Vienna seen from outside: Imran Amed
Imran Amed photographed by Hans Dhillon
It was so exciting to catch up with Imran Amed, notoriously the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Business of Fashion, when he recently came to Vienna. I met him in the lobby of his hotel where we discussed the currently rather bleak situation of the fashion industry as well as new impulses that might result from this period of economic turmoil and, inevitably, the constitution of Vienna’s fashion scene.
Imran admitted that were it not for the town’s fashion festival, he might never have had the occasion to take as close a look at all the designers moving in and around Vienna. Also, he found that the “spirit of Helmut Lang” still lives on – an interesting point and one that may indeed be more clearly visible from outside… The full-length version of our interview (in English, for once…) is here.
Talking about Viennese fashion aesthetics, by the way – the presentation of Wendy & Jim’s underwear collection realised in collaboration with DJ Hell, Wendy & Jim & HELL led to a storm in a water glass. With the water glass being Austria’s most read fashion blog (in German only, but have a look). People seem to be unsure whether to approve of or, alternatively, what to make of Wendy & Jim’s (ironic?) take on porn. Or commerce instrumentalising porn. Sex sells – that still true?
Wendy & Jim & HELL, seen by Lukas Gansterer
Interestingly, in a city whose fashion scene seems to be characterised by its very intellectual or even highbrow look at fashion (always very closely linked to art and experimentalism), this label’s attempt at capitalising on their good reputation among insiders by launching a commercially oriented subline represents an interesting new step. Which brings us back to the business of fashion, where you should never be short of original new strategies.