Tom Topics
A Biden Guy: “After listening to him speak so calmly and in such an empathetic manner in the last few days, I’m more convinced than ever that he is the president to help us heal.”
Tough Times: “Things have eased up. During the first couple of months, one month we were down 89 percent and the next month, 90 percent. Then it was 60 percent and 50 percent and then last month, 39 percent. Now I think it’s going to drop off, and at Christmas we’ll see a little bit of a bump, maybe instead of being 50 or 60 percent down again it will be 30 or 40 percent down. It’s all still down.”
Feeling Better: “As this started to open up, I could have two people at a time over for dinner outside. And I noticed that women came over in caftans, lipstick, a pair of sandals. Men washed their hair, put on a nice shirt, put on a pair of pants. I’d gotten really sick of looking at people on Zoom with no makeup and no hair and no effort. It started to make me realize that when this is over, I do think there is going to be a desire, not to celebrate, but almost – to finally be able to get out of the house and to go buy a new pair of shoes and to go to dinner.”
CFDA, Pro-Diversity: “Yes. Yes, yes, yes.”
Plan of Action: “This [CFDA Black Advisory] Board will be responsible for deploying the cash that we raise for Black initiatives…[we’re] setting up…a database where we will seek out young Black talent, or not-so-young Black talent, and then try to pair them with companies that are hiring. It’s to help our industry become more racially balanced and look more like — even though it’s a political slogan — what American looks like today.”
New Normal, Delayed: “I don’t anticipate normal shows until September 2021 [for the spring 2022 season]. I’ll do a collection for February, but I’m not doing a show…I think. [Spring 2021] is going to be the first normal season.”
Spring No-Show: “When trying to simply pay as many employees as I can and not have to make further cuts or furloughs, to spend several million dollars on a show makes no sense. I would rather pay our staff. Also, to have an audience gather right now I feel is dangerous and irresponsible and not something to encourage.”
Fashion Isn’t Everything: “Given where we are, given that it’s a month-and-a-half before elections, given the unrest in this country, I don’t think many people will be so into fashion that in September they’re living and breathing the collections on the run.”
Long Live Live: “A filmed play does not have the same effect as if you’re sitting in that theater on Broadway or the West End, feeling the electric vibrations from the performers on stage and from the audience around you.”
September/October – a NYFW Split: “I believe New York Fashion Week as an organized event should still take place in September.”
American Creativity: “Today, French brands, Italian brands are totally different than they were in the Sixties and Seventies. And an enormous amount of that comes from America. I would love to make the rest of the world aware of that historically.”
Being There: “My customer still likes to come in and try on clothes. And our customer service is a big part of what we do, the way we can fit the clothes, the way we can cut the sleeves off and change this or that and do it in 24 hours. We come to your house with a bunch of clothes and leave them for you to try on. Or we can come to you and fit them at your house…[That] can’t be replaced.”
Essential for E-Comm: “The ability to let your customers see what they’re going to look like in the clothes. As online shopping becomes increasingly sophisticated, customers are increasingly willing to buy items that they might not have previously bought online.”
Look Toward the Light: “Knowing what I know about human nature, we will go back to a period of self-adornment and wanting to [stand out] and have something no one else has. That is part of our nature, and it will return and will then drive the fashion industry.”
Perspective: “My dad’s over there in my sock drawer in a little box, cremated, and I haven’t had time to do anything with him. There’s his whole life, and what does he end up with? A little box of cremated remains in my sock drawer.”
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