When a fashion trend appears it has a chance to catch our attention. Sometimes the public harmonizes with the declaration and follows along while at other times it gives it a passing nod as it seeks something more in line with public sentiment. In particular, we see these occurrences in our 20^th and 21^st century cultures entertaining retro inspiration as being more prominent.

Our ability to access archived information and reverence for past ideas feeds our capacity to recycle past trends and reinterpret them with new textiles and hybridization of techniques as our modern esthetic continues to take form. We are on a cusp as it were of the old and the new as we seek to redefine what it means to be in our times, struggling with what has been and what is familiar with our aspirations for something new and our fears of letting go to embrace the unknown.

The reflection of this struggle is embodied in what our culture produces in our various art forms and expression; this is hardly new in our recent history. Attempting to recapture splendor and romance missing during the war years, Dior pioneered this reaching back by incorporating old techniques from past glamorous periods, reinvented in his New Look concept that was heartily embraced by a public weary of the strife the last World War brought. The realization of the importance of cultural icons in the 70s paved the way for reinterest in the past, with attention on its pioneer screen legends and the worlds they inhabited offering inspiration for retro looks that were reinterpreted in modern cultural expressions such as the glam rock phase. Hard romance and the darkness of cine-noir brought back the imposing shoulders of the 40s, the nihilistic abandon of Dadaism brought cold avant garde experimentation and the inventive streak of the 60s brought youthful geometry all together into the 80s.

In those eras the revival of styles and hallmark trend elements were more concrete. More recently the newer approach mirrors our technical accessibility with information and global awareness to incorporate a more sophisticated hybridization of ideas, although there still is enough referencing to define the source just as there are still people alive to clarify their origin through direct experience. This hybridization and melding of referenced eras signals our departure from one mindset that encompassed one century as we make our way towards what we have yet to fully clarify as the embodiment of the new.

When mankind transcended through the 19^th to the 20^th century there was a lag before the new generations finally found their voice and made the transition to a new era final. The Edwardian styling gradually made room for the sportier Gibson Girl, hinting that clothes were going to be more streamlined to meet the demands of a more active generation. The continued process made its way to the sportswear revolution of the 20s and the simplicity to redefine the new direction man would take in their attire.

Now we are again at another marker and not quite able to fully let go, albeit circumstance coupled with apocalyptic dread is giving less reason to entertain the gleam of promise that aspirations of the future would provide. Previous posts covering the 2012 Resort collections saw the glimmer of the 20s/30s and indicated awareness that pop culture was reflecting associations we have with economic realities that reflect similar circumstances which instigated the Great Depression. Fueling this focus is the media, which has put a lot of attention on this fear with great sensationalism as it competes for attention in an audience deserting conventional mediums in lieu of what the internet provides. Resort collections in particular from Louis Vuitton and Galliano more clearly leaned towards reference from this era. The Great Gatsby, a hallmark piece capturing the lifestyle of the 20s, is being remade for a 2012 release date but this is not the only nod to that period.

The Art Deco Society of California is hosting a Gatsby-themed garden party this September, the latest of period incarnations allowing fashionistas to participate in yet another exercise of fashion role-play offering escape from realities at hand.  Meanwhile, another film recently reviewed at the Cannes Film Festival this summer sets to capture wistful sentiment for what was during the point of change spurred by new technology in the Golden Age as it rolls out to theaters in October later this year. Titled “The Artist”, this film by Michel Hazanavicius is a black and white silent picture which succeeded in charming critics while evoking emotion through imagery in lieu of script, much as films of old did when they first came out. Further, the underlying plot follows an actor facing the reality that the world he is in is changing, a sentiment much pondered these days. The power of cinema as a fashion influence is as important as music, for these mediums impact the public and fashion seeks to harmonize with whatever elements stir our souls.

Recognizing that these elements are appearing in our culture from different points outside of the runway, the growing consensus appears that this period with similar circumstances that has already been recognized by the major fashion houses is certainly due to be an influence on a larger scale, and as we explore this era further we will see similar roads to find our way to our future just as was done in the last century. Our awareness, while caged for now, is ready to let us know when it is time to move forward. And as our nostalgia expires we will have our cue to move on with the runway presentations to come letting us know.