Fall Fashion Week!

It's Fall Fashion Day at the Blazing Sun, that time at the end of summer when school starts, and we look at current trends and fashions among the graduate architecture school community.

Watchword for the season: sustainability! But not just the green kind anymore! From recycled materials to welfare-commerce, we architecture students can't get enough of expensive accessories that subtly highlight our commitment to the environment/social equity.

The Messenger Bag 
Chrome has supplanted Freitag as the new it bag. As some of my long term readers may be aware, when I was in Paris, I picked up a Freitag bag. Freitag bags have been very popular with gen-y yuppies, because (A) no two bags are alike (B) there's a heavy graphic component to the bag (C) its a messenger bag, which is the only approved way to carry things among the gen-yY, and (D) its made of recycled materials and more importantly, it highlights the fact you care about sustainability. In all honesty, they are good bags, overpriced, but simple good design, and weatherproof.

However, some enterprising people in San Fran, the epicenter of gen-yY culture, said hey, if you're going to blow $140 on a messenger bag, make it damned near indestructible and waterproof, and at lets at least give people an extra strap so it doesn't slide around their backs while bicycling, which is really the biggest fault with messenger bags. They also hold a lot of stuff, like a large backpack worth of stuff. Saori has one and its funny how many people come up to her in studio and ask her how she likes it and how they're thinking about getting one too, but that they're really expensive. Expect to see rising numbers of these across graduate and undergraduate schools across the country, especially in fields sensitive to design and cultural trends.

The Watch

We're seeing a lot of old favorites floating around this year- the stainless steel Skagen watch is still a perennial classic- incredibly thin, understated, and the brushed stainless steel or titanium case and woven mesh band fall in the category of watches that at first glance look like a mid-priced watch, but then you look closer and it seems more expensive, but in actuality, they're not that expensive, but a little more expensive than a mid-priced watch.

Also in that same category is the simple black Swatch watch, plastic band and case, with clean Swiss graphics and design. Utilitarian, rugged, goes with anything. (coincidently, I have both of these watches). We're also seeing a little more exuberance with the introduction of Alessi watches. 

The Metal Water Bottle 
A standard item now for everyone, undergraduate, graduate, and faculty alike, these metal cannisters, either aluminum or stainless steel, come in all price points and graphics. Setting the standard is still the Sigg bottle. Leave your beat up Nalgene bottles at home, and if you're drinking from a throw-away PETE or PET bottle, you might as well be drowning endangered species in an oil spill.



The Travel Mug
The defining mark of the graduate architecture student is the spill-resistant insulated mug, either in brushed stainless steel or neutral recycled plastic. These mugs travel everywhere with the students, keeping their coffee (or yerba mate) warm for those three hour seminars and long nights in studio.

The Casual Shoe
With all the recycled products on the market today, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability is as easy as  taking the light rail to Target. But one problem that has traditionally plagued the design community is the difficulty in conveying a sense of social consciousness. There are work arounds, like the Habitat for Humanity tee shirt, but its difficult to pull off a casual and subtle sign that you Care. Well, no longer! Peek under your studio desk and you'll be confronted with a wide array of Toms peasant shoes. This retailer donates one pair of shoes a child in need with every pair sold, and come in materials ranging from organic cotton to hand painted vegan burlap. They actually look pretty comfortable for hanging around in studio, although we wonder how they would hold up outside.

Eyewear
No surprises here- black, chunky plastic frames keep the spotlight this year. Whether you need them or not, ever since Le Corbusier, nothing says "Architect" more than thick black frames.