I’m a big fan of (and occasional speaker at) the fashion and design conferences held by Initiatives in Art and Culture. The conferences are always organized around a unifying theme and for the 21st annual event this week in New York, that theme is “Blue.”
Why blue? Well, for a start, IAC says:
“Blue sits astride the entirety of fashion. From the humble blue collar to Van Herpen’s Syntopia for Lady Gaga. From the purely functional Breton fisherman’s shirt to Chanel’s marinière, then on to Gaultier’s sweater dress. From wedding accessory (with its sister, something borrowed) to Mainbocher’s duck-egg wedding dress for Wallis Simpson. The prescribed color of the Virgin Mary’s robes since the Middle Ages. And that blue of the Virgin’s robes? Precious ultramarine from powdered lapis lazuli. Lapis, diamonds, sapphires, tanzanite, opals: blue knows no boundaries when it comes to precious substances and gems; and, many of the most legendary stones – the Hope Diamond for example – are blue.”
This conference is open to anyone with a passion for fashion or design — you don’t have to be in a particular profession or course of study — and if you use the code BLUE during checkout on Eventbrite, you’ll get $100 off your ticket.
Click to get your ticket.
Among the speakers are the designers Zandra Rhodes and Anna Sui, and the famed fashion photographer Arthur Elgort. The question is do I wear my decidedly non-blue, non-November Zandra Rhodes dress in order to try to take a photo with its pink-haired designer?
The Zandra dress in 2006 (left) and 2018 (right). Click for post.
Seriously! Is that too crazy? Or is it kinda perfect because my face will no doubt be blue from wearing chiffon in the cold? Let me know in the comments if I should strive for this photo op! Also let me know if you’re thinking of going, so we can meet up!
You can learn more about Initiatives in Art and Culture from this 2017 interview I did with its president, Lisa Koenigsberg, about the “White” conference.