Abstract Couture

2018, NeIman Marcus, Beverly Hills, CA

A FASHION FORMULA WHERE COMMERCE = ZERO:

Devi believes there is a continuum in fashion. On one end are clothes, which are utilitarian. Fashion moves clothes from utility to aspiration. Haute Couture is the most creative and extreme version of fashion. Using math to illustrate the continuum:

Fashion is the first derivative of Haute Couture

f¹(Haute Couture) = Fashion

Clothes are the second derivative of of Haute Couture

f²(Haute Couture) = Clothes

Taking fashion as math further, she started with an equation to understand its current state. For Devi, Fashion is equal parts Creativity, Craftsmanship, and Commerce:

Fashion  =  Creativity + Craftsmanship + Commerce

Where, Creativity = Craftsmanship = Commerce 

Since post-war in France and especially now, Commerce outweighs and overshadows Creativity and Craftsmanship:

Commerce  >  Creativity + Craftsmanship

Fashion  =  Creativity + Craftsmanship

So, Devi discovered that fashion can indeed be abstracted. When abstracted, fashion becomes the art version of Haute Couture. When Commerce = Zero, Fashion becomes Art. 

If Commerce = 0, then f(Fashion) = Art

If it’s art, it can be abstracted. 

Art = a(Haute Couture)

Art Abstracted = Haute Couture Abstracted

That’s how Devi arrived at Abstract Couture:

Abstract Couture = Creativity(C1) + Craftsmanship(C2) + Commerce(C3)

aHC = C1 + C2 + C3 where C1 = C2 = C3

Abstract Couture is a new art genre that moves the ethos of Haute Couture into contemporary art and sculpture.

In the last 10 years, there has been significant business model innovation in fashion, with TheRealReal, Bonobos, Stitch Fix, and Rent The Runway to name a few. I want to focus on innovation in materials, fabrication, and embellishment – what actually goes into the making of and NOT the selling of fashion. Devi believes creativity is the best business model.