Debating the meaning of fashion in January is just asking for trouble.

Perhaps it’s our Christmas shopping hangovers or those New Years resolutions to tackle our overflowing closets or maybe (excuse me) some Pollyannaish theorizing that we should stop accumulating and live more simply, but it seems the typically insatiable fashion media’s lust for consumerism has turned to ennui. Call it a break from the exhaustive attempt to lead readers to thoughtless splurges and instead to buy less – but better.

WWD’s Rosemary Feitelberg asked “six innovative thinkers to pinpoint issues and opportunities into which fashion executives would be wise to tune.”

Illustrating the restrained mood of today’s more conscious consumer, John Ross, CEO of Interpublic-owned Shopper Sciences, offered, “Social media is also breeding social activism, adding a whole other layer to the shopping conversation.” He continues, “People are asking themselves if they are making responsible decisions. Is child labor being used? Are workers allowed to organize? Are health and safety practices in place?”

Then the New York Times extolled the practical virtues of convertible fashion in Ruth LaFerla’s article “Convertible Clothing Is a New Twist for the Cost-Conscious.” The article describes the trend of pieces worn “like soft-skinned transformers that can be hitched, tied, buttoned or draped to take on a variety of forms and uses.”

Referencing the demands and “inventiveness is an expression of a D.I.Y. mind-set,” LaFerla writes, “In a value-driven economy, fashions that can be tweaked to travel from workplace to gym and to cocktails are certainly compelling. And this trend, once perceived as a novelty at best, is attracting a new generation of light-traveling frequent fliers and canny frugalistas.”

Finally, the excellent Sarah Mower writes for Vogue an unusually wallet-friendly online guide to “reshuffling our own clothes and accessories” in “Do Try this at Home: Tweaks and Tricks to Make Your Wardrobe Work for Pre-Fall.” The accompanying slideshow advises us to recycle our existing stuff; like skinny ankle-cropped pants that “pair excellently with all the pointy stilettos you have somewhere in your wardrobe,” or that the tunic trend means “there could be a new whole new life for the short dresses which have been retired to the back of the closet” and lastly, stopping us from Goodwilling our old Ethnic prints by asking… “Own anything in paisley or ikat or the like? Haul it out right away.”

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Last week, Sen. Chuck Schumer introduced the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act. The bill aims to extend a three-year copyright protection to keep fashion designers from having their original designs stolen and copied.

Replacing last year’s Design Piracy Prohibition Act – which failed its third attempt at passage – the new bill is once again funded and supported by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which represents many big-name fashion design houses who continue to push for legislation that provides intellectual property protection rights to a fashion design.

What’s different this time around is that it has the support of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the largest industry group. Managing to reassure the concerns of its members that include many small apparel and fabric firms, the bill no longer requires registration of every design from smaller independents who can’t afford costly lawyer’s fees just to be able to sell something.

Large established designers stand to gain the most, but they’ll be limited to protecting designs not already in the public domain and will face the formidable task of establishing that the design in question had not existed before.

New York Times fashion critic, Cathy Horyn elaborates, “A designer who claims that his work has been copied must show that his design provides “a unique, distinguishable, non-trivial and non-utilitarian variation over prior designs.” And it must be proven by the designer that the copy is “substantially identical” to the original so as to be mistaken for it. The bill would cover all fashion designs, including products like handbags, belts and sunglasses, for a three-year period from the time the item is seen in public – on a runway, say.”

Which begs the question, in this age of overwhelming access to information, is this kind of protection really necessary? Can anyone really possess inspiration?

And how does extending copyright protection to fashion benefit anyone other than those who can afford the legal fees to sue? While it might provide protection for some big designers against blatant plagiarism of their most innovative designs, to me it seems like more fiddling while Rome burns.

We can all appreciate that cheating is wrong. Rather than pointing the finger, as an industry let’s try to develop the consumer instead. With the advent of catwalks streaming live on style.com and fashion blogs that share up to the minute insider info, fashion knowledge has become more accessible than ever before. Rather than attempting to limit access for fear of plagiarism, it’s important to build on that platform and educate the consumer about the cause and effect of their choices.

There’s simply too much at risk to jeopardize it with difficult to identify laws that are costly and may impede an emerging eco-fashion designer’s creativity and resources. This is not an industry that needs to rest on its laurels by seeking timely credit recognition, but one that needs to be constantly innovating forward to keep the world and its inhabitants beautiful.

Image: Aidan Wojtas

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In a special four-part Dumbing Down American Design miniseries, EcoSalon takes a closer look at American design and considers different perspectives from leaders in the design and fashion world.

Has our quest for convenience forever altered fashion?

If we are to invest in sustainable design, doesn’t it start with the designer knowing something about fit? The pattern maker knowing something about quality pattern making? The retailer knowing something about which clothes to purchase based on construction versus fad? And ultimately, as consumers driving demand, what is our responsibility?

Over the next four weeks, we’ll provide insight into these questions.

New York Times fashion critic, Cathy Horyn, has initiated many conversations about the changing fashion world. In a recent article, Horyn speaks about the death of one era, where garments are made and sold in New York city’s Garment District, and the birth of a newer one, where “the shift of technical skill, and gradually even design and merchandising,” are moving to other countries, namely China.

Horyn cites this dominance, as well as “the gradual decline of technical expertise in the face of apparent consumer indifference about fit and quality,” as two major problems primed to diminish, if not altogether destroy, stateside design traditions permanently. (Horyn’s lengthy transcript with Cindy Ferrara, veteran production specialist-turned-manager of product development and production at Danskin, is worth the read here and serves as the inspiration for  this series.)

When it comes to meaningful mass design, has the U.S. lost its edge?

One need not look any further than the average American for the answer; so content are we with fast fashion, ill-fitting clothing and spandex.

East German-born Tina Schenk, founder of Werkstatt, a sample room and pattern development studio in New York City’s garment district, says her diverse client base that includes the likes of Calvin Klein, Alexander Wang and Thakoon, as well as newer labels like eco-label Restore Clothing, came out of a need for quality pattern making and samples here in the U.S.

“What I found is that the further away you went with development, the bigger the support system of technical designers and production people had to be in order to deal with all of the communication going back and forth,” says Schenk. “The further you went away, the longer the lead times got as well, which took away time you could actually spend refining the designs. And very often what you got back from the overseas factories wasn’t reflective of what you had asked for, even with these  hundreds of emails going back and forth.”

Schenk adds that many companies, operating under the pressure of intense production schedules, will typically just settle for the resulting poor fit and construction.

“Quality design development takes great care. You have to take your time in order to pay attention to every detail, and time is money,” says Schenk. “The is a lot of pressure from retailers to produce things at a certain price and I think that producers started cutting corners to give in to these demands.”

She also points out the pressure that colleges, graduate schools and media place on the design world.

“In the age of ‘Project Runway‘ everyone wants to be a designer and there is a lack of respect for the people who can bring these designs into fruition, especially by the younger people coming fresh out of fashion school,” observes Schenk. “There aren’t many people who still want to learn the craft, and those who do have to go to college for it and graduate with a lot of theoretical knowledge, but without a solid foundation that an apprenticeship could provide.”

How will upcoming and experienced designers alike better the design world enough to give Americans an appreciation for what they wear – perhaps even an education?

“I think that producers have to start taking responsibility and show consumers what a well-made garment is,” Schenk says. “People will know a good garment when they see it, they will know good fit once they put it on and realize how wonderful it makes them feel. And once you know what it feels like, it is hard to go back.”

It may be that the proverbial squeaky wheel gets the grease, but in the case of the fashion consumer, Schenk believes responsibility starts with designers.

“I am not sure who said it, but there is a saying that if you ask for only the best, you will receive only the best,” she says. “I would add to this: if you don’t know what is the best, you won’t know what to ask for.”

Image: photographerpandora

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