Every woman wants to have her own unique sense of style, whether that involves a certain way of wearing her hair or preferring the kind of shoes that you would expect one of the world’s top models to wear as opposed to the practical (and comfortable) versions her friends might wear on a daily basis. The same is true to some extent with men, with more and more paying attention to their style in recent years and that is down to the variety of styles out there that are both exciting, unique and affordable.
In the past many designers have come along with their own styles, trying to make a stamp on the fashion world in their own unique way – a bit like Lady Gaga in the music industry – but they’ve fallen at one of the two major hurdles: pricing, and the style itself.
By trying to be so ‘out there’, you run the risk of going from a budding fashion designer with your own style to someone who wouldn’t know fashion if it wrapped a designer scarf around it. However, by staying true to your own passions and in many cases your own heritage, you can still create something truly imaginative and unique that would appeal to men and women around the world. That is something that a lot of top designers from the fashion capitals of the world have done to make it to where they are today, and it’s what a lot of budding European designers are doing right now.
One fine example comes from Iceland, the small nation hidden away in Scandinavia, who have produced a number of top young fashion designers who have honed their skills at home before branching out to the rest of Europe and even America. The advancements in eCommerce, (selling over the Internet), have enabled young designers to go from being nobody’s to somebody’s almost overnight, and the likes of Icelandic luxury fashion retailer LastaShop have given opportunities to some homegrown talents like Kali and Mundi. Without these advancements, and the fact that more and more people shop over the Internet, young designers from small nations might try for years – even decades – to get their designs out into the wider world, but through their own persistence, determination and modern technology, their designs are now causing a stir among men and women alike.
The reason I chose this example relates to my opening statement about women – and men – wanting their own styles. It’s easy to go down to a high street retailer and purchase a new top or pair of shoes and then team them with your own accessories and latest hair style to make your own unique look, only for someone else to turn up to the same event, party or post-work drinks wearing the same thing you just bought. From a new, up and coming designer from Iceland, the chances of this happening are relatively slim which gives you the opportunity to get the look before anyone else, telling them all about the great new dress you bought and setting them off on their own pursuits to copy your look.