This sartorial breakthrough was the development of the “builder’s bottom.” Not knowing what that was, I went to Google and found that had introduced to Great Britain what we in the States have long associated with appliance repair: the buttcrack.

Sadly, he died before he could have received his Nobel Prize. It has been awarded for less.

The job and responsibilities of contemporary architect are orders of magnitude higher than some empty-suit trousers designer’s, forgive the pun. Parallel fails.

I don’t see where your parallel with architecture comes in.

The parallel is with those “celeb” architects (think Richard Rogers) who, despite some genuinely impressive accomplishments, also benefit from a self-regarding establishment with its pet designers, etc.

Architects are not glorified seamstresses – or no more than civil engineers, bridge designers, surgeons etc- but usually with added responsibility (in the eyes of the Law, too) of a legal entity commanding and managing the rest of the building and engineering trades on a project.

If taxpayers pay for a public building, like a railroad station or a courthouse through government bureaucrats – is that an architect’s fault? You can debate pros and cons of a particular building as a member of collectively paying Client – but do it within the merits of a project, not some irrelevant speculation on architects’ personal qualities.

Taxpayer funds are getting wasted all over – but I don’t see anybody criticizing the way energy contractors, for instance, blow hundreds of millions of dollars. Or military contractors (I have some inside information on that), or enumerable government agencies, or FEMA, or Army Corps of Engineers, etc etc. On the contrary, architectural practice makes it very easy to account for all the funds – and architectural fees on a public project usually come up as the smallest expense – when you compare it to the cost of unionized contractors’ labor.

Also, architects are not just handed public projects – they compete for it, in transparent and multi-step process that usually involves members of the public in a judging role. Yes, sometimes there are bribes or under-the-table game of connections – but no more than in any other manufacturing industry fighting for their brad and butter – real industry, per Mr. Pitcher’s terminology.

I am saying this as someone who participated in design of at least 5 courthouses and one Juvenile Detention center in US -I know it from the inside.

Oh, and I do know a little fashion industry madness, too: I went to FIT for 3 years.

Despite his avowed anarchism, he was a statist. Luckily he lived like a capitalist.