Early Access: Quality in Fashion
Added 2024-09-19 23:14:44 +0000 UTCHi everyone!
Bliss is frantically editing the next video at the moment and I wanted to make sure you got this early :) Thank you all for your support, this video took Bliss about 9 months of research, and we are only able to do that because of your support. Our goals moving forward for the channel are all related to quality as well, which is pretty fitting! Can't wait to show you what else we've been working on :)
Is there a video topic you think we've slept on? Anything you'd like to see us cover?
Thank you again! Enjoy a long awaited quality video.
Dani
Comments
your example of using kirkland’s clothing is perfect in the context of pattern cutting. they buy the licenses of old, established patterns that have been around for decades just to manufacture them at such a cheap price.
jackson
2025-01-19 03:39:48 +0000 UTCReally enjoyed this. I can appreciate all the time that went into it. Marrakeshi Life is a great high fashion company where ALL items are created out of hand-loomed fabric woven on their premises..... Oh, and for sustainability in fashion Good On You is a great site that does in depth research, grades companies on working conditions and environmental impact, and offers responsible alternatives to companies with low ratings. So no need to throw up our hands and say "there's no real way of knowing, so I'm not going to bother myself with sustainability."
Ann Dyer Cervantes
2024-11-17 19:51:39 +0000 UTCShoutout to the Tuba Avalon fans! We got a mention!😻
Marisa
2024-10-18 07:36:40 +0000 UTCOMG I am so dense! I was so indignant too ha ha. Keep up the amazing work, I am so glad to support you both. Such great work you do. Hearts.
Maya
2024-10-15 00:08:17 +0000 UTCThe best sources for me are Fashion at the Edge, Dressed by Shahidha Bari, Gods&Kings, and the Catwalk series is great!
Bliss Foster
2024-10-14 22:07:17 +0000 UTCHey! Discord access comes thru the membership channel. If you're still having trouble with it, send me a DM :)
Bliss Foster
2024-10-14 22:06:17 +0000 UTCSo glad you're back, Ivory :) You've given such awesome support to the channel over the years. Dani and I really really appreciate you being here and making all this possible.
Bliss Foster
2024-10-14 21:55:31 +0000 UTCIt was a joke :) For real tho, I truly appreciate the years of support you've given, Maya. You're a big part of what makes this channel possible. Thank you :)
Bliss Foster
2024-10-14 21:54:09 +0000 UTCSo sorry it took me so long to see this. Access to discord can be found through Patreon's membership page. If you're still having trouble, send me a DM and we'll get you sorted :)
Bliss Foster
2024-10-14 21:52:47 +0000 UTCThanks so much for rejoining, Ivory! We don't take it for granted, your support is helping to keep the lights on. Couldn't do it without ya :)
Bliss Foster
2024-10-14 21:36:39 +0000 UTCIf you're still having trouble after trying Amani's comment, send me a direct message and we'll get you sorted :)
Bliss Foster
2024-10-14 21:35:54 +0000 UTCThat last question is a great point!
Bliss Foster
2024-10-14 21:32:34 +0000 UTCHey where does the discord link happen to be 😸
Alessio Giantomenico
2024-10-12 16:32:46 +0000 UTCWhat a great vid bliss and Danie! Thanks
Agustin Melgar
2024-10-10 01:46:52 +0000 UTCYour videos mention so many great books—have you thought about publishing a list maybe including some context for each one? I struggle to find good fashion books, so your recommendations would be really helpful!
Snuzy
2024-10-03 19:40:06 +0000 UTCHi! I just subscribed the membership, and Im wishing to get an access to discord. Can you tell me how??
OJNeedsmFK
2024-09-30 19:15:25 +0000 UTCYou all are amazing but that’s famously Meryl Streep, not Barbara Streisand. It’s a sign of quality and care when these details are correct ;)
Maya
2024-09-30 03:07:58 +0000 UTCThis video and its concepts remind me a lot of Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics. Somewhere in there, he speaks of virtue and how to live "virtuously". Hard to define, just like quality. Essentially, his answer was to do and be virtuous in all you are. This is a fun dive if anyone has the time to look into it, and great knowledge to hang on to. Anyway best wishes!
Overwalle
2024-09-26 16:57:05 +0000 UTCIf you haven't joined already- head to the membership tab- https://www.patreon.com/blissfoster/membership where there's a quick links section that allows you to join the server.
Amani Vohra
2024-09-26 16:55:18 +0000 UTCCare+education+trust+experience+time+self-consciousness=high quality. I appreciate the thoughts, time, research, and ideas shared in the video. Thank you!
Matthew
2024-09-25 01:51:16 +0000 UTCHey :). About the pilling, any natural fibre, either from an animal or plant is always going to be a staple fibre. Meaning you cannot control the length (is usually rather short) therefore, resulting in the yarn spun from the fibre to have little bits sticking out of the yarn causing the pilling. The best way to not have pilling is to have filament fibres which are manufactured, meaning you can make them as long as desired. This eliminates the previous problem. My textiles teacher is obsessed with author Sara Kadolph who has published multiple textile books. I hope this makes sense. its a little hard to explain without writing a whole essay :)
Lachlan Foord
2024-09-24 08:20:08 +0000 UTClovv “”the only thing that produces quality is care”” statement. Feel like this rly articulates smth i havent been quite able 2express w words in regards to quality in fashion // in general for forever. a kinda sweet sentiment that is making my heart happy &&feels almost potentially redemptive in what often feels like an abyssal garbage world of excess often fueled by nefarious motives behind clothes making. Thank u both for this thought provoking episode; rly appreciated the tie in with zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. OKAY,,,,, also how do i hop on the discord ?..,,.??? ♡♡
taylor∘⁖♡⁎⋆✶⁎∘
2024-09-24 00:15:53 +0000 UTCI re subscribed to patreon (at a higher level!) because of this video. Thank you for covering Hermès. As a nearly decade long Hermès fan, the online conversation almost makes you feel bad about liking such nice things. But it IS the highest quality and an example of a company that deeply cares about the details - both in craftsmanship and in material.
Ivory
2024-09-24 00:11:39 +0000 UTCHope you enjoyed my unintentional essay and that it provoked new thoughts, as your video has definitely done for me. Also 10/10 egg advertisement, you had me convinced haha
Jon Gedeon
2024-09-23 19:02:25 +0000 UTCTo sum up all that rambling, it's all about improvement and the passion to continuously seek positive improvement, never to obtain perfection or the "highest quality" Also, just a side note on your take on the myth "quality means longer lasting/more durable", I agree with everything you said. I would also like to add that construction plays a huge role on if some thing is quality (at least in my eyes, and you touched on this a bit too). A cheap pair of jeans that is designed and constructed in a manner where durability is of high importance will last far longer than a pair of jeans that were designed without the attention to construction as it related to durability, even if the "best" textiles, hardware, and seamstresses were employed to construct it.
Jon Gedeon
2024-09-23 18:59:41 +0000 UTCHey everyone I have just joined Patreon ! How can i join the Discord ? Greetings from Germany Dennis 🙌🏻
Dennis Keller
2024-09-23 18:50:06 +0000 UTCPerhaps a more suitable definition for quality (though still intangible and non-specific), when referring to any man-made creation, is how close a creation can come to perfection. At the same time, perfection is unobtainable and many of the factors that play into perfection are subjective. The idea of perfection reminds me of math equations in which you can continuously approach a number for infinity, but never reach that number. The closest thing we have to perfection or of "highest quality" may be found in nature, though even nature has countless imperfections and does not/can not operate at 100% efficiency. In a much more tangible, real outlook regarding quality of any man made item, I believe it is the careful, well thought out tradeoffs that make something "quality". There are tradeoffs to every man made item. As it relates to clothes, I think it's about minimizing tradeoffs and ensuring the tradeoffs that are necessary to make, have extremely low negative impacts on people and the environment, even in the most distant causational relationships. This of course, will drive anyone mad, trying to obtain that extra 0.00000000001% of perfection. If more designers and consumers even have a fraction of these thoughts, I believe we will move in a more positive direction. (though of course this is still subjective ._.) The questions for designers should not be "How do I make this garment ethically?" or "How do I make it sustainable?" or "How do I make it as appealing and beautiful as possible?", but rather "How do I make this garment as sustainable as possible, within my means?" and "How can I further improve sustainability within the same means?"... "How can I improve sustainability when my means expand?"
Jon Gedeon
2024-09-23 18:42:59 +0000 UTCSo so many thoughts on this video, but first I wanted to give a BIG thank you to Bliss and Daniella (apologies if that's not the correct spelling) for the production of this video. Also, I wish more designers, and perhaps more importantly, more consumers, would have the same curiosity and obsession, as you portrayed in this video, to go down the rabbit hole of "quality". As someone who is determined to create a "quality" fashion brand, the word quality is truly a slippery slope and is subjective as art itself. I appreciate your definition of quality as "being made by someone who truly cares". I believe this is much closer to a proper definition of quality, though I also believe (as may you) that quality cannot be defined, which gives rise to its paradoxical nature. For example, a car (or motorcycle, I definitely need to read that book) can be built with extreme care down to the most minute details that no-one will ever see. This car is beautiful, made to last for a million miles, is composed of parts and materials that are ethically sourced, and is only touched, in every stage of the production process, by people who deeply care. Yet this "perfect, highest of quality car" still will burn fuel, which even to the slightest degree, negatively impacts our biosphere. Even if the car somehow has absolutely 0 emissions, what about the non-perfect trucks, aircrafts, or boats that got the materials and parts from A to B. Of course the same could be said for electric vehicles, as they have their own set of sustainable and ethical issues.
Jon Gedeon
2024-09-23 18:06:05 +0000 UTCThank you so much Bliss and Daniela, Im really glad I joined your channel, best regards from Madrid.
Pilar Sánchez Medina
2024-09-23 14:32:02 +0000 UTCSide note, I think studying McQueen’s menswear collections was partly what shifted my expectations on GBS when it comes to quality + avant garde. I have always been fascinated by GBS level of care. I can’t find the right word for it, but my perception of GBS menswear way is that, contrary to the complex nature of quality as concept, he takes a logical approach to it. He tries to tick those boxes about ‘durability’, ‘finest materials’ and ‘sustainable materials.’ What that seems to trade off sometimes, at least to me, is form and desire, in large context. It is why when one describes his work, you may have found yourself going back to those ‘rules’. And maybe that works, maybe his clients want to know that they are wearing the superfinest of cotton, the hand picked baby cashmere etc regardless of flattery to form, color theory, etc. I think Veronique for Hermes does a better job with this and hits the sweet spot of the multiple elements that could be accounted for in bringing quality to life.
INK
2024-09-21 23:45:03 +0000 UTCSo many thoughts! First, thank you for this break down! Then, while you were talking about quality from the start, Robert Pirsig came to mind and it felt like such a coincidence to hear you bring him up. I always tried to adhere to his philosophy about quality: that internal harmony you feel when something is ‘done’. Care sums it all up. Another designer that I believe truely cared was McQueen. As a vintage collector over the past few years of his menswear clothes, I have come across pieces that didn’t cut corners in the design, materials and more. Very underrated collections. If he picked a print, it was intentional and how he did it? What he did with it? I once found fully hand silk-thread embroidered across a cotton shirt across the whole garment with the finest patterns I couldn’t help but think ‘he didn’t need to’. Or was it lining the hood of a sweater with silk and lined with fur of arctic fox? What is more fascinating is how that fits into the story of what he was trying to say to the world with those pieces. I recommend searching nss magazine take on McQueen’s menswear and you’d understand that for an underrated part of brand, he didn’t need to care that much and he did.
INK
2024-09-21 23:30:01 +0000 UTCWatching this on break at work
frank
2024-09-21 20:28:17 +0000 UTCThis was a wonderful video, can’t wait to dive deeper into brands, designers, quality. I’m a fashion student and getting deep into quality questions so much so that my professors seem to think I’m out of my mind, but this video has justified my questioning where I know it didn’t need to but I loved so much that it did. Really appreciate this, I feel my love for fashion reflected in you and Daniella and it gives me so much hope.
Carly Schultz
2024-09-21 16:52:52 +0000 UTCIn my own rumination about this topic I’ve come to the similar conclusion that quality comes down to intention, similar to how you mention care. I think I like the idea of care better though since I’m sure some companies may have the intention of making a cheaper product to increase profit margins. I think a relatively accessible way to start learning about quality is to go to thrift stores and just examine things there. Whether it be the fabric to the seam finishes to unique features about certain garments, you start to get a feel for things through osmosis which I think plays into why it’s so hard to explain what quality is if you just get a feel for it over time.
Angela McParland
2024-09-21 13:12:41 +0000 UTCAny chance you can tell us who’s making the trash clothes? 😂
JaQuan Senegal
2024-09-21 05:34:48 +0000 UTCI worked in Quality Control (in a non fashion-related company) for years and the definition of quality was never about ‘good’ or ‘bad’, more about reproducibility and the consumer getting the value they expected for the money they paid. It’s a very tricky question as you point out… with often no real answer. I really enjoyed the episode, great work. As an aside, at 20:14 you say "Barbara Streisand" but did you mean Meryl Streep aka who plays Miranda Priestly in The Devil wears Prada?
Katrin Pechinger
2024-09-20 19:09:25 +0000 UTCI have been using the first myth as my go-to explanation of why I buy "high quality" clothes for some time. I used "cost per wear" phrase so much I probably sounded like a walking meme. I don't do that or think like that anymore, but looking back that mindset felt like a pointless competition with oneself to make sure I wear the clothes enough to "get back my money's worth". It's silly. It's also stressful. What if you snag your coat on a rusty nail somewhere? Did you lose the game of maximising "cost per wear"? Have you been beaten at this game by your fast fashion wearing buddy at that point?
Rodion Zagrebelnyi
2024-09-20 19:07:12 +0000 UTCand fuck Ricola too💯
Aman Kenly
2024-09-20 13:06:38 +0000 UTCFuck Andrew 😤
Bliss Foster
2024-09-20 12:36:06 +0000 UTCI am appalled at the level of abuse the Fosters are subjecting poor Andrew to. Is this kind of sadism what our donations go to?!
Rodion Zagrebelnyi
2024-09-20 12:35:30 +0000 UTCHey bliss next time you go to Paris and have some time and you want to experience true quality and true care about a product I would recommend you should go to a place called De Bonne Facture and try on there Balloon trousers, because to me that company truly represents the best of France. well that’s everything I got to say have a lovely day.
Luis Kumar
2024-09-20 05:43:17 +0000 UTCThank you for such an honest and nuanced discussion of the nature of quality. It is something that has been on my mind a lot. Personally, I swear by it and I have found that once you know/feel what quality is -- in clothing or anything else -- you cannot go back. I think your thesis that ultimately it comes down to the maker caring deeply about what she or he is making is spot on. It is also not just that it is 'made better', you also feel the love that has been put into it. It has an intangible aura, which is vivid and real. I feel it. Other people feel it too. And the real reason that I'm willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money for this is not at all superficial. I want things that are made with profound care because I care about myself and the people around me who see me and experience me. In the end, how you treat objects reflects how you treat life. It's precious and we should care.
Willem Dijker
2024-09-20 04:07:31 +0000 UTCLong staple is a little over 1 inch and up. The extra long stuff when woven will feel like silk. You can use less fibre for the same cloth and get some really light shirts. The main downside is your nips tend to show on the high end shirts due to the lightness.
Angus Kilgore
2024-09-20 02:26:50 +0000 UTC
