Well, maybe.
Here’s my pitch, and my promise: I promise not to show you snapshots of what I wore today.
I will show you photos from amazing clothing designers creating amazing things.
In 2011 I started my own clothing line, National Picnic. I’ve noticed that in the fashion blogging world, if you’re not getting blogged about by an endorsement-driven suburbanista (although, wow, ladies, kudos for finding a way to capitalize on your shopping addictions), or blogging about yourself (while fun and effective, it doesn’t really count as true recognition), are there any independent clothing designers blogging about other independent clothing designers?
Maybe not.
I see an opportunity to fill a void. Because the one thing I’ve gotten really good at is noticing, admiring, and respecting other indie designers out there doing what I’m doing. I’ve spent time on the online industry haunts that we frequent (namely fashion-incubator.com—aspiring designers should check it out) and I have to say, there is NO dearth of talented Americans working hard to start up their own, often locally-sewn, clothing lines.
When I email other designers to say I think their things are wonderful, fascinating, or crazy-cool, an amazing thing happens. They email back. And a friendship begins. I have colleagues I’ve never met. Some I’ve gotten to run into at trade shows. Some I’ve bought from. They’re scattered across the nation, but they all feel local. And they all seem hidden from mainstream fashion marketing.
In my opinion (and this comes from first-hand experience) nothing sucks more than putting your heart and sweat into a collection that not enough people notice in time to see it blossom. I should have a cross-stitched sampler hanging in my own studio that reads “Last season’s collection was FABULOUS. Sorry you missed it.”
My blog is going to be dedicated to showcasing fellow independent designer work. Because let’s face it, press is the much needed, ever-elusive spark of recognition designers try to score before the money runs out. Because it often does, unless you’re lucky enough to have a trust fund or a celebrity connection. The great majority of indies don’t.
So let’s have a look at everybody’s stuff. I’m going to search for the great work of my peers. By putting one more spotlight on someone else’s fashion accomplishments, may there be a little more press and exposure for those I believe have earned it.
I wanted to call my blog “Running with Scissors”, because it’s a pretty accurate metaphor for the amount of rush and risk involved in trying to start, grow, and maintain an independent clothing label. Unfortunately, I should have started the blog 11 years ago. Running with Scissors is the title of a 2002 memoir by American writer Augusten Burroughs that spent eight weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
So let the discovery begin! My first subject will be Myrrhia Resneck, an indie designer making fine knitwear in Los Angeles. I’m excited to interview her as my first feature when she launches her fall collection in August. For a sneak peek at her work, you can check it out at http://myrrhia.com
