Wednesday, July 22, 2009

There's a glimmer of hope for Christian Lacroix....


I was thrilled to read that a company is seriously bidding to rescue Lacroix. That is some of the best news all week,all month, actually. If this is a company that gives him a feeling of comfort and support , then AMEN! Great things happen for us all, we just need to learn the art of patience. That virtue is in short supply when things are firing at us like atoms in an atom splitter. Most would react with panic. I would naturally duck and run. But the last 8 months have taught me and many others of us that patience is all we have to fall back on. Trying to make things happen and change to our liking has the effect of creating less of what we want and more of what we don't.
Things appear to be looking up in a very subtle if not somewhat sluggish pace. Change is the constant now. Change is the one thing we can definitely put our money on. So many of my friends and contemporaries are going through huge changes which none of us ever envisioned. But with that comes nothing but new opportunities and choices that will move us all forward. This uncomfortable evolution will probably look like a blessing from the other side. I'm embracing it and am very excited for the new which is around the corner.
As long as we do our best to keep an ordered house and look ahead with wide open eyes, we're bound to see some pretty fantastic opportunities with each of our names on them.
Try looking ahead and up and fight the urge to look at the ground, or you just might walk right past that door that stands wide open beckoning you in.

3 comments:

T.R. Clark said...

Except to say that I, too, am happy about hope for Lacroix, my comment has little to do with fashion and more to do with the sentiment you express. As I watch -- still -- so many of my colleagues and friends lose their jobs, their homes, their light, the idea that change being the only constant that we can truly count on has been my mantra gone a bit stale. As a true Scorpio, I love change. Lately, though, there's been too much, too quickly to keep my head up, eyes open as usual. Reading your post this morning serves as a reminder for me today. Opportunity exists everywhere! Thanks! MUAH!

R.A.L. West said...

You sound like your head and heart are well and solidly positioned to surf these changes!
Learned of this blog only today via Times article. Bravo! My earlier life engaged with fashion art and industry; first as a photo model in NY and Europe; a decade later as a designer of extremely forward custom/gallery one-of-a-kind.
I hardly follow fashion anymore at all...(though my design head is ever-fertile) as it has become so crass and uninspired with a few exceptions, which we have to discover by grace anyway 'cause none of the rags cover them.
Delighted to discover your writing! I feel sure that you are walking through one of these doors right now, and will charm, inspire, alert and inform with your wit and the classic grace of your clothing. I can imagine you doing gorgeous books; maybe some sort of forum to introduce really inspired and quality design work to clients via the internet; and I want to see you do it receiving generous and deserved remuneration!
Thanks also for your review of the Chanel book.....one of the high moments of my modeling career was shooting a Chanel suit for Bergdorf's, and the FEEL of how that skirt hung from my body, multiple zippers.....talk about an architect!! A divine genius she was!
Wishing you bon courage and great joy,
RAL*

Divalocity said...

I also read this on Paris Match, that his design house will possibly become solvent again if he gets an investor. I admire his sheer determination to continue doing what he loves. It seems that with the present economy no one is spared from watching their businesses dissolve.

People don't realize how hard it is to get capital to run your business, especially now. They think that if you have the talent, you can have the customers.

Many of us are now following your blog Mr. Gaskins, but I wonder how many have ever bought your clothing? One of the main reasons why designers of color fail is because of the lack of support from consumers of all nationalities, especially our own. People want status that they think they can buy, they care less about quality.

Where was the exposure that your company needed from the media? Is 7th Avenue that tight of group to penetrate?

You've really got me wondering if there is some kind of quota system for men designers of African descent, because many of them are absent from the media?

Edward Wilkerson has been the only designer of color that I've seen ads for lately.BMichael gets a little exposure when he's seen with Black socialites. Kevan Hall receives exposure only during the award ceremonies, only if a celebrity is wearing his designs.

There are hundreds of black fashion blogs on the web and and rarely do they ever feature black designers. I wrote to Essence magazine once about it and they finally did an article on BMichael.

Pop culture is destroying this country and they don't even realize it... where everything is celebrity based.

When one door closes another one opens and from what I've been reading you've opened your heart to the various possibilities.