Thus far one of the best summaries of the recent fashion week was by Kathy Horn of the New York Times. Oddly, my praise of this is less about the fashion and more about the coverage. She is so dead on and purely poetic. She “senses a fight between the good girls and the bad” and describes the “models with floss colored hair.”
Click here to watch the video. (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/02/17/fashion/20090218-fashion-feature/index.html)
In this I heard and underlining tone of either indifference or disappointment . If you’re trying to reflect the people and era, to resonate with culture and stay relevant at this time, then, just because we are in a depression doesn’t mean we want to see all black. A point so potently highlighted by Horn: “just because its black, doesn’t make it chic.” (hahaha- ouch, but true).
Established Designers:
Marc Jacobs
Anna Sui
Donna Karan
Jill Stuart
New Designers
Aussie designer Michael Angel
New comer Jason Wu (known for the inaugural gown)
New Comer Lanvin
All the black only makes the depression worse. After the fashion week, I was greatly disappointed with how the designers were unable to appropriately adjust to this time leaving a general mood of discontentment and a deep disconnect. The age restrictive, Jacob, “couldn’t answer the unanswerable” and didn’t know how to deal with the recession, so he just designed pretty dresses.
Where was the creativity? Does any one really want to see a black jacket and tights or a garish 1980s flash-back. Where is the creativity, the trend setting, the edifying relevance and, most important, the style?
My humble suggestion, to deal with “the unanswerable,” is quite easy to answer- elation in simplicity. I wanted to see vibrant, intense colors (breaking out of the gloom), energetic patterns on familiar fabrics. Offer all fashion in one piece.
To still maintain relevance: neglect overindulgence (like that of costume designer Patricia Field). Instead of heaping on pricey layered outfits, exotic textiles and mountains accruements, I wanted a powerful piece. A direct, single fashionable force calling for only minimalist accessories (simple shoes, purse and coat [if any]). Lose any of the unnecessary. Trend setting should be made in the brilliant colors, cuts, forms and folds on basic material.
I was hoping for the designers to take on this challenge, break through the gloom and empathize with the audience. Maybe the newer designers have experienced this era first hand and better understand the remedies for the situation. At the end of the day I felt the classic houses fell through and saw the newer designers rise to the occasion.
How drab? London's Fashion Week
An interesting side note, the recent fashion weeks are at a little bit of war, British capital faces a cut from six days to just four because the New York organisers want to push their shows a few days later. According to the council, Fashion Week attracts nearly 5,000 buyers, journalists and designers from across the world and injects 20 million pounds ($43 million) into London's economy. Maybe this will put the pretentious designers in the right place once they see the fanfare slowly dying.
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