Amanda Hallay: A Rebel with a Cause By Elaina Price
When Amanda Hallay walks into a room, you know she’s there. She walks with a certain air of confidence that not many women posses. Whether this confidence is something she was born with, or something that she developed over her fashion industry career, will remain forever a mystery, but that is fine by her. The daughter of David Wolf, the original creator of trend-forecasting, she always shunned the idea of working in fashion, but fashion made it a point of pulling her back in and she has remained there ever since. A respected writer, trend forecaster, and fashion culture expert, Amanda Hallay is someone everyone should know. She isn’t one to hold back, and tells you what is exactly on her mind. It is this irreverence that makes her so interesting, and it is her sensibility for retro fashion, and timeless style that makes you want to know more about this one of a kind, amazing woman. E: When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer? AH: I don't think I ever really thought about it; writing was something I always did, even before I knew how to write properly. Like all small children, I would play 'make believe' with imaginary friends and great adventures, but instead of just playing out these 'let's pretend' games, I would write them down afterwards. So 'writing stories' was just something I always did, which I think made writing just a very easy and natural thing way for me to express my ideas.
E: I know that you are a fashion culture expert, how did this interest manifest? AH: Well, I would say I was more of a 'culture expert' than 'fashion culture expert' (which is just a small part of being a 'culture expert'). It definitely came from my lifelong interest in history. I loved it as a child and continued to love it as an adult. When I was a teenager, I realized that I also loved music and movies and fashion and art, and that these were a 'part' of history, too. I then started to connect everything together, and when you start making 'connections', this is when you start being an 'expert'.
E: What is your favorite decade for fashion, and why? AH: This changes a lot, but at the moment, I really like the simplicity and dressed up elegance of the 1950s. It is so 'clean' and minimal compared to the overblown, multi-layered, 'more is more' fashion of the past couple of decades. In saying that, I think the most flattering era for women was the 1930s; I love the femininity of it. I also love the '40s, and its interesting silhouette.
E: What fashion icon inspires your style? AH: Great question. Eva Peron ("Evita") really understood the impact of fashion and how to make it work for her in terms of political power, and so I think that if I had to choose somebody's wardrobe to have as my own, I would definitely choose hers.
E: What do you think causes fashion trends to change? AH: FEELINGS! The way people feel about themselves and the world in which they live is what causes fashion trends to change. This I know to be true, and I love exploring the reasons 'why' fashion changes, as they're always more interesting than the fashion itself.
E: What do you think was the most iconic fashion moment in history? AH: I know most people would say it was Dior's 'New Look' in 1947, but when you think about it, it was probably Poiret's first collection in the 1910s, when he liberated (after centuries!) women from the corset. Dior put us back into them four decades later, but for a while, Poiret allowed women to actually move, live and breath in comfort.
E: What are your thoughts on Grace Kelly? How do you think she influenced style during the 1950's and 1960's? AH: She didn't influence style in the '60s, but in the '50s, I think she was the epitome of what women of the decade were supposed to be; controlled, elegant, aloof, unemotional. She has been called an 'Ice Princess', but what people forget is that she was the template of the 'perfect' 1950s women. In a decade that was all about 'control' (both societal and emotional), she had everyone beat.
E: You are the writer of a number of popular books, how do you choose what to write about? AH: Because I am know for my knowledge of 20th century popular and cultural history, I am often asked by publishers to write a book (so they're the one's who initially come up with the idea). My own ideas are always a bit hipper and more 'out there', which means, of course, it's harder to get a publisher to back them.
E: What was your inspiration behind your latest book Vintage Cocktails: Retro Recipes for the Home Mixologist? AH: I was asked to write a straight cocktail recipe book, but of course, this was way too boring for me, so instead, I used it as an opportunity for a bit of a rant against 21st century culture in comparison to what I see as the far more sophisticated, interesting and sexy 'cocktail era' of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Because I enjoy writing comedy, I decided the book would be stronger if I adopted a funny, snarky tone. Most people have liked the book, but a reviewer last week said it 'sounded like I'd dictated it while drunk'!
E: Most people don't know that you are also a professor in the fashion merchandising department at LIM College, how did you get into teaching? Was it always something you wanted to do? AH: Teaching was something I always wanted to do, and it was a deliberate decision to leave my former career as a magazine editor and trend forecaster to devote myself to teaching. I came to New York in search of a teaching job, and was fortunate enough to find a place at LIM College. It is the best decision I have ever made. Teaching is my true vocation, and I think I'm good at it because I really 'get' my students and understand that they live in a changing and dynamic world (as we all do and always have), and that to get them to engage in the material, you have to 'connect' with them on the understanding that their world as 20 year olds is different to my world as a 20 year old.
E: As a trend Forecaster, what fashion trends do you think will be popular next fall? Fall 2012? AH: Even more minimalism, no more 'color blocking' (but 'full on color'), with everything being very 'matchymatchy' (shoes matching bags, which match coats, which match skirts, etc.). A very '50s, Early '60s approach. I can't wait!
E: You said color is finally coming back into fashion, why do you think that is? AH: It's a way of making minimalism more interesting to people who have, for twenty-five years, being wearing a lot of 'stuff', and also, I think we're simply bored with black, white and neutrals. It no longer looks 'cool'; it looks dated.
E: You have traveled to some of the most fashionable cities in the world, which do you think has the most influential style and why? AH: London. Always London. I think it's because the British are so tolerant and polite; it allows people to experiment with style without getting laughed at.