Being fashionably innovative

In my previous post I suggested that a recession might not be the ideal environment in which designers can achieve the necessary “vivid interest” and “active desire” in which to innovate. Paradoxically, though, recessions do seem to spur on innovation, as has been noted elsewhere. Here, for example (as I pointed out in an earlier post), Eric Starkloff of National Instruments notes that Hewlett-Packard, FedEx, and CNN were all founded during difficult economic times and that Nylon and the iPod were also developed and released in weak economies. The New York Times addressed the topic in March in “Why Bad Times Nurture New Inventions.”

Last Friday I got another reminder of the link between weak economies and innovation at my son’s graduation ceremony. The reminder came from commencement speaker Kenneth Cole. I’m not very fashionable, so I didn’t really know who Kenneth Cole is. It turns out he is a designer of shoes, clothing, and accessories, who got his start—believe it or not—during a recession.

Cole cited an innovative step he had to take to get his business off the ground. Unable to afford to fully participate in a New York City trade show, he parked a borrowed trailer near the show venue under the guise of making a movie about the birth of a shoe company. (Only utilities and film crews could obtain the necessary parking permits.) He said he met many major buyers and secured orders for thousands of pairs of shoes. "The best solutions are not usually the most expensive," he said, adding, "They’re almost always the most creative."

Technology and fashion aren’t unrelated. Last fall, I reported on a collaborative effort involving IMEC, the microelectronics and nanotechnology research center, and Ad!dict Creative Lab, which represents 32 disciplines, including advertising, photography, architecture, cooking, design, music, and fashion.

Citing a process that should translate across disciplines, Cole in the commencement speech intimated that a recession is a time for both business savvy and philanthropy (his cause is amfAR), which can complement each other. "This is an extraordinary time in our history. If you believe your role in this planet is to make a difference not just in your own but in other people’s lives, there may never be a better chance than now," he said. "Never before has there been as much broken that needs to be fixed."

He concluded, “"What you stand for, believe it or not, is more important than what you stand in."

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Update: Blogger and contributing editor Puneet Lakhi comments on an increased interest in engineering as well as a heightened sense of social responsibility among college students. Read his post “Engineering resurgence.”