As a club kid from Oakland who went from beauty school to Yale to Vogue, Sally Singer, current Vogue Magazine Fashion News and Features Director, is certainly familiar with personal reinvention ““ a concept that continues to define the fast-paced fashion industry.
In times that are equally turbulent due to economic downturn and climatic crisis, Singer will lead a discussion at the UCLA Hammer Museum today at 7 p.m. called “Conscientious Consumption: Sustainability and the Future of Luxury.” The panel will include jewelry designer Tom Binns, Dosa founder Christina Kim, Kate Mulleavy of the design duo behind Rodarte, and Adriano Goldschmied of Goldsign denim, and will be followed by a Q&A session.
In an interview with the Daily Bruin’s Shelley Brown, Singer discussed the impact of the economic crisis on both designers and consumers, how the fashion industry is about more than just the love of clothes, and why the fast fashion trend is just not “cool” anymore.
Daily Bruin: When did you become interested in fashion?
Sally Singer: I think I was always interested in fashion. I always loved clothes. In junior high and high school, I made most of my own clothes along with things I would find in thrift stores. I read a lot of fashion magazines, and I always knew what was happening in fashion and I made my own interpretations of the styles I saw.
DB: Was it always your intent to end up at Vogue?
SS: It was not my intent to end up at Vogue at all. I did not end up at American Vogue until 1999. First I was at the London Review of Books, then British Vogue and then Elle. Then I became the fashion director at New York Magazine, where I worked with all parts of fashion journalism ““ layouts, photos and writing. But I did not have a plan to end up at American Vogue, and any plan I could have concocted would have failed. It was a happy fluke. People always ask if there is a strategy for getting to Vogue, and there isn’t really. You cannot trace a straight line through the careers of most people in the fashion industry. A lot people were models and then moved on to other things in fashion; some have had a lot of internships and eventually ended up at Vogue ““ but it is hard to say that there is any one way to getting there.
DB: What was the motivation for environmental and economic focus of the fashion talk?
SS: I think that environmental consciousness is kind of given for people in the fashion industry, and it should be. And right now, economically, the country is not in a shopping mood. The fashion industry is in a precarious spot: It is having a lot of issues, just like every industry. I wanted to address how fashion can function in a world that is experiencing an economic downslide.
What I wanted to do was to put together the names of these designers and what they do, because these designers are especially amazing ““ not only in L.A., but in the fashion industry in general. They think hard about the things they make and why they make them. It is an interesting time for designers because they compulsively want to design ““ they wake up in the morning and they want to create things. But we are currently in a world that really does not need more stuff. So, if you are a designer and you are aware of that, then what do you make, and how do you approach design? I really wanted to address that question.
DB: How can the fashionable consumer grapple with the economic and environmental changes taking place?
SS: Consumers need to buy less and buy better. That’s what we say in Vogue ad nauseam. But people also have to grapple on their own terms, and if fashion is out of reach right now for you, then fashion is out of reach. That is a truth that we have to honor. It is important to know what you are buying and why. It is important to see the things you buy as a long-term investment in a style. People should shop in a way that is beyond trend and that is personally fulfilling.
DB: Do you have any economically and environmentally conscious fashion tips for college students in particular?
SS: Figure out your style and shop for who you are. You don’t want swing tags in your closet, and you particularly don’t want that now. If you are going to buy it, it should work for you.
Buy things that are beautifully designed and educate yourself on how things are made so that you can appreciate the work that goes into clothing that is well-made. Check the labels of what you buy, and know as much about your clothes as you possibly can.
Make sure to reuse and recycle clothes. You should learn to sew if you love fashion because you should know how things are made. Sewing is an amazing skill to have because it helps you to remake your clothes so that they can have longer lives. The era of fast fashion is really not cool ““ fast fashion can be fun, but the fast fashion where you just dispose of things is wasteful. Make sure you love what you buy. If you love it, you will want to keep it.
DB: Do you have any advice for college students interested in fashion journalism or the fashion industry in general?
SS: In college, you should not link fashion to your education. A lot of people do, but I am really opposed to that. You need to bring more to a magazine than a love of clothes. There is a reason to study history or literature, to read great books and immerse yourself in learning, and college is the best time to do it self-consciously. It is a good idea to keep up with fashion to figure out who is doing what and why through internships or reading, but it should not be the main focus of a college student.
I often find that people who come in for interviews at Vogue know everything about magazines or clothes, and it is as if they spent all of their time in college reading fashion magazines and just getting through their coursework. But I think you should do what you do completely. If you are studying you should study beyond the bounds of what is required of you, in a way in which your curiosity extends past just getting an A or passing the course. If you have that knowledge, your passion for just learning will come through and contribute to fashion industry.
Whatever I did in my life ““ all the kind of choices I made, from being a club kid when I was really young to going to haircutting school and being really bad at ““ I did it because it was something I was very connected to. I caution college students to not be too pre-professional, to slow down, and enjoy their time in school.
If you are really passionate about fashion, or just media in general, you will figure it out. The opportunity will present itself, it just might not be the first thing you do.