Menu

Fashion Observed


Trend observations with a sociological eye from afar...

by Darryl S. Warren  

Follow  on Twitter:         @FashionObserved
              on Instagram:   @fashion_observed_ 
              on Facebook:      /FashionObserved
              on Pinterest:      /FashionObserved

The fashion collections designers have released in recent seasons have rightly indicated a sentiment that has been building for a while as we forge our path of uncertainty into the 21st century: there are more who long for the past than the future.

Part of this is fear of our own making. Our technology informs us in more detail with greater volume and immediacy than what could have ever been imagined last century and our lives have yet to match that level of information processing. Some have opted out of attempting to keep up, instead choosing to select what is available and tailoring it to personal preference. Fashion reacts accordingly, mirroring this sentiment by allowing multiple trends and permutations. The trends are no longer clear cut, even though there are still preferable threads of recognizable prominence to denote remaining current, such as those discussed in pervious articles.

But the pioneer of modern fashion from the last century, Gabriel “Coco” Chanel, was correct in what she observed, quoted as saying “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” And whether we like the interpretations before us, they are there nonetheless. Fashion ultimately fights to go forward, even if it respects our more current pressing desire to look back.

Recently, the UK Telegraph drew comparisons of a recent exhibit at The Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace with high fashion from collections such as Gareth Pugh and Alexander McQueen, designers who inhabit the appreciation of more envelope-pushing edges of society while still participating in the mainstream fashion culture, albeit in a more economically exclusive vein. The Telegraph rightly pointed out much what this blog had in prior articles concerning our collective reluctance to let go of the past fully. In fact, the fetishing of bringing fashion back to allow participants to inhabit earlier periods. The New York Times’ Bill Cunningham captured this observation during the cold snaps of Manhattan when men were wearing layers  of shorts over tights with top-heavy coats that seemed to streamline the Tudor look.

Indeed, our technology also joins in on the need to return to so-called better days. Some efforts indicated by Fast Company, such as Beck’s recent musical crowdsourcing effort and subsequent concert or the Secret Cinema film gatherings complete with dress codes for more immersive experiences sought to bring people back to a time when events were more something to attend and remember without technology capturing every moment. Others, like The Rumpus look to bring back the join of receiving physical mail through a service where subscribers get letters from authors. This desire isn’t entirely new, as a look through the internet shows that there have been suggestions amongst authors to bring back the joy of writing letters for the past few years and there was a suggestion last year to establish  postal banking to preserve the postal service while meeting needs with underserved rural areas.

The popularity of services such as Ancestry.com or the app Historypin supports our need to remember and encourage our nostalgia, and fashion happily dresses this desire further. In the past few years the tweed rides with the Velo trend, Gatsby garden parties, and festival dressing all seek to immerse the wearer in a successful escape, all the while fine-tuned by the very technological world that made its existence and accuracy possible.

But again, through all this referencing and looking back designers still adhere to the future, be it in materials or execution. Eventually the attention span that fashion mirrors in all of us will bring us around to that mysterious and frighteningly alluring vision of our inevitable future. It will be interesting to see what designers bring forward when the next round of collections come. Given that resort collections are coming out as you read this, the answer will come soon as we see if they, and we, are ready to step forward and to what degree.

Go Back

Post a Comment
Created using the new Bravenet Siteblocks builder. (Report Abuse)