R.I.P. Phi

I know this news is late, as it was announced on December 21st, 2009, but I have an excuse.  It was the beginning of the holidays for me and I needed to shift my priorities from the latest news to hit the fashion and art world to focus on my family.  No matter how late, this news did hit me like a ton of bricks.  Phi is closing up shop.  Their pre-spring 2010 delivery will be the last to hit the racks and their flagship will close at the end of this month.  Phi was an early adopter of the 80's body-con trend, having this trend represented in their runway collections 4 seasons before Christopher Kane presented his eponymous Spring 2007 collection that launched body-con bandage dressing to one of the top trends of the second half of the decade(it was still going strong in the Spring 2010 collections!).  Phi was also responsible for creating the most desirable shoe of the Fall 2009/2010 season - the platform high-heel creeper bootie.  Too bad girls won't get a chance to pick up that amazing platform combat bootie for Spring 2010! 

This news really breaks my heart!  The U.S. needs to start realizing that fashion is really an artform and needs to have proper funding if we want it to continue in this country.  If not, we are going to lose all of our best talent to European fashion houses.  I know, I'm saying this in a time where money is spread really thin and when we are fighting two wars, but the reality is, we need to get our priorities straight.  We are constantly trying to understand what the fundamental issues in our country are, and I think that the biggest issue is our lack of education in this country.  We underfund our educational system and the first thing to get cut from schools are art programs.  This same mentality goes all the way up the ranks.  The arts are important and the statistics proving this point are staggering, so if we want to help solve the issues in this country, why don't we start from the ground up?  OK - I'll get off my soapbox now...

So, after my rant, I leave you with the final Spring 2010 show from Phi, which will never be seen on store floors, regardless of the fact that the trend that they helped create is at its pinacle.