Megan D'Souza

Spring Studios’ Mindfulness in Fashion talk, hosted by Alo, featured panelists Bianca Quiñes AKA Quin, Christa Janine, Kirat Randhawa, and Hilary Rhoda discuss mental health in their fields and how it plays into the fashion industry at large. Moderator Chrissy Rutherford asked meaningful questions to discover real experiences, learned habits, and more from each of the panelists. Christa and Kirat shared how growing up in religious homes focused on mental health as something that could be solved by prayer, and how they had to learn that “what it means to be well [for them] is different from what [they] were taught it meant to be well” (Randhawa). Panelists stressed the abundance mindset over the scarcity mindset, and then went into work life balance. Quin advised to “tell yourself [self-care/mindfulness] is non-negotiable, like brushing your teeth” in order to make it a priority. In order to show up for others and in the workplace, you must first show up for yourself and make sure that you’re able to care for yourself. Mindfulness is a “necessary means to be of service to the world” (Randhawa). We’ve all experienced the culture of busy-ness: those who seem frazzled by all they have going on, are perceived to be working harder – but we need to reframe the narrative to recognize that those who are calm and grounded aren’t necessarily not pushing themselves professionally. Overall, the fashion industry and other professional industries are slowly coming around to honor individuals’ mindfulness journeys, there’s still a long way to go. People are rapidly transforming their own self-care routines, and employers are going to have to catch up.

The next talk we attended focused on “quality, eco-conscious design that lasts a lifetime” from fashion to home design. Presented by LoveSac and moderated by Kerry Pieri, panelists Shawn Nelson, Abrima Erwiah, Olivia Ponton, Laura Hodges discussed The Long-term Luxury of Sustainability. Climate consequences affect everybody, and if they don’t feel real, it’s due to privilege and they’re guaranteed to catch up fast. LoveSac (who recently debuted a collection with Alice & Olivia) recycled 350 plastic bottles per couch, and is trying to lead the charge to make good design synonymous with sustainability. Currently, a misconception exists within the industry: you have to compromise on quality design to get sustainable products (think: bottlecap wall art, stiff plasticky rug) – but this is false. Additionally, the most sustainable item is the one you already have. Furniture design cycles used to be every 30 years and every 10 for fashion, but social media has been speeding up the process, and companies are racing to produce more output to satisfy this demand. Ultimately, all the panelists agreed that the biggest companies have the biggest input, so they need to get on board to make a significant difference. 

The final talk I attended, Ten Years of Costuming the New York City Ballet Fall Fashion Gala, featured panelists Gianna Reisen, Marc Happel, Humberto Leon, Zac Posen talking about their experiences costuming the NYC Ballet. Donya Archer Bommer moderated a conversation designed for dance, in advance of the iconic Fashion Gala. The Ballet’s Gala features historic costumes over 50 years old that are still in use, as well as new design collaborations. The Ballet has collaborated with over 30 designers, first starting with Valentino back in 2012, under the direction of Vice Chair Sarah Jessica Parker. This Gala is the only time that costumes come first at the New York City Ballet – usually, designers need to prioritize lightness and movement to complement dancers’ movements. It’s also an opportunity for designers to try something outside their comfort zones and outside the usual world of fashion. Humberto Leon spoke about his experience bringing social commentary into his designs for the ballet – he looked at the dancers’ social media to learn about each dancers’ individual style, based their costumes off that, and put them in sneakers. This collection for 2016, meant to be a political protest, is still going around the fashion and dance world 6 years later. He also brought the collaboration back into the fashion world by having dancers be models in his fashion shows. They would “fall”, eliciting horrified gasps from the audience, and rise in a graceful way that showed the entire effect was intentional. In this way, both designers Zac Posen and Humberto Leon illustrated how they needed to reflect the dancer’s essence and the heart of the piece itself in their costumes. The fashion collaborations by the Ballet are a beautiful example of collaboration between two beloved NYC industries.