A demolition worker. A clock salesman. A window dresser. An artistic director. An author. The Creative Ambassador at Large of Barneys New York has worn many very stylish hats throughout his unique career path, and he graciously shared some words of wisdom with a room full of interns last week. Dressed in a bold blue paisely dress shirt and gray slacks, the British style guru was equipped with advice, hilarity, and everything in between.
I was fortunate enough to ask Simon Doonan two questions during our Q&A forum, which he used to propel the dialogue and open the floor to other opinions. What's great about Mr. Doonan is that although he's an authority on fashion, he certainly is interested in what this generation of fashion interns has to say. He was especially interested in our viewpoints regarding social media, especially instagram. He himself believes that looking at pictures of food that other people are eating is not the best way one might spend their time.
When I asked what he does when he can't find inspiration, Doonan responded with, "Oh that never happens to me," and the room broke out in chuckles. He shared that he looks at 80s B movies and other unexpected places. When I asked who he would choose to read about if he could only have one coffee table book with the biography of one artist, he said without hesitation that the subject would be David Bowie.
Along with the interesting tale of his career path, Doonan shared some very quotable nuggets of wisdom on the fashion industry:
"Design needs to fill a cultural need."
"There's no limit as to how you can carve out a fashion career."
"The good news is that there's now shortage of product at every price point."
"Every 30 seconds some lunatic is having a fashion show."
"I"ll happily walk into Strawberry and see what they can make for $4.
I'm not so snobbish as to say that Hermes is 'good' and H&M is 'bad'."
"Fashion is supposed to make you look more intriguing."
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