DEAR INDUSTRY Transition to Transgender by Rachel Basel
From the flamboyantly dressed dandies of Britain to the short—haired, Parisian women of the 20s, fashion has seen its fair share of androgyny. When Coco Chanel pioneered women’s sportswear and designed her famous tweed suit, it’s almost as if she envisioned that women would be dressing like men for a long time coming. In today’s world, things have been taken to a whole new level; androgyny has become trendy. With designers starting to hire transgender and transsexual models to walk their runway shows, cross—dressing is becoming pretty standard in fashion. Brazilian native Lea T is known in the fashion Industry as the first transgender super model. Many would say she paved the way for other transgender models, such as Andrej Pejic and former Olympic swimmer, Stav Strashko. Lea T has been featured in Vogue, Elle and Interview
magazines and served as the face of Givenchy in 2010. Her home country has been especially influential in this movement of acceptance in the fashion industry. Carol Marra, another transgender model from Brazil, was interviewed for “Vice’s” “Rio Fashion Week,” a documentary. “On the catwalk, my genitalia won’t be shown, just like the other models’ genitalia. I’m not here today due to my gender, but due to my professionalism,” she said. She presents the idea that what sets her apart from the female—born models has nothing to do with her career and ability to do her job. Why say many would not agree? Casey Legler was the first natural—born woman to be signed as a male model at Ford Models. She contributed a powerful article to The Guardian where she advocates the importance of accepting
the gay and transgender community not only in the fashion world but amongst humanity. She makes a statement, much like Carol Marra’s, that can most certainly be applied to the fashion industry. “There is a historical tradition you should know about and it is certainly not about gender. It is about being fierce,” she said. The Fashion Institute of Technology is no stranger to the androgyny concept and is a devoted supporter of the LGBTQ community. However a number of students stray from the college’s perspective; nearly half of the students questioned about transgender models were not supporters of the trend. A fashion design major at FIT who wished to remain anonymous said, “When you're making clothing for a certain gender, that true gender should be wearing the clothing.” On the other hand, several students admitted that they would in fact hire a man over a woman if
the model happened to show the garment better. Sophomore Koran Bakaota is from Serbia, the same country as transgender model Andrej Pejic, and she expressed her support. “I would hire him, because I like the way he looks,” she explained. As the seasons roll on, more designers and companies are using transgender models for runway shows and advertisements. Barneys New York created a Spring 2014 campaign called “Brothers, Sisters, Sons and Daughters” using about 20 transgender models while Tom Ford used transgenders in his Fall 2014 campaign. Whether androgyny is fully accepted or not, fashion proves time and time again to appreciate the unique. And as “Vice” journalist Charlet Duboc so correctly points out, “In fashion, what is thought to be unusual, soon becomes the norm.”
3D Printing is Going Mainstream by Kaela Pflumm
Like the majority of consumers in the United States, you've probably ordered from Amazon.com at least once. It is, after all, the global leader in e—retailing, offering customers a wide range of products at competitive prices. Last year the e—commerce company made 74.45 billion dollars in net sales and reported 327 million active customer accounts worldwide. But the latest news is, the e— retail company has branched out into yet another category: 3D printing. With this new service, customers will be able to choose from over 200 different products including toys, tech accessories, home decor products and fashion accessories, and allow them to custom design each item. This strategic business move has just launched Amazon into the #2 spot of Most Influential Companies. Since the introduction of stereolithography in 1984 by Charles Hull, the capabilities of 3D printing have been applied to industrial parts, functional organs such as kidneys, prosthetic devices and even cars. By 2013, the 3D printing industry made two and a half billion dollars and experts believe that that figure will grow to 16.2 billion dollars by 2018. As 3D printing becomes more mainstream, its impact on the fashion industry will have a much greater effect. New York fashion designer Frances Bitonti recently designed a 3D printed gown for American burlesque dancer, Dita Von Teese. In
an interview with NotJustALabel.com, Bitonti says,"The most exciting things about 3D printing for me is that you can consider new types of construction, and you are not limited to materials which must be woven or knitted. For example, you can create a textile which seamlessly transitions from a solid to a flexible structure. It's really about trying to forget all you know about fashion and textiles, from a design perspective. The rules don't apply." Big name brands such as Nike, Adidas and New Balance have also started to incorporate 3D printing into their products. Nike is already printing soles in 3D and soon they will be able to scan a customer’s foot. Benefits? The shoe is guaranteed to fit perfectly. The same process will also apply to fitting bras, shirts, jeans and trousers. With services such as the one Amazon is providing, 3D printing is also giving consumers more control and allowing them to essentially be their own manufacturer. Entrepreneur Chris Anderson, who recently stepped down from an 11 year position as editor—in—chief at Wired magazine to pursue his newest career venture, 3D Robots, is referring to this new 3D printing movement as the "Maker Movement." In a recent interview with Business of Fashion, Anderson defined the Maker
Movement as "what happens when the web meets the real world." Anderson explains that there have already been two major industrial revolutions. The first revolution was the replacement of muscle power by machine power; the second revolution was the "democratization" of computers, meaning that as computers and the Internet were made available to everyone, it unleashed an enormous amount of creativity and talent. But Anderson points out that yet a third industrial revolution is now emerging and that it is a "combination of the first two: it's the web revolution meets manufacturing." With Amazon’s new venture into 3D printing, it is likely that the phenomenon will go mainstream fairly rapidly. "I really do think 3D printers will be commonly found in American homes in five years," commented Anderson, "and the moment you bring a 3D printer into a home, especially a home with children, the light bulb goes off. You are suddenly training a generation to believe that anything they imagine, they can make. We'll start to see the rise of new talents that didn't necessarily go to design school," says Anderson, "but who can now show their work much more effectively, because they have access to more powerful tools." It seems that the future of manufacturing, thanks to 3D printing, is going to be an exciting and liberating time.