Val has already blogged the wonderful red gown from Aleida here — but there are some more gifties spread in the store that you get for free wearing the grouptag.

So have a look at the rest … taxi to Aleida

posted by Shania Singh

2010 is almost here! What’s the one thing you really need to do before 2009 is over? Buy a calendar for the next year, that’s what! And maybe get a few for gifts, too!

Get one of the beautiful (and sexy) 2010 calendar made by our very own GFT right here! You can also see more pages if you follow that link, you’ll see, the pin-up girls are irresistible! ^_^

Comando : gft

gft 1024 768 60

Onde resolução seguido da frequência que o monitor usa…..

The public premiere of my new short film, “prodigal” has just been announced.

Saturday 16th January 2010 @ the Glasgow Film Theatre

The film follows a repentant Satan as he makes a vow with God to let him back into Heaven, but a group of angels and demons will stop at nothing to make sure that doesn’t happen.

All details can be found here

Film festivals are excellent things, brilliant opportunities to see films that you might not otherwise – or at least not for a long time – to see short films or obscure documentaries. I love film festivals, but crucially I don’t go to that many. Not, as some might presume, because there aren’t very many in Scotland, while the majority of the film festivals that take place in the UK are held in London there are a fair few up here. Recently the Edinburgh Film Festival has stepped out from under the shadow of its parent Festival, and the Glasgow and Shetland film festivals are gaining increasing international coverage; there are numerous smaller more specialised – Edinburgh’s annual Africa in Motion comes to mind – film festivals held in Glasgow and Edinburgh, festivals from the rest of the UK increasingly do tours and Tilda Swinton and co continue to produce charmingly eccentric efforts across the Highlands.  I just have this unfortunate tendency to miss them. Somehow, I’m always in the wrong place at the wrong time or don’t hear about them until it’s too late; one year I will hear that tickets for the Edinburgh film festival have gone on sale before the films I want to see sell out.

Never has this unfortunate tendency of mine been more obvious than this autumn. I knew in advance I would be missing the Africa in Motion festival as I was off adventuring around mainland Europe, and doubly so because its tour doesn’t come my way this year. However, it seemed everywhere I went around Europe I would find a film-festival that I couldn’t go to. Festivals seemed to be happening the week before I arrived places, or the week after I left them, in the case of the controversy dogged Zürich film festival it started the evening of the day I left. In one particularly annoying case I discovered that the last screening of one festival was the evening I arrived in that city; the day afterwards. It did occur to me that it would make quite a fun project to travel around Europe for a year trying to attend every single film festival, but mostly I came to feel that the film festivals of Europe were taunting me a little. It even continued once I’d returned to the UK, arriving in Bristol to discover that the Unchosen festival – which campaigns against Human Trafficking – was the following month. (Looking for a link to that festival I’ve discovered that I am currently missing the Encounters short film festival in Bristol…)

Therefore I felt thoroughly triumphant to actually make it to a screening as part of the Birds Eye View Festival when its tour arrived in Glasgow this week. Flooding and train cancellations meant I didn’t get to the Documentary Masterclass at the CCA but I did see an excellent silent film with live musical accompaniment at the GFT on Wednesday. My Best Girl starring the iconic Mary Pickford could almost be held up as the perfect archetypal romantic comedy, and despite not being the greatest fan of the genre I mean that as a compliment. Additionally it has a certain charm, a sort of innocence and naivety almost, borne of being made in a less cynical age than our own. I must admit that I think all silent movies should be watched on a big screen with live musical accompaniment, there’s a certain vibrancy that the live accompaniment gives them that doesn’t come across on the pre-recorded scores that accompany DVD or television screenings. Some films lend themselves to cinematic viewing, loosing a certain something on the small screen (I saw Requiem for a Dream in a tiny screening room, with an excellent sound system, at uni and I’ve never felt more claustrophobic or enjoyed that film more). There’s just something about that piano accompaniment, accentuating the moments of comedy or tenderness, or picking up the pace, galloping along as the inevitable chase gets increasingly manic, that somehow manages to hold its own against any amount of deafeningly crystal clear 5.1 surround sound. There’s something more intimate and warm about it, almost akin to attending a gig, knowing that you’re sharing a unique experience and that even if you were to go and see the film again, with the same people, in the same place with the same accompanist it wouldn’t be exactly the same. It was, as the girl in the row behind me announced at the end, “exactly what I needed.”

There’s plenty more riiight here!

Oh and…. Happy Birthday Geneviève! <3

Comics anthology. I’m in it, GFT too. It looks good.

You can order it in the subtle left sidebar on Merure’s website here. Or ask me.

Per 1 januari gaat dan ook eindelijk in Heerlen het volume/frequentie systeem gelden voor het aanbieden van afval. Dit systeem wordt ingevoerd vanuit de gedachte dat het een eerlijker systeem is en dat er beter gescheiden wordt. Wethouder Offermans stelt: “Wie slim is, kan ook nog eens besparen op de afvalstoffenheffing door de grote container minder vaak te laten ledigen.” (bron: Afvalkrant oktober 2009) Ik reken het graag even na, en zal dan meteen controleren of het scheiden van GFT en restafval nog wel loont.

Momenteel betaald een Heerlens huishouden een bedrag dat afhankelijk is van het aantal personen in het huishouden. Per 2010 heeft het aantal personen in het huishouden nog steeds invloed op het vast deel van de afvalstoffen heffing

Het verschil tussen het vaste deel van 2010 en de afvalstoffenheffing van 2009 is cruciaal. Wil je namelijk goedkoper uit zijn (en wie wil dat nou niet) dan zul je het aanbieden van je containers zo uit moeten kienen dat je onder dit bedrag blijft.

Ben je een Meerpersoonhuishouden in het bezit van een 240 liter container voor restafval en een 140 liter container voor GFT dan zul je, wil je niet meer betalen dan je nu betaald, je restafval container 19 maal moeten aanbieden en je GFT container 0 maal. Of 16 maal restafval en 4 maal GFT. Of … er zijn legio mogelijkheden (voor een overzicht klik hier). De vraag is echter of hiermee het scheiden van restafval en GFT aangemoedigd wordt.

Wethouder Offermans meldde tijdens de algemene beschouwingen van 2009 dat het scheiden van plastic gemiddeld 25 % aan volume gaat schelen, en dat geloof ik graag. Maar wat betekent dit voor je volume per twee weken en aanbied frequentie:

*Het is mogelijk om al vanaf 80 liter per twee weken een 240 liter container eens in de 6 weken buiten te zetten en bij 30 liter zelfs eens in de 16 weken, de vraag is echter of dit vanuit hygiënisch oogpunt wenselijk is.

Wat heeft het scheiden van plastic nu te maken met het scheiden van GFT afval? “Wie slim is” en nu 190 liter of meer restafval en 90 liter of minder GFT afval per 2 weken produceert bespaard kosten door zijn GFT afval niet meer apart aan te bieden, maar toe te voegen aan zijn restafval. Hiermee voorkomt deze slimmerik namelijk dat, naast een 240 liter restafval container 26 keer per jaar aan te bieden (a € 4,60 per keer) er ook nog eens 140 liter GFT 26 maal of 240 liter GFT 13 maal aangeboden dient te worden. Een kostenbesparing op het alternatief voor deze slimmerik van € 59,80 tot € 88,40 per jaar. En ondanks deze tactiek, die het milieu zeker niet ten goede komt, zal deze persoon toch nog bijna 30 euro per jaar duurder uit zijn.

Er wordt echter in de folder een goede tip gegeven; Composteren. Echter om te composteren dien je te beschikken over een eigen tuin, iemand die veel GFT afval produceert zal hier ongetwijfeld over beschikken, voor overige Heerlenaren is het dumpen van GFT in het restafval vanaf 2010 goedkoper. Daarnaast mag op een composthoop niet alle GFT afval; van iets dat gekookt, gebakken etc. is wordt afgeraden het op de composthoop te gooien, en ook vlees en vis zijn niet aan te bevelen. Helaas zit er niets anders op dan ook deze producten bij het restafval te gooien.

Maar waarom moet er dan betaald worden voor het aanbieden van een GFT container? “Wanneer het ledigen van een GFT-container goedkoper zou zijn, is het risico op ‘vervuiling’ van het GFT-afval te groot … Wanneer het GFT-afval te zeer vervuild is met ander afval, is het niet langer geschikt om te verwerken tot compost. Daarmee is het milieuvoordeel verdwenen en brengt het extra kosten met zich mee” (bron: Afvalkrant oktober 2009). Dat is duidelijke taal, maar helaas niet steekhoudend; Er is namelijk ook nog een papiercontainer, iemand die lak heeft aan het milieu (en je moet wel lak hebben aan het milieu als je de GFT-container vervuilt) zal er ook geen moeite mee hebben om zijn papier-container te vervuilen.

Het is dus maar de vraag of er door het nieuwe systeem wel beter gescheiden wordt.

(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) –

Kathy Lien

Director of Currency Research, GFT

Canada is Where All the Action is

However even though the U.S. trade number is interesting, the big story in the currency market today is the Canadian dollar. The loonie soared to a fresh 1 year high against the U.S. dollar after the m …

Kathy Lien

Director of Currency Research, gft

Canada is Where All the Action is

However even though the U.S. trade number is interesting, the big story in the Currency market today is the Canadian dollar. The loonie soared to a fresh 1 year high against the U.S. dollar after the much stronger than expected employment numbers. For our readers, the hot report should not be much of a surprise since we said yesterday that “given the sharp rise in the employment component of IVEY PMI, we believe that not only could job losses be minimal but there is a good chance that Canada experienced positive job growth for the second month in a row. A strong labor market report should add to the upside momentum in the Canadian dollar and send it a fresh 12 month high against the greenback.” Job growth in September was the strongest since the Spring which reflects the relative outperformance of the Canadian labor market with that of the U.S. The unemployment rate also fell for the first time in over a year from 8.7 to 8.4 percent. When you have a country like Canada experiencing larger than expected job growth and another experiencing larger than expected job losses, you can imagine what the trend of the Currency pair will be going forward. However not all news was good news for Canada this morning. The trade deficit in Canada hit a record low in August as exports plunged 5 percent. Imports also fell but not as aggressively as exports. Weaker demand was seen in most products but agriculture and machinery took the biggest hit. Although we are worried about the trade numbers, we do not believe that it will erase the upside momentum in the Canadian, but we will become very worried if trade fails to recover in September. Meanwhile if


USD/CAD





closes below 1.05 today, there is no major support in the currency pair until parity.

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Kathy Lien began her FX trading career 10 years ago at J.P. Morgan Chase. After graduating New York University’s Leonard Stern School of Business at the age of 18, Kathy joined the bank’s interbank FX trading desk and eventually moved to the cross markets proprietary trading desk. In the interbank market, her ability to create solid fundamental and technical analysis from the myriad of information on the market helped her trade forex spot and options. Her experience eventually led her to be chief strategist at Daily FX where she worked until she joined gft in 2008.

With her knowledge of forex, as well as her experience trading other products, such as interest rate derivates, bonds, equities, and Futures, Lien has built a reputation as an international currency analyst. She is frequently quoted on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business and Reuters. Lien has also written for publications like Active Trader, Futures, and SFO magazine. She is the author of the newly updated

Day Trading the Currency Market: Technical and Fundamental Strategies to Profit from Market Moves

, and the co-author of

Millionaire Traders: How Everyday People Are Beating Wall Street at Its Own Game

with Boris Schlossberg.

Source: U.S. Trade Narrows, CAD Hits 1 Year Low on Employment Numbers

(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) –

Boris Schlossberg

Director of Currency Research, GFT

With no natural sellers for the yen and plenty of natural sellers for the greenback, it’s no surprise that

USD/JPY

continues to creep lower as speculators try to test the limits of the downside. Furthermore this la …

Boris Schlossberg

Director of Currency Research, gft

With no natural sellers for the yen and plenty of natural sellers for the greenback, it’s no surprise that


USD/JPY





continues to creep lower as speculators try to test the limits of the downside. Furthermore this latest move has been supported by diverging fundamentals as Japanese labor markets showed some surprising improvement in August generating jobs for the first time since January while US joblessness continued to increase rising to 263K vs. 179K forecast.

Yet the steady downward drift of


USD/JPY





is sure to exact a toll on Japan’s exporters most of whom have factored their hedges between 90-92 level and are now likely to suffer losses as a result. Toyota has already stated that its operating income will decline due to yen’s relentless appreciation. If the double bottom at the 87.10 low is broken it may trigger a massive cascade of stop losses that could quickly take the pair to 85.00 handle or below.

Today Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii affirmed the policy of intervention in foreign-exchange markets in cases of “outrageously reckless” movements, but he noted that the current strength of the yen is “not abnormal” .

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Boris Schlossberg began his Wall Street trading career more than 20 years ago at Drexel Burhnam Lambert. There, he traded nearly every type of financial product on the market in the U.S., from equities and options to Stock index futures and foreign exchange. His innate ability to analyze market information and use it to trade has helped him become an industry-recognized, “go to” trading professional.

These days, whenever the markets move, many organizations turn to Schlossberg for his take on the situation. He is a weekly contributor to CNBC’s Squawk Box and a regular commentator for Bloomberg radio and television. His daily Currency research is widely quoted by Reuters, Dow Jones and Agence France Presse newswires and appears in numerous newspapers worldwide. Schlossberg has written for publications like SFO magazine, Active Trader and Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities. He is also the author of

Technical Analysis of the Currency Market

and the co-author of

Millionaire Traders: How Everyday People Are Beating Wall Street at Its Own Game

with Kathy Lien. He joined gft in 2008.

Source: Is USD/JPY Headed to 85.00?

(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) –

Kathy Lien

Director of Currency Research, GFT

Unlike the Reserve Bank of Australia, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are not expected to raise interest rates. However that does not mean that no significant comments will come out of the meeting.

ECB: Will Trichet Re …

Kathy Lien

Director of Currency Research, gft

Unlike the Reserve Bank of Australia, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are not expected to raise interest rates. However that does not mean that no significant comments will come out of the meeting.

ECB: Will Trichet Reiterate His Support for the Dollar?

monetary policy will most likely remain unchanged on Thursday, but there is a good chance that Central Bank President Trichet could reiterate his Support for the dollar and the adverse impact of excess foreign exchange moves. Although this would be nothing new, it could be enough to tip the


EUR/USD





over. Based upon recent economic reports from the Eurozone, the recovery remains “bumpy.” The expiration of the car scrapping program in Germany has driven retail sales sharply lower while his morning’s Eurozone GDP report revealed that growth in the second quarter fell more than initially anticipated. Weakness in other parts of the region has offset growth in Germany and France, triggering a 0.2 percent drop in GDP. Aside from comments on the Currency, the market will also be looking at what Trichet says about the economy and the results of their second one year refinancing operation which was met with lackluster demand. The question of adding a spread to the one year tender is once again an issue. If the ECB adds a spread to the December operation, it would be perceived as a hawkish move. Given the recent trend of economic data and the appreciation in the


EUR/USD,





Trichet may postpone this decision until November. In terms of exit strategies, ECB officials have said repeatedly that now is not the time for an exit and we expect Trichet to reiterate this stance.

BoE: Playing Second Fiddle to the BoE

Of all the major central banks, the Bank of England is the most dovish, which explains the recent underperformance of the BRitish pound. At the last monetary policy meeting, the BoE left their asset purchase program unchanged but announced that it would take another 2 months to complete which suggests that they haven’t ruled out further stimulus. Changing the interest paid on bank reserve deposits was not discussed at the previous meeting and could therefore be discussed tomorrow. There has also been a lot of confusion about the central bank’s stance on the sterling so if the BoE addresses this issue, it could trigger volatility in the pound. Otherwise, we do not expect anything significant from the BoE tomorrow – instead our focus will be on the ecb.

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To buy Kathy’s newly updated

Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market: Technical and Fundamental Strategies to Profit from Market Moves

,

click here

.

Source: ECB and BoE Preview: Any Risk of Fireworks?

(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) –

Boris Schlossberg

Director of Currency Research, GFT

Although the remarks by Chairman Bernanke were not new and the Fed chief made no hints that a move towards tightening will come any time soon, currency traders reacted to his rhetoric bidding up the dollar in Asian and early Europ …

Boris Schlossberg

Director of Currency Research, gft

Although the remarks by Chairman Bernanke were not new and the Fed chief made no hints that a move towards tightening will come any time soon, Currency traders reacted to his rhetoric bidding up the dollar in Asian and early European trade. The yen was the biggest loser amongst the majors with


USD/JPY





rising above the 89.00 figure as markets reassessed the long term viability of the dollar carry trade.

Is the Fed truly changing course? We think such talk may be premature. We believe that the Fed will follow its historical precedent and will not raise rates until the labor markets no longer contract. Yesterday’s drop in the weekly jobless claims numbers was a welcome sign of improving conditions, but until the weekly numbers drop into the 400,000’s the US economy is likely to continue losing jobs which will keep the Fed stationary for the foreseeable future .

We believe that the rhetoric from Chairman Bernanke, was simply meant to restrain the pace of decline in the dollar after the buck weakened to fresh yearly lows against many of its major trading partners this week. The fate of the dollar and the direction of the US monetary policy will depend on the return of consumer demand which remains moribund for now. Next Wednesday’s US Retail Sales numbers could prove to be the critical event risk of the week. If they surprise to the upside, Dr. Bernanke’s comments would become considerably more credible and the dollar bounce could have more legs.

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Source: A Change of Policy From the Fed?

This morning’s reports on unemployment (up), manufacturing (down), housing (sort of up), and consumer spending (up a little) have pushed the market down. Out of the gate this morning, gold miners and spot gold prices followed the market down, but as trading has increased the spot gold price has recovered about half its early losses and the gold miners are coming back too.

Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) fell more than a dollar in the first hour, but has since regained about a third of that. Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC), Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI), and the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) have followed roughly the same pattern. Spot gold opened above $1,009/oz this morning, fell to about $1,002/oz, and has since recovered to about $1,004.50/oz. Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD), which owns royalty shares in metals miners, has followed the miners’ trend. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) has followed the spot price.

All that commotion is pretty much what one would expect as markets swirl around. But gold itself, and the mining of gold, face a couple of fundamental issues. First, demand for gold jewelry fell 22% from the first quarter of 2009 to the second quarter. Even recycled gold sales have softened, from 566 metric tons in the first quarter to 334 metric tons in the second.

Second, sales to the ETFs have also dropped. In the second quarter of 2009, demand from ETFs fell to 56.7 metric tons, from 465.1 metric tons in the first quarter of the year. That is not a typo. And expectations for third quarter ETF purchases remain weak.

As for mining, Gold Fields Ltd. confirmed today that it expects production and costs for its first fiscal quarter of 2010 to be in line with previous guidance. Gold Fields expects its notional cash expenditure (all-in costs) to be $835/oz. If gold prices remain around $1,000/oz, the company and other gold miners will do nicely, thank you. But reining in production costs has been difficult for all mining companies, and the third quarter may be no different.

Paul Ausick

If I thought I was having a grim month in terms of persuading commissioning editors to part with their pennies, it’s nothing compared to how soul-destroying it must be to work on American Vogue. How do I know this? Well, because I spent the morning watching, sniggering, empathising and cringing at the eagerly anticipated film The September Issue, RJ Cutler’s utterly fascinating and hugely enjoyable documentary which charts the production of what is always the biggest edition of the magazine of the year.

One by one, staff members are crushed by editor-in-chief Anna Wintour’s apparently breezy dismissal of photos, ensembles or ideas that they have sweated blood over. But it’s the veteran creative director, Grace Coddington who inspires the most sympathy. Although she and Wintour have been colleagues for two decades, she knows that her boss will make her decisions based on her own judgement alone – with no consultation. Every spread she completes is chopped by Wintour, and always when she is elsewhere in the building.

Indeed, Coddington’s editorial tussles with Wintour provide most of the drama and tension in the film. (Cutler was lucky that Coddington, being older and more Wintour-wise than the rest of the staff, was self-confident enough to speak her mind for the camera.)

Of the two women, Coddington is the one whose passion shines through. Next to her (and the insanely flamboyant editor-at-large, Andre Leon Talley – who we don’t see enough of), Wintour has about as much passion as a dead fish. While Coddington is always on the look-out for inspiration and ideas, Wintour, her head bowed at Lady Di angles and her eyes often hidden behind her heavy fringe or her sunglasses (or both), seems introverted – as someone who relies solely on their own judgement and opinion must inevitably be.

Coddington, who could get a job as an Elizabeth I look-alike if she ever gets completely fed up with Wintour, dreams up the most ravishing images (that 1920s shoot! the French chateau spread!) but it’s clear that she gets carried away and, like most of us, takes it personally when other people start hacking away at her work. She doesn’t seem to know when to stop once those creative juices are flowing – so of course Wintour has to edit her output. As she says, decisiveness is her greatest strength.

Aside from revealing that her children are her biggest weakness, and apart from a brief hint of embarrassment at her own admission that her siblings are bemused by her career, Wintour gives next to nothing away about what makes her tick and what drives her. She must be passionate about fashion and about Vogue to devote so much time and energy to them, but there is nothing in her manner or in what she says that distinguishes her from anyone else doing a terrifically high-pressured job.

There’s no sense that she gets anything out of it, or that it’s fulfilling – or even that she loves clothes. Only once does she register pleasure when a dress is presented to her. Every other time, she looks bored or disinterested. At YSL, she almost defies designer Stephano Pilati to impress her, and watching her making him squirm is embarrassing.

Some kind of explanation of how Wintour came to wield such power would have been useful because in no other context would an artist take direction and criticism from a magazine editor. It doesn’t happen in music or in literature or in art. Of course, fashion is a different world – but it’s shocking to realise that the Wintour-inspired character Meryl Streep played in The Devil Wears Prada was really not a caricature; in many respects it was a fairly faithful portrayal of someone who is terrifying but in a thoroughly understated way.

Wintour points out that she inherited a character trait from her father – his inscrutablity. Turn a camera on her and it seems to increase the inscrutability. She may have a fearsome reputation but, based on what we see in this film, she doesn’t appear to have a personality.

Red carpet? Check!

Sparkly for drivers and non drivers? Check!

Nibbles and sweets? Check!

Brill venue? Check!

A sprinkling of glitter? Check!

Fantastic film? Absolutely Check!

And last but not least . . . YOU!? 

Were you there to see the first screening for Paisley Film Society?  Loads of local – and not so local – film fans cheered the start of what will hopefully be a new era for Paisley.  And as the curtain came down on our premier the applause went up.

‘Brilliant’ ’superb’,  ’great fun!’ and ‘why hasn’t this been done before?!’ were only some of the comments we heard at the end of the night, and gives a flavour for how well the screening was received. 

It was a fantastic success and a huge thank you to everyone who turned out to see (some for the very first time) the legendary movie that is Local Hero.

Thanks also to the wonderful Glasgow Film Theatre for the use of their lovely red carpet (we’ll make sure all the sparkly glitter is off before we hand it back!) and to the folks at the Reid Kerr College for their help on the night.

Morrisons, Tesco and Somerfield all chipped in to help get everything off to a great start – thank you!

Our next screening – Jaws - is on the 8th September, and has been selected by a local cinema enthusiast via our website.  Will we see you there?  Will we need a bigger cinema?

 Wintour points out that she inherited a character trait from her father – his inscrutablity. Turn a camera on her and it seems to increase the inscrutability. She may have a fearsome reputation but, based on what we see in this film, she doesn’t appear to have a personality.

  * The September Issue opens at the Glasgow Film Theatre and nationwide on September 11.

This evening I went to the GFT to see the premier of the film Kurdi as part of Refugee Week. It has been 5 years in the making by directors Peri Ibrahim & Doug Aubrey and definitely worth every painful minute of making.

film: Kurdi

The GFT describe it as it having been twenty years since Perî Ibrahim walked into the town of Halabja in the aftermath of the chemical gas attack Saddam Hussein launched against the Kurdish people, buried his best friend and began the long walk west. Kurdî tells the story of a man in search of himself, his people and a country that doesn’t exist.

Previously a 13 minute piece, it had been shown under the working title of PESHMARGHA which, in Kurdish means those who die first. From the picture and publicity you might think it’s all about war but my take on it is a man who thought he knew himself and his beliefs but ends up realising that it’s not as black and white as it seems.

It takes a lot for someone to revisit a past that could be a Hollywood blockbuster if it was relocated from Kurdistan (!). It’s a past of passion for life and country and full of contradictions. In the Q&A afterwards it was raised that there was a lot of conflicting thoughts and ideals mixed in the film but to me we are all made like this however living in the comfort of Scotland I do not have to worry about taking up arms to fight for my country and so my children grow up in a safe home.

The film makers took amazing risks just to shoot it and made several trips to Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey all countries Peri is wanted in due to activities he was part of in the past. They went on a personal journey to places Peri had been to and met up with people he knew from his past. I found it very sobering when I think that he is approximately the same age as me but has witnessed and taken part in events I hope I never have to even think about.

Now living and working in Glasgow the making of the film has created conflict in his mind rather than answering questions which I think was possibly the initial idea of the film. Right now there does not seem to be any answer to his quest but that’s his personal battle and not for us to demand.

poster for Kurdi

I recommend this film as it is thought provoking on so many levels and gives you an insight into the Kurdish plight though this film does not confess to give a history of the situation as it is from one person’s perspective. Doug Aubrey said “it is a flawed film” but I for one don’t want to see the polished Hollywood version.

Italian Fashion Industry – Cycles of Development

Though some could argue otherwise, according to the experts in Italy, there are 4 primary phases or cycles of Italian fashion industry development.

1. 1950s-60s:  Industrial production systems are developed after WW2
2. 1960s-70s:  Economic and social change emerges, apparel system reacts
3. 1980s:  Democratization of fashion and surge of “Made in Italy” around the world
4. 1990s:  Brand concentration, financing revisions and mergers & acquisitions

The 1st Cycle: 1950s-60s

Prior to industrial developments in Italy, which occurred only after WW2, 90% of Italians were rurally employed. The elite acquired their luxury products from France, and Italian goods were considered “poor”. Most higher fashion was reserved for men, as women did not have as many black tie events to dress for.

At the time, the fashion industry in Italy was largely non-existent. With the high-end consumers buying their fashions from Paris, or having copies made by local tailors, some industrialists noticed a gap in the market supply, which called for functional, durable, high quality garments. To begin to meet this demand,  Italian company Gruppo Finaziario Tessile (GFT) took the first initiative to measure a wide sample of the Italian population to create national sizing system.

Italian Apparel Finds a Niche

In 1951, an Italian importer for American goods, named Gian Battista Giorgini, realized the the US market was also ready for something new and different from that offered by France. They had mass-produced garments, the elite could buy haute couture from Paris, and yet there was nothing in between. Giorgini used his US contacts for market research and development, and began to organize Italian designers, whom he encouraged to abandon their French knock-offs and pursue an affordable Italian style. With new production technologies from the States being imported into Italy as part of the recovery plan, and a large skilled workforce of women to operate the machinery, GFT and other Italian manufacturing firms such as Marzotto and Lebole developed the production end of the industry. As many of top producers had a background in men’s tailoring, there was still a strong industrial concentration in menswear, but the mass-production capabilities in the States would find their way into Italian womenswear production soon enough.

You could summarize that the beginnings of the Italian Fashion Industry were characterized by:

• Large manufacturing facilities
• Economies of scale (primarily the US market)
• Strong specialization

The 2nd Cycle: 1960s-70s

In most cultures, up until this point, children and adolescents had dressed as their parents dressed. In the States and the UK, pop culture shifted in the wake of the Baby Boom as young people struggled to develop a new identity and used fashion as a means to demonstrate their separation from the values of their parents’ generation. (England was becoming a hub for the new youth culture, inspiring fashion and trends around the world, in addition to American hippies.) Women had entered the workforce in increasing number, and no longer wanted to dress as housewives. Further, as there were fewer and fewer occasions for dressing up, people began to seek more informal clothing. Trends had begun to be driven by market needs, as opposed to the stylistic direction set in Paris.

Big Business Gets Smaller

At the same time, there were many social and union conflicts that helped create increased labor costs in developed countries, resulting in a surge of apparel imports from developing countries. The combination of these elements together with the oil crisis of 1974 and the Italian economic crisis of 1975 caused the big manufacturers to lose their hold on the mass market. There was no longer a one-size-fits-all model for fashion (and that was only the beginning, as we now know!).

As the big manufacturers in the States and elsewhere had maintained large scale standardized production even after consumer demand had decreased and diversified, the labor costs in Italy were falling and new small/medium-sized production companies were forming. Manufacturers began to outsource production in Italy, and even France began to rely heavily on the cheap yet skilled Italian labor pool for their pret-á-porter lines.

Designers Respond to a Changed Environment

A new generation of designers emerged in Italy, capable of working with industry partners to produce collections that were fashionable and more affordable than their French counterparts. (Consider Armani & Cerruti, Versace & Genny, or Soprani/MaxMara.) These designers had relationships with market-savvy business leaders, who ensured that the Italian form of fashion would meet the demand of developed markets. The Italian Fashion Week cycle, following on the heels of Paris, became increasingly popular to buyers and press who saw the potential of Italian fashion’s middle ground between haute couture (France) and mass fashion (the US).

In summary, this cycle of development in the industry of Italian fashion can be characterized by:

• New consumer values and lifestyles (youth, rebellion, rock, women in business, etc)
• Market segmentation (no longer one-size-fits-all)
• Increased demand for informal wear
• The decrease of influence from Paris and haute couture
• The increase of influence from London and the youth culture

The 3rd Cycle: 1980s

This was the decade where the world found Italy.

By the 1980s, Italy had little competition from other developed countries for quality textile production. However, developed markets were building a habit a rampant consumerism, with a renewed interest in fashion. The Italian style had gradually been gaining consensus, especially in the States, which had become the largest consumer market. Meanwhile, Italian industry was looking for new formulas to stay (or get) on top of the fashion game.

Total Look, Branding & Hollywood

A new type of relationship began to form between industry and the designers, which was more a partnership that a contractual business relationship. With the craze for “Total Look” taking the fashion scene by storm, designers began to throw their labels onto every conceivable product in their quest for notoriety and brand building.

Internationalization, mass media and the help of Hollywood brought Italian industry onto the main markets. For example, Armani exclusively clothed actor Richard Gere for his role in American Gigalo, bringing the brand notoriety throughout the States and abroad. You can see an early example of product placement with Armani’s menswear collection in the closet scene of American Gigalo, in the clip below:

Love for Licensing

Licensing agreements had become the method of choice for labels to expand their designer names into new product categories (including second and third lines, kids wear, athletic wear, homewear, eyewear, fragrances, etc.). The cooperation between industrial companies and designers, mainly based on these licensing agreements, was the key success factor to growth for the Italian fashion industry.

Fashion companies moved from product-specialization to develop multi-product capabilities through their licensees. In addition to manufacturing, licensees were used to handle distribution and retail activities for the licensor brands, while the brands in turn provided the design concept, the brand name and image.

Throughout the 80s, much of the Italian fashion system depended on licensing agreements for growth and for specialized production (after all, what does a ready-to-wear designer know about producing furniture or fragrances if he can’t rely on experience professionals to help him?). However, as the brands amassed capital, and learned from their licensees about best (and worst) practices, it became clear that licensing could be equally beneficial and detrimental.

Brands like Gucci were widely diluted through numerous licensees, all whom had a different idea of what the brand represented and how their designs should appear and retail. On the verge of bankruptcy, they needed to build capital and buy back their licenses, in order to impose a universal brand strategy throughout their comapnies.

Within the decade, four different groups of players on the Italian fashion scene had clearly emerged. They were:

1. Industrial companies (GFT, Marzotto, Miroglio)
2. Small to medium-sized industrial companies with product orientation (Max Mara, Zegna, Genny, Aeffe, Ittierre)
3. Designer/entrepreneurs who both design and produce (Missoni, Mila Shon, Mario Valentino)
4. Pure designers who take designs to production firms (Versace, Armani, Ferré, Moschino, Krizia)

By the end of the 1980s, Italian designers had entered into a new system of growth:

• Most remained family industries (Missoni, Prada, Versace, etc)
• Designers maintained direct control over their “first lines” (the highest line in their brand’s “food chain”  –   typically ready-to-wear)
• Brands developed second lines and brand extension, typically under general artistic direction of the original designer and through licensing agreements
• Brands developed direct control of distribution, taken back from licensees
• Focus was kept on retail, to create a unified harmony across a branded retail outlets

You could therefore conclude that the Italian model for the fashion industry, at this point, consisted of designers sketching models for the primary line, with manufacturing and additional product development farmed out to licensees, with the finished products then brought back under internal control for distribution and sales. Just ten years prior, licensees had handled everything but the initial design, brand name and image direction for the Italian brands.

Unlike France, Italy typically relied on lower-end textiles – not fragrances and accessories – to make the big money.

The 4th Cycle: 1990s

Towards the end of the 20th Century, the fashion system was undergoing many changes. The fashion system had become increasingly global in supply and demand, affecting Italian, French and American firms together.

New players were entering the field; for example, the luxury conglomerates. New market segments were being created as well, including the bridge segment, which spoke to a market beneath ready-to-wear but above mass fashion. Entry barriers into the industry had become increasingly higher, with great investments required in marketing (fashion show and advertising extravaganzas, parties, supermodels, etc) and retail. Retail itself was undergoing change through the introduction of the lifestyle concept, pioneered by American designer Ralph Lauren.

Fronting the Tab

In order to meet the new financing needs of the fashion system, many companies opened on the stock exchange. With this move came a market rush by the luxury conglomerates to acquire and reposition the Italian brands with marketable heritage. Much like the French houses before them, Italian brands were gradually having to transfer creative direction from the original designers onto new creatives.

As for the four groups of players on the Italian fashion scene, the 90s saw the following changes:

1. Industrial companies: begin to acquire brands – typically from past licensors, launch their own brands based on their acquired capabilities, or develop retail strategies (Aeffe/Moschino, GFT/Valentino, Exté, Max Mara, Zegna)
2. Designer/entrepreneurs: control production and distribution processes with the purchase of production facilities, utilize very few licenses (Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani)
3. Multibrand Groups: conglomerates acquire brands and designer companies (LVMH, Gucci Group, Prada)
4. Pure designers: sell their companies to industrial or multibrand groups (Jil Sander, Valentino)

In “Short”

The Italian fashion industry really took off after WW2 with the help of technologies provided as part of the Recovery Plan, the entrepreneurship of business and manufacturing leaders who saw an opportunity, a newly-urbanized population of skilled textile workers, and a burgeoning demand for quality apparel and ready-to-wear.

The first phase of industrial fashion in Italy was made by a few concentrated, large-scale production facilities. As the economy turned south and many new market segments emerged, big business lacked the flexibility to diversify their business model, and small to medium-sized manufacturing companies took the lead.

Designers and their business partners (typically family) recognized the changing market as an opportunity, and developed partnerships with manufacturers who had once contracted work to them. Under this model, the designer became responsible only for the initial designs of his collection, while his business partners managed the brand and image, and licensees took care of the rest – from manufacturing through distribution and retail.

By the end of the 1980s, many brands had gained the capital and the knowledge base to buy back their licenses in specific product categories, as well as their distribution and retail systems. Some were able to purchase their own manufacturing facilities. The typical model now had the design company controlling the initial designs of the highest line and whatever licenses they had brought in-house, as well as their distribution and retail. Manufacturing was still typically licensed out.

During the final years of the 20th Century, the costs of running a fashion business had exploded with a need for mass marketing. Many companies went on the stock exchange to build capital investment. While some brands took control back from their licensees, others were acquired by luxury conglomerates. Some manufacturing leaders developed their own lines or acquired brands they had once licensed production rights from.

Good news! No migraine yesterday. Warm, windy. Walked Maggie.  First time to notice Cottonwood fluff in the air.

Met Polly and her puppy Andy at the Central Park for dog walking and coffee after. Dogs had a great time running without their leashes. We enjoyed it until they found the mud puddle. Maggie dove into the puddle as if it were a slip and slide. I barely recognized her when she came out, she was so black with mud. She was so happy, she did the happy run. Andy followed her into the puddle, except he was smart enough to walk through it instead of lay down. To wash off the mud Polly and I let the dogs go into the pond. Maggie walked in and laid down (I see a pattern). Andy would walk in until his paws wouldn’t touch then he ran out and hid behind Polly. The pond water got rid of much of the mud but smelled awful! We then went to get coffee, sat outside and let the dogs dry before we took them to our respective houses for baths.

Migraine report for today; slight headache but no migraine. Warmer but no wind, humid!

Hubby and I tried to have date night but settled on dinner only. LA wanted to treat his girlfriend, Tara, to dinner and ice cream for her birthday. We picked up Tara and dropped them off at Abuelos. Hubby and I went to PF Changs. After the kids had ice cream we took them to Tara’s house to watch a movie LA had rented. Oh well, the romantic life of parenthood!

Tomorrow the boys will have practice at the El Dorado course they will compete on for the State Tournament on Tues. Hubby and I are thinking we might play golf ourselves and Nana is coming for dinner. Monday will be a quiet evening since the boys will play their tournament the following day.