#Timeless meaning how to

Celia Stall-Meadows defines fashion as an industry built on emotional appeals where marketing directs customers toward a particular brand or fashion, 'even though no amount of marketing can sell a product that customers don’t desire”. Moreover, a lasting design should be highly desirable and imbued with emotion. Richard Sorger also emphasises on the power of workmanship: “I think that garments that utilize a craft, such as embroidery or embellishment, if they are made with integrity (and by this I mean by hand, paying a fair wage) instantly they have more longevity and value beyond the retail price.” He brings into question the concept of ‘heirloom pieces’ that can be passed down from mother to daughter, father to son. “Perfect craftsmanship is always appreciated on a garment, old or new”, says Filep Motwary. Similarly, there is the value associated to exquisite quality. Celia Stall-Meadows highlights simplicity as a factor “Often, it is the limited number of details on a style that make it seem timeless.' The rarity and the luxury status, adding excitement, attraction, and association, among the keys that keep these pieces alive. In order to decode the magic of timelessness we must consider several aspects. Last but not least, as he wrote in his book Luxury Hackers, there must be the “shadow of the future” – “the feeling that a certain product has always been there and it’s impossible to conceive its end.” “For instance, Converse All Stars were conceived for playing basketball, but they didn’t become an iconic product until they were adopted by the punk movement.' It was the same for Ray Ban Aviators 'They had a medical use in the beginning, protecting your eyes from the sun, but they became the sunglasses for those who wanted to look like rock stars, when real rock stars actually started to use them for protection from the flashing cameras”. Venturi believes these designs have to be linked to a specific generation, to a subculture, or a dominant archetype in society. Broadly speaking, Danilo Venturi, Head of Bussiness and Communication Department at Polimoda Florence, says there are no secret ingredients 'It is a mix of good branding linked to a good long-term trend forecasting, with a bit of luckiness of course.' Furthermore, some of them were initially designed for specific purposes, not necessarily related to fashion. Of course, the pieces celebrated today as cult objects have not been conceived with a timeless built-in feature. Is it simplicity? Is it a hidden complexity, or it is luck? What are there some ‘secret’ ingredients? I have always wanted to find out the formula of a timeless fashion piece. The Burberry trench coat, the Birkin bag, the Max Mara camel coat 101801 and the Levi's 501 jeans model these are all frequently referred as ‘timeless’ pieces. Thus, ‘timelessness’ is commonly used in the fashion slang as an easy phrase to cover various design pieces that have survived decades, surviving the fast-pace of fashion. Celia Stall-Meadows – marketing specialist and author of Fashion Now: A Global Perspective, observes the lack of accuracy in the phrase, stating that “Year after year, if customers wear a particular style, like a blazer, trench coat, or a plaid pattern, the fashion life cycle of the style may be marketed as ‘timeless.’ In reality, it only has a longer life cycle than other fashions.” In his opinion, these are quite neutral items, “so ubiquitous as to become invisible.” The contradictory fact that timeless styles exist in fashion, while simultaneously sitting outside of rigid trends, just makes the topic seem more intriguing.Ĭostume designer and fashion journalist Filep Motwary claims that being timeless has nothing to do with fashion 'Timeless is anything with a strong appeal of its own, a strong voice that breaks through the years passing or even centuries.” Richard Sorger, fashion designer and senior lecturer at Middlesex University, notes that timeless pieces “exist outside our notions of what is ‘fashion’”. Being by definition a realm of constant transition, fashion is very much about change – a context in which talking about timelessness may sound paradoxical. There is something tricky about the idea of timelessness.

#Timeless meaning how to

Of course, it is good to know how to build a nice wardrobe, how to wear our garments but beyond this, 'timelessness' in terms of fashion design is also a fascinating phenomenon which deserves to be discussed in greater depth. They fit everyone well, they are comfortable and safe, and perhaps make good investments. When it comes to fashion, everybody loves talking about those classic, timeless, and essential pieces.