Del Geronimo presents the 2nd Annual San Francisco Fashion Awards
Written by: Joel Nikolaou for Examiner.com
Interview: Fashion photographer Del Geronimo discusses the 2nd Annual San Francisco Fashion Awards.
This Sunday July 26th, Del Geronimo in association with Novo Magazine, SF Station, and City Model Management will be presenting the 2nd annual San Francisco Fashion Awards, at the HOTEL PHOENIX / BAMBUDDHA LOUNGE. I had the opportunity to sit down with Del Geronimo at the Sugar Café, to discuss the event, and to talk to him about his vision that initiated his creation of this Fashion Awards show.
Examiner: What are your goals for the Award Show this Sunday? I mean how are you going to evaluate whether it was a success or failure?
Del Geronimo: I will judge this show a success if the loyal followers show up. These are the people/designers who are loyal to the cause. We need their support, because it is essential for the growth of the fashion community in San Francisco. You need people who are committed to take this cause to the next level.
Examiner: What is the purpose of the Fashion Show? What are you trying to accomplish on a commercial level? I mean it is billed as the alternative fashion awards show, but ultimately you have to gain a market in any industry in order to be sustainable long term. How marketable is alternative fashion in general, in San Francisco and anywhere else?
Del Geronimo: The fashion awards show is designed as a platform for presenting up and coming designers here in San Francisco. Yes, ultimately even avant-garde designers need sponsors, and that is the challenge we face.
Examiner: As a fashion examiner, and one who is specifically interested in alternative men's European fashion, I see what you are doing as significant. You are showing the mainstream, that there is an alternative to the derivative clothing that is sold in most department stores, here in San Francisco and elsewhere. By showcasing a fashion award show based on alternative women's and men's fashion, you are doing a public service to the community, in terms of awareness and education. I think anyone interested in fashion, men or women's should be interested in this awards show.
Examiner: What are some of the up-and-coming designers that we are going to see at this year’s event?
Del Geronimo: There are two designers that are on the cusp of mainstream viability. One is Alexandria von Bromssen; the another is KittinHawk. KittinHawk is already gaining public notice in LA, and was featured in NYLON. Both of these designers are on the cusp of mainstream distribution, and just need the one break to take them over this last hurdle to commercial distribution. This fashion show is meant as an attempt, to attract these sponsors, who could offer them the needed commercial exposure, and distribution.
Examiner: While we have been sitting here discussing the awards show, I noticed the music videos showing on the wall, behind us. They are playing the video for “Don’t you want me Baby” by the Human League. This video and song is over 27 years old. In the video Phil Oakey the lead singer is wearing full on women’s make-up. This is circa 1981. This video was released at the time despite the objections of their press agents in the US. Phil was pressured to tone down the bold make-up. He was told it would not fly here in the states. They were still considered very avant-garde for the US market. The song went to number 1. Their other songs from the Album DARE got no airplay in the states. Phil Oakey was even more avant-garde before the release of this song. His earlier work from the late 70’s is even more experimental- Reproduction, the first album is still largely unknown. David Bowie commented on the music on the album Reproduction in the late 70’s, when he first heard it. He visited The Human League’s music studio at the time and stated …“this is the future of music”…There are videos on You Tube, from performances on Top of The Pops; “Do or Die” is one of them. See my previous article Androgony is an alternative to Drag to view the video. In the video Phil is wearing a full on French braid, red lipstick, a fabulous pair of Ribina pumps (this was a shoe label out of Sheffield England that was popular during the height of the New Romantic scene), and a svelte black men’s blouse and trousers. He is the epitome of androgynous chic which all the young fashionable kids are trying to emulate today. My point is at the time most of this music/fashion didn’t get play here in the states, because it was considered too alternative/avant-garde for the US market. Now almost 30 years later it isn’t. What changed? What once was considered daring and or strange is now idolized by the young generation of today. It is mainstream now! This shows that you can’t always follow popular taste. Popular taste is manufactured, like everything else. If the public is not exposed to new things, how will they ever learn to accept new things? If you know, it is your opportunity/obligation to lead the way, and not follow the herd. The people who follow the herd do so, because they don’t know an alternative. A lot of the stuff that will be shown this weekend will be considered too avant-garde by a lot of the sponsors. You can’t let them dictate public opinion/taste; you have to lead the way. What is avant-garde today will be mainstream tomorrow. This is how you sell it.
Del Geronimo: Yes. This is the challenge in promoting avant-garde fashion in general. How do you convince merchants and sponsors to take a chance, and buy, and sell clothing that is today considered obscure and or too alternative? The question is always, will this sell today? At the end of the day you have to be concerned with the bottom line, and profit margins. Who has the resources in today’s economy to insist on this? This is the challenge.