This past weekend there was an interesting Financial Times article about the launch of FashionAir -”an online fashion-meets-entertainment platform” by showbiz mogul Simone Fuller. With so many fashion focused movies and reality shows it was easy to see that the business was headed in that direction: fashion as an entertainment conglomerate. The recent W interview in which Miucca Prada declared that calling something “commercial” is not an insult came to mind. I personally do not think this is exactly what she was thinking of, but alas, and considering that the elite in the business still adores Kate Moss with her mythic status untarnished even though she is the poster girl for pandering commercial, then who can say anything against fashion as a business. Pardon my lack of romanticism here but blame it on the the news I read in the morning; the announcement of Lindsay Lohan as “artistic adviser” at Ungaro.

Lohan along with a relatively unknown designer Estrella Archs will present their first collection on October 4th during Paris fashion week. Mounir Moufarriges Ungaro’ CEO no stranger to controversial appointments -years back he replaced Karl Lagerfeld with Stella McCartney at Chloé- is not shy about saying he is looking for attention, any kind of attention, for the struggling house. The daughter of a Beatle, who actually went to design school, is one thing, choosing the certified train wreck that is Lindsay Lohan is another.
It will be interesting to see how a business that has thrived in illusion, exclusivity, and glamour changes with these “commercial” times. True, fashion loves a good story, lots of drama, and yes, controversy, but the romance of a Greek tragedy is very different to that of a D.U.I. one. Further more, so much for the new modesty and return to crafmanship that everyone was talking about…

VIA
WWD
Fashionologie
Dlisted