With another fashion season here I thought this may be a good time to bring up something that seems to be taken for granted but yet gets re-assessed from time to time- the question of "what is the fashion of NOW?"
While purging some old articles I came across a NYT piece by Guy Trebay posing the question of why designers don't seem to be able to design for TODAY and why there is a constant revisiting of past decades or a jump ahead to the future for reference. In fact, he begins the article by asking "When did today become such an impossible idea?" (read the article here)
Just recently, after the Christian Dior couture show, fashion expert Suzy Menkes made a statement that Galliano "could have done with a little less past and a little more present."
So while Nicholas Ghesquiere can do a fashion show in 2006 that many said referenced fashion in 2025 and Dior is referencing the 40's, 50's and the days when women rode side saddle (and getting critiqued for it), we can ask "what would fashion of 2010 look like?"
Previously to the Couture shows, the Men's Fall 2010 collections showed an abundance of heritage looks, reflecting the respective brands' expertise and origins. This in itself has been an ongoing theme for several seasons now. But are we learning anything new?
Looking back to go forward is not new and many would argue that the mood of fashion reflects the mood of the people at the time- optimism leads to fashion influenced by happy times (ie the 50's) and bad times reference dark and rebellious (ie gothic or punk). And sometimes we want to put the past and future together (Steampunk). Karl Lagerfeld was recently asked about futurism to which he responded "I hate that. I don't believe in avant-garde clothes for a future that will never happen. Fashion is always now."
But is it?
So the questions are asked:
- what would fashion of 2010 look like if designers had to reference only that year?
- what does the word "modern" mean?
- can we design a collection without referencing the past or future? Is it even possible?
- do consumers drive this by living in the tomorrow and buying for next week?
- what does it mean to live in the NOW and do we really want to?
Discuss.
4 comments:
we see the revisiting of the past not only in fashion--but via various artistic channels. many photographers are going back to grainy, polaroid-esque shots. interior design harkens back to hollywood regency and dutch modern design. i think the design of now is more about a twist on what already exists--but bettering it via technologically-enhanced fabrics/fibers/construction. i'm anxiously awaiting the designers who can break away from that mindset.
- what would fashion of 2010 look like if designers had to reference only that year?
who knows; all our lives things have been taken from the past into the future, we have to figure out what the beginning of the past is in order to know what is truly unique.
- can we design a collection without referencing the past or future? Is it even possible?
hmm, I don't think so. Where would one draw inspiration from. This is a tricky one.
- what does it mean to live in the NOW and do we really want to?
I guess living in the NOW is all about social networking, cell phones that run like computers, and experiences that are intangible. So no, I don't want to live in the NOW. Probably because I am young and have grown up with technology; I am over it by now. I feel that people in their 40's+ are excited about living a Jetsons way of life because it's semi-new to them. I want to try experiencing things in real life, not via a computer screen. YA KNOW!?!?!!'
M
As trend forecasters we are bound to one notion which is this, fashion is an interpretation of the socio-economic-cultural trends of the moment. Trends can be traced, they have a past and a present which allows us to make an informed judgement about where they'll go in the not-too-distant-future.
I think of fashion as an expression of the human spirit interacting with the world around us. Yet the human spirit itself is a work in progress. Like an adolescent looking to role models, parents, or peers for cues on which direction to go, what choice to make, when to ditch the security blanket, creative beings look to the past, and to the future, in order to give life and form to whatever it is we are feeling. Even a rebellion, a totally NEW movement, is a response to guidance from someone or something that came before, isn't it.
So maybe "now" is a work in progress as well. An exploration. A reaction to Then, a dream of the Future. Perhaps that is what makes it so difficult to "be Present". The second we think we are, the moment has passed! Buddhist monks dedicate entire lifetimes to this task....
And now my mind is reeling,great question!
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