursday evening.
Written By: Caleb Poling | Socialize: @CalebPoling

     There's nothing that makes the bloggers coo and come out than a night of champagne and designer goods. 

     Last night I headed down to SoHo to the SCOOP store for the Richard Chai event, showing his latest pieces he designed for Andrew Marc. The collaboration began last year as a way to help Chai apply to an even broader audience, and for Andrew Marc to satisfy a more fashion-forward customer. 

     There were few men's piece but those that were there were leather pieces that felt like mutter on a warm skillet, melting into your hand. 

     I've actually enjoyed how quiet the collaboration has been compared to others in the industry and feel like this could be something really good if the partnership continues. 

One of the full looks from the Richard Chai and Andrew Marc collaboration. 

HOW THEY ARE RIPPING US OFF

How and why companies are getting away with stealing ideas from students.
Written By: Caleb Poling | Socialize: @CalebPoling



     "This semester we're very excited to have a large brand working as our sponsor this semester!" my professor said; ecstatic to announce the news. 
    We're a group of seniors at FIT and our brains have nearly been mutated when it comes to our sense of work ethic. We've interned, worked, and have been grouped together for projects so many times I probably have the phone number of half the students at this school. 
     Senior year means senior thesis projects. It means having industry come in and critic us, guide us, and help us as they conveniently knock-off all of our ideas. I'll leave out any professor or companies names, but I assure you it's happening and we notice.
     Corporate sponsors are nice for professors because it gives them a chance to showcase their students like a dance mom from a bad TLC show. It also allows them to have connections at companies, keeping one foot in the classroom and one foot in the industry. They also lecture us on how this helps us prepare for the industry, giving us real problems, real companies are having. Up to this point, all of this is fair to a certain point. Here's where it gets tricky.
     Our classes meet about 15 times a semester. Each class lasting about 3 hours. The class however doesn't consist of working on our term project for the sponsor company, it consists of reading their annual reports and analyzing their marketing and merchandising. Already that's 45 hours. Tack on a few more each week for the research we do, the brainstorming, the creativity we pour into our projects, just hoping to get an A. And that's just for one class. 
     But what happens when the semester ends? Not only do they have my group's research and ideas, they have all of the groups from all of the classes. What does it cost them? Maybe a few hundred dollars for a prize for one group. Maybe. It didn't cost them time because all they did was come into the classroom instead of going into the office. They come and snatch up ideas for free and take it back.
     Flash-forward a few months and the students notice something. The brand's website has changed. Their marketing has been tweaked. What better way to get inside the millennial customer's head? 
     We have two options. Hold back our ideas and lack winning a class competition and chancing our grade, or to pour out our thoughts and have them ripped from our hands. Of course I am a realistic person and know that ripping off ideas is not new to the industry. It's part of the fashion industry's DNA. Does it make it right? Probably not considering just last year Conde Nast has let go of their internship program because so many hours of work were going unpaid for. 
     Here's how I see it. If you want to intern for free, that's fine. It's your choice. I've done it. The difference is working for these companies with the classroom being a buffer, is not. It's not a choice. You must participate. I hate that this is how our classroom is ran. Surely there are teaching alternatives. 
    I'd much rather brands and retailers show us what we didn't know we wanted, rather than ripping off ideas of what we already do. 

WHY MINIMALISM MAKES SENSE FOR THE FUTURE

With the clutter of the 21st century, are we finding peace in minimalism?
Written By: Caleb Poling | Socialize: @CalebPoling

     The future has been a gimmicky game of guessing for centuries, and the definition will constantly change as the time and era we are in will constantly evolve. Recent films such as Her have projected what some see as being the near future and it's a bit more nostalgic than others would have normally thought.
     This idea makes a lot of sense to me. As music reached an all-time high of autotune, photography reached an all-time high of photoshop, and reading has reached an all-time high of skimming the pages for key concepts, it only makes sense that the world ahead of us will crave for simpler times. The references to the 1970's were evident throughout the film and in a way gave a sense of association to an audience who would completely fail to relate to the film had it been set in a cliche Jetson-themed futuristic world. 
     That is the romantic version of what some might wish the world to be. As I've mentioned in previous posts, an entire civilization rarely looks that far back for it's future culture. I believe we as people will only crave simplicity as more information, more world affairs, more political problems, and more celebrities exist in a world that is over-polluted with nearly everything. 
     You can already see this in the television we watch. Shows that are making a splash in pop-culture are those that are focusing on the simplicity of the cinematography through their sets and costume. Take House of Cards. Claire on her white iPhone. Frank on his Blackberry. Claire in her white dress when Frank is in his black suit. Claire in her black ensemble when Frank is in his white t-shirt. It's the complexity of the world they deal with within their own personal world, in which everything is clean, perfect and minimal. 

Hit TV Show, House of Cards, continues to gain momentum for a complex story-line with beautiful minimal costumes. 

     Or take the television show, Scandal, in which Olivia Pope is known for her all white looks just as much as Kerry Washington is herself. Or what about Daft Punk's album cover? Lorde? Beyonce. Cravings become patterns. Patterns become trends. And trends can become the norm.