I find it hard myself not to want to hear about what trouble the girls are getting into, or jonesing to read about which poor soul Perez Hilton is slamming in his blog. On my Yahoo homepage, admittedly I’m drawn to things like, “Kimora Lee Simmons files for divorce from entertainment mogul.” Why? I admit that I’ve become sort of a negativity addict. Ironic, since the one thing I’ve been trying to build Genlux on is positivity. So what are these forces that cause us to seek bad news? Or the better question, how do we break the habit? One of the things I noticed about LA Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was the negativity that was flying around the shows. Everyone, it seems, is a critic, and during Fashion Week the noses tilt about 15 degrees north and the withering comments about all that’s wrong with LA fashion circulate like a virus, infecting even those who “liked” the shows. I’m not going out on a limb when I say that every one of those designers who showed at LA Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week poured their hearts into their work. They stayed up late. They couldn’t sleep when their designs didn’t translate to the fabric. They worked to the last minute fine-tuning their creations, hoping that the models would fit them, that the makeup artists “got it,” that the hairstylists “understood” their vision, that the music would be in sync with the walk of the models(and that it would be cool enough and not too loud), and that the gift bags on the seats would be worthy of the editors receiving them. They had to make invitations and plan the seating with their publicists and reseat the seating plan when more than those who said they’d show, showed. They did all of this because they love fashion and their craft and hope to find their place in this industry where many are so quick to blow their flames out. It’s common knowlege that my own industry—magazine publishing—is one in which no apologies are made for eating one’s young. A new magazine has its odds of survival
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stacked against it—not because it’s not being nurtured, but because competing magazines are so threatened, they’ll take whatever measures they can to bury it. I can safely—and sadly—say that you may now add LA Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week to that list. How can our young designers possibly continue to grow and develop toward success unless our fashion community nurtures that growth?
CECILIA’s PAGE
t’s so easy to get caught up in negativity.
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One of the most positive and hard-working people I know is our new editor in chief, Samia Arslane. She is a true fashionista who grew up in France and lives an envious lifestyle. She is one of those lucky individuals who chooses to work. I have to say that, in a way, Samia’s a fashion snob. (Forgive me, Samia!) That is, she wears only designer, but she’s cool about it. She doesn’t flaunt it. She’s almost embarrassed by her position in life, and that’s what I love about her: her unpretentiousness. What a breath of fresh air. And everyone who knows Samia says the same thing about her. It was Samia’s decision, along with that of Stephen Kamifuji, our creative director, to focus on what was positive about LA Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week: the home-runs of each designer. Think about it. What CD did you hear recently where you liked every song? Or an artist’s show where you had to have every painting? If our designers can bring us a few showstoppers each season, isn’t that worthy of praise? And that praise might be all the inspiration they need to get them to their next collection. So in our next issue, we’ll be bringing you the best of each designer who showed at LA Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The fact is, no creative entity can survive a concerted wave of negativity—just as nothing can keep a wave of positivity from helping our young talent emerge as the next fashion heroes. Won’t you join Genlux as the champions of our LA designers? Maybe a little focus on the positive can help save the world.