Interfacing Clouds and a Fridge in Undies
In this issue of The Fashion Standup newsletter, we have a very different format—fiction.
I know you're wondering what I was thinking, since I dedicate myself to fashion research and studies, having the wild idea to write fiction seems strange. Let me explain! In Design and Fashion, books and "bibles" are always necessary—they're travel companions.
The book that has been accompanying me lately is a fashion writing manual—"Writing for the Fashion Business" (2023) by Kristen K. Swanson, Judith C. Everett, and Jenny B Davis. Beyond advice and lessons related to writing practice in the fashion context—ranging from journalism to academic writing, and including writing as a means of promotion, communication, marketing, content creation, and even fiction.
In addition to infographics on grammar and document formatting, there are various suggested exercises and questions. All so interesting, relevant, and diverse that I'd love to share them all with you so we could debate and talk endlessly. Perhaps this is the beginning of a new series of articles. What do you think?
This time, in the first article of this hypothetical series, which we could call Fashion Homework, I chose this challenge:
" You have a great idea for a novel about a stylish, talented student who wants to break into the fashion industry. Write a 300- to 500 - word synopsis of the plot. Identify the protagonist and antagonist. What would the climax of the story be? Provide a tittle for the novel and include results of your research into whether your proposed tittle has been used already for a published book."
As we've discussed, the context of the fashion industry is increasingly broad. Independence expands every day and success is redefined by the minute.
Of course I've seen "The Devil Wears Prada," but in this context it's a reference I wanted to avoid. I chose to keep in mind, albeit vaguely, my great fiction references in the fashion universe. Both television series like Velvet, Kathy Keene (inspired by the comic book character), and Jane by Design; and literary works like "The Time Between Seams" and the sequel "Sira" by Maria Dueñas, along with the television adaptation of the first book. And even more notable, Madonna's children's book collection "The English Roses," with Amy Luella Brook, the small and charismatic aspiring fashion designer.
The reason I want to distance myself from the plot focused on Andy Sachs is not only because of its content but because it's not pure fiction. That's why I haven't mentioned movies and series that might have come to mind like "Phantom Thread" and "The New Look."
In this story, I chose not to have an "external" antagonist, since we can all identify with having an "internal antagonist," much more than a fairy tale arch-enemy.
I was inspired by those around me and by some ideas of myself.
The name is inspired by mine; let me introduce you to Viveca:
Viveca, despite her 28 years, finished college not long ago. She always had too many ideas in her head to focus on a single goal... But this time she succeeded. She had completed her degree in Fashion History and Theory. She studied various areas of fashion along the way, as she always believed that fashion had the potential to change the world or someone's world.
While helping her friend Margot manage her vintage store, she planned how to put her ambitions into practice. Perhaps ambitions wasn't the right word... How would she create a fashion factory—a space that would be a studio for independent designers, a specialized library in the area, a space for thoughts and ideas?... A space that would produce a biannual magazine and have a permanent store? It wasn't just that all this was megalomaniacal, but combining it with all her unstoppable ideas.
She was indeed her own biggest and only antagonist, her small apartment was a cocoon, where she absorbed all aspects of fashion. If she loved emerging scenes with new designers, creators, and thinkers, she had a huge weakness for Vogue.
How did she reconcile all this? Most days she didn't. She could walk around the city on warm days, had devotion for each piece in her wardrobe, could wear them—perhaps just to buy something at the corner grocery store. She had bought the refrigerator she liked most aesthetically, but used it little. She could spend all day investigating the interior of a garment, each seam, each interfacing...
What did Viveca wear on those days? An extremely oversized t-shirt and equally enormous underwear. And her blue light blocking glasses—her latest extravagance, which helped her focus.
Until one day she awoke and her option was different—to transform ideas into plans and put them into practice. Beyond all her near-utopias, she would also visit the largest museums and archives in the world.
It was decided, she would create her factory, and to finance this project she would work and travel at the same time—she would visit the classic fashion four and also had Lisbon, Madrid, Copenhagen, and Oslo on her mental list. The idea would be to work, be a sponge for the zeitgeist, network, and repeat. Along the way, with luck, find investment for her project.
She wanted to start with London, but even though she could get a plane ticket, her "self" knew she couldn't just go. So came a chaotic list on paper: work with Margot; find a second part-time job (it has to be interesting!); make a plan for my factory (a real plan with research and drawings and everything!); learn what investors are and how to find them; buy a stove, it seems a refrigerator and microwave aren't enough to cook everything...
Will our heroine manage to have the persistence to realize everything she sees in the clouds floating in her head?
Viveca's universe awaits your curiosity! Want more fashion writing challenges? Your comment is the . This new Fashion Homework is just a click away!
See you soon!
With love,
Vera
P.S.: We're building a creative space on Instagram just like Viveca's factory! Follow @thefashionstandup and join this community!