When one walks through the hallowed halls of the Taft Museum of Art, you are instantly transformed to a different time. One of majesty, where stately homes set the standard, and their inhabitants acted as patrons of art and culture in their respective cities and throughout our burgeoning nation. Fashion exhibits at the Taft have […]

“Let’s meet digitally” … the phrase many  hear most often these days. In addition to work meetings and social gatherings being moved to virtual formats, so have many fashion exhibits from major museums around the world. Exhibits about Christian Dior and his life’s work (from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs), Elsa Schiaparelli and her foray […]

This column has often focused on the haute couture area of the fashion design landscape. Maybe it’s because the handcrafted construction required of these designs naturally align more with the sentiment that fashion is an artform – one to be worn and lived in, but an art nonetheless. Maybe it’s because the collections and fashion […]

In the midst of a global pandemic, when the stream of constant news is at it loudest, it is the perfect opportunity for quiet reflection. I’m sure a great philosopher said that somewhere before, but the message is certainly loud and clear given recent events. As highlighted in last month’s column, “The New Fashion Industry”, […]

It seems just a short time since fashion industry insiders gathered together to watch the Fall 2020 collections walk the runway in early winter. So much has changed in the past few months and many of those same industry leaders have stepped into action to help. LVMH, the luxury goods company that owns global brands […]

176 looks. 50 years of fashion. One iconic runway show. That’s how you end a career. Or, more aptly, that’s how iconic fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier retires. The final collection of any famed designer is always one met with sadness … Will anyone have a voice in fashion like them again? Will they be […]

Let’s face it. It’s a scary world out there. Even if your daily wardrobe consists primarily of rose-colored glasses, one can’t deny our world is going through changes of seismic proportions nearly every day. And the fashion world, one of stunning beauty and whimsical folly at times, is not immune to these changes. Designers at […]

Call it a coincidence, call it fate. As the Cincinnati Art Museum is showcasing the stunning beauty of Japanese fashion, and its influence in modern designer’s aesthetics, in their new exhibit “Kimono: Refashioning Contemporary Style” (link to the kimono exhibit article new for this issue), across the globe a new voice in Asian luxury design […]

#Project? If there was ever a most Instagram-worthy collection award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the newest H&M collaboration with fashion designer Giambattista Valli would certainly fit the bill. The Italian designer, whose atelier is based in Paris and whose ready to wear and couture collections are a staple of every Paris […]

While fashion is an ever-evolving industry spurred by constant winds of change, some things are just predictable. We know that four cities will present runway shows all unique and interesting in their own ways. We know new designers will emerge from the pack seemingly out of nowhere. We know that we what we see on […]

When people pass away, there’s always a reverent sense of loss, thinking about how the world will never be the same without them in it. When a fashion designer dies, especially suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, many often think about the art that would have been created … what could have been. We saw […]

“Style is where you find it …”, these words stood out when starting a journey through the past, looking at the storied history of photographer Melvin Grier in his own words and pictures. Style I suppose is where you find it, out in the world not just in the glossy pages of magazines and newspapers. […]

Ah, August. Quite the interesting time in the fashion world. After luxury designers have unveiled their Resort collections and before hitting the runways for Spring, it’s an extremely busy month behind the scenes for designers and buyers. Consumers, however, will need to wait until next month to see what their favorite designers will showcase for […]

How many times do we look at something quickly and make a snap judgment about it? In what is often a one-second glance, we assess what we see and form an opinion about it given only the information and content we have in front of us. The ability to quickly make judgments is actually a […]

“Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.” – Guo Pei Elysium, originally a word not commonly used in our modern vernacular, has become a part of the zeitgeist of fashion and pop culture. What is Elysium? It’s a yearly artistic installation that captures the attention of Hollywood celebrities and fashion elite in Los Angeles […]

Earlier this fall, we explored in two separate articles how the face of fashion has changed. First we delved into the past while visiting the Fashion and Technology installation in Gallery 104 of the Cincinnati Art Museum. From the earliest days, advances in machinery have defined what we know as modern day fashion. Take lace, […]

The title of the Cincinnati Art Museum’s new exhibition showcasing the work of Dutch fashion designer Iris Van Herpen is very aptly named Transforming Fashion.  Van Herpen’s creations have changed the face of fashion design while redefining what it means to be a fashion designer in the 21st century.  The exhibit itself has left this […]

With early hints of fall being seen around the city, these next few months are an especially exciting time for the Cincinnati Art Museum and its fashion-loving community. On October 13, the museum and its Chief Curator and Curator of Fashion Arts and Textiles Cynthia Amnéus will unveil Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion, an exhibition […]

Fashion being a living art form unlike others of its kind, we know that when collections are shown on the runway, they will soon be available in a store near us. In fact, more and more designers are closing the time in which garments are sold after being shown on the runway. Clothes which used […]

As the world’s top designers showcase their Resort 2018 collections to a waiting-with-baited-breath audience, here’s where we are, as of this writing, as not all of the collections have been released yet. Those shown thus far for this in-between season have been beautifully conceptualized – Prada joined the Resort fashion ranks for the first time […]

Did she know? Did designer Maria Grazia Chiuri know that in late September, 2016 she would start the modern interpretation of the protest-by-tshirt trend? (reminder: nothing in fashion is every truly new.) Probably not. However Dior’s creative director, in her debut collection for the brand, did seem to be the first to tap into the […]

Depending on age and interest in popular culture, the term It Girl means different things to different people. To some it relates to the young starlets of today who seemingly go in and out of fashion as quickly as the release of a movie. For others though, the term brings to mind the ingénues of […]

Mind The Gap   When fashion designers gather to showcase their haute couture collections in Paris twice a year, it’s generally an anything goes scenario. To be included in this elite company of artisans, chosen specifically by the Paris Chamber of Commerce, is an honor and only given to those designers at the top of […]

As we welcome the holiday season, most high fashion brands are focused on transitioning their buying clientele from fall / winter to resort collections and preparing for the debut of their newest runway collections in February. This time of transition is the perfect opportunity to reflect on collections we may have missed amid the hustle […]

Change is in the air… It all started a few seasons ago when Alessandro Michele took the reins at Gucci and introduced the world to his interpretation of the storied brand’s iconic woman (think more captivating ingénue than screen siren). It happened again in Fall 2016 when designer Donatella Versace redefined sexy as strength and […]

A new collection for the Italian luxury brand Valentino was extra intriguing this time around as it marked the beginning of the solo career of designer Pierpaolo Piccioli. He has been working for Valentino since 1999, as Co-Creative Director for the past eight years, but this was his first foray into the world of Valentino without […]

Changing Times for Changing Fashion is the tagline for the costume design exhibition, Dressing Downton, currently on display at the Taft Museum of Art. With those five words, the curators perfectly sum up the societal changes that serve as the show’s main theme. In just over a decade, nearly every aspect of British society changed. […]

It’s that time of year again when luxury brands showcase their Resort 2017 collections. In what is now a tradition for these lines, many luxury brands travel abroad to present their pieces in exotic locations. The locale often inspires the collection itself and, for fashion observers, gives the opportunity to learn more about the story […]

  At the end of every school year, as the weather begins to warm and excitement grows with the anticipation of things to come, the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning puts on a very special runway show. For visitors, it’s an opportunity to see the innovative work of the department’s […]

  Versace’s Fall 2016 ready-to-wear collection was presented right around the time of the Moschino MFW runway show featured in last month’s AEQAI. While both brands have a penchant for drama, the collections couldn’t have been more different. Enough so that it deserves a second trip back to Milan during this runway off-season. The fashion […]

    Or so it does according to Jeremy Scott. The designer currently at the helm of Italian fashion house Moschino has brought the brand into a renewed renaissance since taking over the role of creative director from Rossella Jardini in 2013. The House of Moschino was originally founded by Franco Moschino in the 1980s […]

  November 1973, the Palace of Versailles. In what is now known as The Battle of Versailles, five American designers took on five French designers in a runway show originally organized to help raise funds for the iconic palace. Everyone was there, and truth be told, it was well assumed that French designers Marc Bohan […]

    Winter has officially arrived in Cincinnati and so too have an array of new men’s fashion collections for the Fall 2016 season. As in women’s apparel, some collections were classic in color and style, while others took a more avant-garde approach to dressing men. Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, known for […]

As the holidays are among us, aeqai’s fashion retrospective moves back a few weeks to early December with Italian fashion house Valentino. The brand was founded in 1959 by world-renowned fashion designer Valentino Garavani and is currently under the creative direction of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli. The two designers have taken Valentino’s […]

While in the past AEQAI’s fashion focus has been on the international runways of fashion’s luxury giants, this month we are staying decidedly close to home at the Cincinnati Art Museum, up the hill on Eden Park Drive. The Cincinnati Art Museum’s many departments strive to invigorate Cincinnati with works and exhibitions that are both […]

    When we last left off, the fashion community was migrating eastward witnessing designers’ Spring 2016 collections. The month started in New York and then moved onward to London, Milan, and Paris. As is par for the course, the most intriguing fashion came from the City of Lights with Lanvin, Chanel, and Valentino among […]

  The publishing of this AEQAI article couldn’t come at a better time as fashion month is officially in full swing with designers showcasing their Spring 2016 collections across the globe. It first begins in the United States with New York Fashion Week, and then migrates to London, Milan, and Paris. Generally speaking, as the […]

Whenever discussions about the relationships between fashion and art occur, the conversation inevitably ends up around the question “Is fashion art?” Although it’s been answered previously on AEQAI, it bears repeating that yes, fashion is art. Fashion design is an art form like painting or sculpting with one major difference: Fashion generally is made to […]

While the vast majority of fashion that comes down international runways is created for women, men’s fashion does have a unique presence within the fashion calendar. As we speak, many brands are unveiling their Spring/Summer 2016 collections and they range from traditional to avant-garde. Falling squarely in the middle of that spectrum is Burberry, the […]

Over the past several weeks, luxury brands have traveled from one end of the world to another, showcasing the new batch of cruise collections. Cruise or resort wear were originally created to give jet-set luxury customers pieces they could wear on their warm weather holidays abroad. But with the ever-increasing need for new product, luxury […]

Karl Lagerfeld, head designer and creative director of the House of Chanel, serves as ringmaster in a circus of fashion shows and presentations which occur annually like clockwork. These include haute couture, ready-to-wear, and a myriad of other new product unveilings, all of which come with the territory of being a luxury fashion brand in […]

Fashion is art, of this there is no doubt. Like a painter, a fashion designer’s creative abilities come to life on the canvas on which he/she works, a living, breathing canvas made to be worn: consider the product a form of kinetic art.  When a designer unveils his/her newest collection, as happened recently at Fashion Weeks […]