The Invisible Designer

John Seabrook’s collection of essays comprises three texts on the fashion industry. The first, Invisible designer: Helmut Lang, tells the story of the Austrian-born designer of the same name, portraying him as a reclusive artist of the avant-garde, who has been able to set the latest trends in the world of fashion, not only thanks to the minimalism and comfort of his style, but also to the veil of secrecy surrounding his image. Hands and Eyes, When Dolce Met Gabbana is Seabrook’s next piece, in which the tale is told of the formation of the creative team of the designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The author summarises their brand’s guiding formula thus: “These are clothes to brighten listless glances.” In the last essay, The Geek of Chic. How Federico Marchetti Brought E-Commerce to Fashion, the author tackles the economics of the fashionable clothing industry. It concerns the flourishing business of Italy’s Federico Marchetti, who succeeded in persuading all the leading fashion houses in favour of e-commerce, uniting the distribution of luxury items from the latest collections with the sale of cut-price goods on a single platform provided by the major Internet magazine Yoox.