T he world is in the midst of disturbing and chaotic change that is impossible to ignore, and yet is, unfortunately, extremely familiar if you have any understanding of history. And, yes, fashion is truly influenced by all that has overtaken our lives and minds these days.
The politics of the United States of America has infected global concerns with the deliberate and purposeful chaos as we steer closer to the kind of conflict that will not end well. Various aspects reflect the myriad of converging influences, as if the repeating wheels of historic instances are being mashed together to retry humanity to see if we have evolved.
Global economic patterns seem bent on tearing apart the middle class, reverting the world back to Edwardian standards where class distinction and a great divide become increasingly the new norm (and a huge business mistake; much of our economy is dependant on a healthy middle class and such actions are killing the food chain...as if we learned nothing from what happened on the Titanic).Victorian sensibilities regarding apathy towards the less fortunate have reared its ugly head.The repeat of economic speculation uncontrolled that triggered the Great Depression is finding erie similarities as the world plays chance with tech in the form of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Cold War sentiments are in full swing with accusations of spying, net-based interference of policy and chest-thumping with war machinery and announcements of drills and updating of deadly weaponry while tensions in the Pacific Rim escalate amidst revelations of backwards sexist expressions coming to light...but not really changing. Bold racism and xenophobia hark back to the pre-WWII attitudes when racism crept into democracies and republics, now with more virulence than before despite dire warning form those who lived through the consequences the first time around. More disturbing is to see the same tactics being carried out in one of the world's most powerful nations to a stunned global audience aghast as to how such a nation could even entertain this seismic mentality shift.
When the ugliest of chaos reared its head gradually from the 20s through the 40s, art responded with various movements where experiment in perception meant the disassembly of traditional elements and perspectives, jumbled and tossed together to match the chaos the world proscribed to, resulting in groundbreaking brilliance. That beauty and innovation could rise from such ugliness was one of the few benefits of that era. In fact, if there is one constancy to take form the largess of humanity, it is that we rise like a phoenix fro the ashes of our worst behaviour to bring forth our evolution. Sometimes, it is in social mindsets, sometimes it is in our technology in response to the worst we treaded towards, and other times it is advances in our culture. It is how we are.
All that is quite a mouthful when looking at fashion. I mean, really, how does fashion take all of that and make it into things in a store? Ah, well, fashion has long been doing that and readers of Fashion Observed know the message well. We connect through what we have done before, add aspects that have become new connections to what we identify with as material. representations of now, and from there we have relevance that appeals on a subconscious level. It feels right, it feels now.
Many designers who have released collections for Pre-Fall 2018 collections tend to focus on more wearable items with subtle nods to themes that will be expanded upon when Fall Winter 2018 comes along. And, as indicated in this blog before, the in-between seasons like this one are great for testing out new ideas before expanding on them later. While most are taking the safe rout with already-existing trend themes where retro aspects are obvious, familiar and safely marketable, some collections are more willing to break ground, or at least carry the innovation torch. In part their market expects it, emboldening their approach.
The Dadaist miss-mash assembly seeks new form amidst hard lines in pattern and stripe, wide swath panels to shield with textile architecture, is softer than in the past as evident with the increase of "give" that allows for a bit of drape as compared to previous seasons (so we aren't as hardened as we are still in need of defence and comfort) and are still strong in mood with clean expressions that contain energy in its clarity of colour.
Designers such as Monse, Tome and Preen by Thornton Bregazzi demonstrate this cubist interpretation more thoroughly in their collections, and such examples are in sparser places in collections by 3.1 Phillip Lim and Rosetta Getty, where disjointed aspects are tested rather than dominate the release.
The chaos is palpable. The uncertainty is as if we are walking into the eye of a storm that is still brewing, and we do not know whether the increasingly louder protests of reason will win over the emboldened fear that seeks the past as remedies for going forward. As we head closer to the edge of our worst expectations and our greatest hopes, our creative process also diverges between the safest versus the bravest. True in form does fashion reflect us better than ever. We shall see where we lead ourselves. And you shall wonder when this blog will next have something to say as cumulative events conspire to make some hard choices.