Monday, February 15, 2010

Question the System, Man!




(Assorted nonsensically fug looks from SP 10!!!)

I find "fashion week" SO boring. Every fashion week, I think about how I should really check out the fashions because I love fashions and all, and then I go to style.com and I try to find a designer I sort of care about and then after clicking through twelve pages and then I get angry that these people are designers and why am I not famous and why are people applauding sheer tights paired with a crushed velvet crop top. Notable exceptions include Alexander McQueen (RIP) who I always answered as my "favorite designer" if forced to choose, as well as the occasional Dior/Viktor and Rolf/Gaultier runway. These designers seemed to appreciate the showmanship and performance elements associated with fashion, and created generally much more interesting clothes and runway shows as a result. (Maybe will find some photos if I'm not too lazy, which I probably am.)

Much of the clothing presented is not interesting enough to be art or sensible enough to be wearable, and then if you don't "get it" you just aren't "intellectual enough" to quoth Dan. I think many people feel validated when they "appreciate" designer clothing because it's such an exclusive world, and proclaim their worshipful love for it accordingly. But it seems like only .0001% of the population actually pays any attention to the quality of fabric and/or the quality of tailoring, and they are the only consistently "better" aspects of designer clothing in my opinion. There are so many outfits sent down the runway that just don't make any sense. The emperor's new clothes, people!!!

Also, I hate how everyone has to send their look down the stupid runway because everything has to be viewed monolithically and standing alone instead of in an actual context like clothing/art should be. It's like, if you are a designer, wouldn't your goal be to costume a play or a movie instead of making $12,000 dresses that hang in Neiman's that poor people can't touch? Why do they want to see their clothes on generic models on a gray runway? Why is that the ultimate validation?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"It's like, if you are a designer, wouldn't your goal be to costume a play or a movie instead of making $12,000 dresses that hang in Neiman's that poor people can't touch? Why do they want to see their clothes on generic models on a gray runway? Why is that the ultimate validation?"

mary, this is why i like reading your blog. i never thought of the setup of the runway like that before. interesting. thanks!

xoxo
julia

Arabella said...

"the grey runway" - excellent point.

And all that marching up and down is exhausting to look at as well as dull. It could be livened up by the occasional snapped knee joint but for that I can watch Olympic ice skating and get horrible body stockings too!

Mary said...

I know, the best part is when they fall down.