Style Brief

Having entered the world of fashion as a fresh-faced postgraduate Law student, I can’t help but pick holes in the way that the majority of fashion houses operate. Yes it’s a business, and yes, they’re moneymaking machines, but where’s the CSR?

Corporate Social Responsibility is a buzzword for any law firm worth their salt, and it doesn’t stop there. Any company making the big bucks, legal or not, tends to have a programme dedicated to making their local community a better place, whether that be by helping underprivileged school children learn to read, providing free legal advice to a suffering town or a death-row inmate, or simply paying their ‘employees’ (yes, I’m talking about internships)…

Tod’s, the luxury Italian footwear company, made strides towards the CSR-conundrum with the announcement that they would provide the funding for the long-overdue restoration of Italy’s most famous historical monument. Diego Della Valle, the company’s owner, signed an accord with Rome city council last year to foot the bill to spruce up and restore the facade of the Colosseum. The project, amounting to a hefty £21million, was the first of it’s kind for a government that previously regarded sponsorship of the arts as an anathema, and marked the first step towards the restoration and protection of Italy’s wealth of historical treasures.

However, all is not as rosy as it seems, after Della Valle threatened to pull out of the project, due to start in March, after allegations of impropriety, favoritism and a lack of transparency. It has been alleged that proper procedures were not followed when the project went to public tender, with some saying that the subsequent result stinks of blatant commercial opportunism on the part of Tod’s. In exchange for the investment, Tod’s have the right to use the Colosseum logo for 15 years, in addition to putting it’s own logo on tickets bought by the six million tourists who visit the heritage site every year. Unsurprisingly, Gianni Alemanno, the Mayor of Rome, has labeled the wrangling over the deal by anti-trust bodies and prosecutors in the city as ‘madness’. “Let’s restore the Colosseum. Do you want it to fall to pieces? … It’s madness having to be stalled for a year when there’s a private businessman giving us 25 million euro for the Colosseum’s restoration and in exchange asking nothing but the privilege of talking about it.”

Italy’s political strife, not to mention its 1.9 trillion euro debt, means that unless a private investor funds the restoration it will not go ahead. Italian trade unions are up in arms about the deal, but how is it going to help? And has the deal really caused that much of a problem?

Whilst I’m not in a position to comment about whether public tender procedures have been sidelined, I can give the basics on the deal. The two-year long restoration project would provide additional employment opportunities for the Italians during their economic woes; it would also preserve one of the most treasured Italian emblems (surprisingly the Colosseum isn’t a UNESCO World Heritage Site, I’m at a loss as to why), dating back from 80AD. Lastly, and by no means least, this first step by a major player on the fashion radar has set a precedent worldwide as to how a fashion house should manage it’s CSR. Yes, we’re all in it because we love the shoes and the glamour, but there’s a whole other side to the fashion world, which deserves more recognition than it’s currently getting. Diego Della Valle and Tod’s deserve a pat on the back for setting what will hopefully be a worldwide precedent.

The current predicament presents two problems. Firstly, will the pressure from the anti-trust bodies and Italian prosecutors prove to be too much? If Della Valle pulls out we’re left with yet another wait for a private investor to come forward, and considering chunks of the Colosseum’s infrastructure have been crumbling away for years, how much longer can the monument wait? Italy is rich in culture and history, which should be protected and preserved no matter what. The Colosseum and all that it stands for is an important part of Italian ancestry, it would be a travesty if it was lost altogether over such a squabble. Let’s not forget than Della Valle is a dedicated philanthropist, already having funded Milan’s La Scala opera house. If Italy finds itself losing the support of a man who has put time, effort and money into protecting it’s heritage, especially at a time when private investment is crucial for the country, it could find itself in an altogether sticky situation.

Secondly, will the public backlash against Tod’s prove to be nothing but off-putting for other brands, who may have been persuaded to embrace the CSR bandwagon it if weren’t for the commercial worries and attack son their reputation? CSR is important, giving back to the community, in addition to it’s obvious advantages, can transform public perception of a brand and build a reputation in an industry that is already overly saturated.

There is currently no speculation as to how long the investigation will continue, but it is thought that it will mean the delay of the start of the project, which was initially scheduled to begin in March. Similarly, other sites of historical interest, including Pompeii, have suffered due to the lack of funds. Tod’s emerged last year as the only private sponsor willing to fund the Colosseum project, and current reports suggest that there is no alternative investor waiting in the wings. Whether this is continued stalling on the part of the Italian government remains to be seen, and we can only hope the issue is resolved before the amphitheatre falls beyond repair.

It may be a tad late for the ‘Happy New Year’ rituals, but as this is my first posting of 2012, who are you to judge?

2011 was a turbulent year for the fashion world. In between Galliano’s outbursts and Louboutin’s ferocious assault on the courts, there was hardly any time to think about orange being the new black and whether you were going to pursue a platform or tackle a stiletto. Hell, there was hardly time for me to write.

It was also a year of disaster, natural, political and economical. After the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, the subsequent nuclear panic at Fukushima, the London riots, the occupation of Wall Street and the London Stock Exchange, 2011 appeared to be more apocolyptic than anyone could have imagined. The effect of these events left the world reeling, not to mention on the brink of another recession, and fashion seemed trivial in comparison. Alexandra Shulman acknowledged this in her Editor’s letter after the Japanese disaster, stressing that fashion was a welcome relief to the stresses, strains and worries of modern life. The show must go on, and fashion is an industry that can kick-start trade, facilitate much needed employment and provide a distraction when all else fails. Full of art, beauty and exceptional talent, the industry is there to be celebrated and enjoyed.

[We should remember that 2011 also saw a commoner turn good, as Kate Middleton got her happy ending at Westminster Abbey, HMRC finally started to get serious about intern exploitation within the big name fashion houses, Ryan Gosling took his top off and sent girls everywhere into a 'crisis', and H&M persuaded Donatella to design a - ahem - colourful collection as part of their annual designer collaboration. Swings and roundabouts.]

So, instead of looking back, let’s look forward. Who knows, if we’re really positive, Dior might finally name Galliano’s replacement…

I have a confession. And it may shock you all to the core.

I don’t like the HM x Versace collection. There, I said it.

A year ago I took the morning off work to pop over to Regent Street and queue for the Lanvin collection. Did I do the same this year? No.

When I found out about the Versace collaboration in June the first emotion I felt was shock. Donatella had sworn that she would never collaborate with the high street, so what had changed her mind? Admittedly, the idea of my own little slice of Versace sitting in my already fit-to-burst wardrobe was the fashion equivalent to a kid with candy, but having seen the pictures and the show, I’ve realised that I’m doing fine without, thanks.

The only piece that could even tempt me to spend another two hours hanging around outside the H&M flagship would be the black leather studded number (and possibly the leather jacket…), but considering that that’s the only decent part of the entire collection, and that Donatella wore it herself during the menswear shows, it will probably sell out within minutes. I would look like an idiot in a green and blue silky bomber jacket (so would you), and a fringed dress with pink and purple hearts sounds like it should be hanging around in the Tammy Girl stockroom rather than anywhere near my wardrobe.

After the Lanvin collaboration rumours were rife as to who the next designer would be. Tom Ford was even mooted (scoff scoff) to be waiting in the wings, and if you read the reports already circulating then he’s in line next year too. Despite my disappointed take on the new collaboration, no one can doubt that H&M have done an incredible job in securing the services of the mighty Donatella. A few years back she swore that a high street range would not feature in Versace’s future, yet here we are, on launch-day of the most anticipated collection this year. What’s changed? Donatella told Grazia magazine “I have been constantly approached by kids who are obsessed with what we do. I had a feeling the timing now was perfect.”

[Either that or the collection would reap in masses of income for the brand... Too cynical?]

However big H&M’s triumph, it won’t be persuading me to queue for hours and to declare elbow wars with thousands of intrepid shoppers. Still, there’s always next year, right?

Last week, I overheard a tourist (whose nationality shall remain neutral) on the tube ask his British girlfriend, “Why is everybody wearing those funny little red flowers on their jackets?” Fear not, I did not punch him in the face and scream at him (I wanted to, oh I wanted to), instead I decided to be ever-so British and tut loudly. Yeah, that’ll teach him.

For me, Remembrance Day is one of the most important days in the calendar. We all lead busy lives, but every now and then we should stop to take stock and remember how lucky we are to have had ancestors that cared enough to fight for us and our freedom, and that our present-day heroes are still out there, fighting for all that it’s worth. When you think about it, a paper Poppy is never enough. I always lose them in the rush-hour tube wrestle, or whilst I’m being pushed around on Oxford Street. I’ve been after what I’ve been calling a ‘permanent Poppy’ (totally unromantic, I know) for quite a while now, but until now haven’t found anything quite right. It needs to be understated as I’m not a flashy-pants, yet special enough to commemorate all that the Poppy stands for. This one-off necklace was made especially for me by the lovely Sarah from Oberon Jewellery and, quite simply, it’s perfect.

Visit Sarah at Oberon Jewellery, here.

Photos by Shini from Park & Cube.