The Look on Line’s Publisher, Ernest Schmatolla, and I, were invited to be on Woolite’s 5th Annual Fashion Forum Panel, held on Tuesday, February 19th at the 5th avenue offices of Fashion Group International. Moderated by Diane DeWitt, considered by many to be one of the very first ‘supermodels’ to strut the runway, and still looking amazing, I might add, we joined Mary Lou Luther, Editor, International Fashion Syndicate; Michael Maeko, VP Publicity, Saks Fifth Avenue; Richard Mauro, VP Design, Marketing and Merchandising, Joan Vass USA; and David Rodriguez, Fashion Designer; to answer a variety of questions which will eventually serve as guidelines for the consumer. Topics included how the events of 9/11 have effected what was shown on the runways, whether or not fashion designers are plugged into the current zeitgeist (and which ones seem to ‘get it’ best), which designers will serve as inspiration for the 21st century, whether there will be a return to the traditional dress codes in the workplace, and what fabric innovations we can expect to see in the next 50 years. Since the New York Collections just ended, it was fun to come together and rehash the week, the trends, and talk about the future of fashion. A special thanks to Eileen Brangan and Alex Riabov of Brushfire Marketing who did a great job in organizing and hosting the event.
