The runways are indeed the place to showcase the more aesthetic aspect of fashion, especially as the bulk of fashion fans enjoy fashion through more vicarious means. Magazines and websites cater to sharing what they can in the experience, with images communicating across language barriers to multitudes that admire or aspire to what is offered. Not everything worth noticing comes from the catwalks of the major centers of the world, though. Some of the best observations come from external environments which can ultimately influence the bigger players down the road.
For example, the reaction to the economic austerity has spawned a rise in custom, or bespoke, design shops that produce more tailored and longer lasting items that may not reach the catwalks. What these produce may not necessarily be design leaders, but the concept of the business model they offer does indicate the direction of fashion’s evolution and survival. The individuality that can spawn from smaller localized production facilities means there is greater potential for the streets to impact design, much in the same way that happened in the early 20s when fashion followed cues from the youth, in the late 70s/early 80s where avant garde fashion players inspired designers rather than the other way around and in the 90s when austerity resulted in the grunge movement.
But you can be sure that the larger labels aren’t ignoring this. Designers such as Prada have set up localized design posts offering custom bespoke fashion to reduce the carbon footprint while Diesel has introduced BLKDNM to offer customized denim design options. Meanwhile, Issey Miyake’s Haat line is producing a bespoke collection focusing on localization tied in with the line’s artisan approach. Ecological and economically-minded despite the initial price outlay as these shops produce garments at a quality level that ensures dollar-per-wear without compromising the specialness of luxury a higher-priced line promises.
This smaller level of customization provides more possibilities of new to emerge (or forgotten concepts to re-emerge). While classics are good buys in providing versatility through their simplicity, modular design is being more embraced as a result of current austerity by offering not only more dollar for wear but also more variety from a single purchase; the garment can assume different looks, offering the wearer variations of a garment to expand the variety in the wardrobe where classics cannot. (see “Move Me, Change Me” , Feb 4th archives). Unknowns such as Orly Shani, contestant on USA’s television reality competition “Fashion Star” did well when offering a modular design, having it featured in tony retailer Sak’s Fifth Avenue to rousing success, something sure to be noticed by other designers looking to protect interests as increased competition in tight economic times requires more saavy concept implementation.
There are other aspects of non-catwalk design not to be ignored. Amidst some of the themes of fashion have come some more realistic applications in less optimistic places, seemingly in tandem with underlying themes more prominent in the catwalks of recent. How these will influence designers’ imaginations will depend on how much the public focuses on them, and that will be discussed in the next article.