T he Spring Summer 2016 collections are underway, and for those reviewing them it brings a sense of deja vu. Not only is it largely due to the second revisit of 70s fashion not seen with such fervor in the New York collections as since the 90s, but also as it comes during many events that concur with that era. that is, if it isn't economic, it's cultural mixed with political. But just as the political fervor gave way to more material commercialization that turned the hippie subculture into a mass-marketing dream, the 2.0 version of activism has found a backseat to the desire for more frivolous distractions.
Many designers providing their inspiration thus far have looked to the easy carefree vibe of L.A. and to more easygoing sentiments as the root of their creation. A deeper look shows the careful attention to the business aspect in the face of economic uncertainty. So, what works is what is familiar, and the comfortable familiarity of better times is what makes the retro inspiration a no-brainer. but not all collections are firmly rivited in the past and in future articles those aspects will be revisited ads they hold clues to what's ahead.
The real story of the moment is this anachronistic aspect to the world of fashion. The subject matter is looking to the past while peppered with the tech of our current world, framed in our tech-savvy medium that has trumped the message and has taken some of the spotlight.
Social media has become necessary partners with the fashion world as the firm and entrenched way of connecting with the general public. While Burberry has long lead the charge, Hermes, long avoiding social media, is now finally on Twitter as it partners with Apple to bring a fashionable touch to its wearables. Marc Jacobs jumped on Twitter's Periscope feature for its Resort collection months earlier, inspiring others to look into how to incorporate this into their arsenal of presentation and interaction. The bulk of fashion is now dominating Instagram. Some designer such as Stella McCartney and Calvin Klein now post photoshoots aka InstaShoots while others such as Moschino, Rodarte and J.W. Anderson prepare to do the same. DKNY is utilizing the hashtag feature to get more interactive while Misha Nonoo went a step further by hosting an InstaShow in lieu of a catwalk production. Yigal Azrouel posted portions of its collection on the Covet Fashion app, a highly interactive app that digitizes the garments, allowing users to play with and eventually buy online. Givenchy showed out of Paris as a gesture to recognize that fashion is no longer tied to a place but to the people and utilized social media to offer hundreds to attend via a lottery. Thus the world of fashion is embracing the future, if only in how it administers itself to the public. We, starved for what is new, have focused on that.
We cannot shake our current reality that our future is very much tied to the tech of the world we live in today. But while we may do so, we may long for familiar to comfort us from the uncertainty of the future that we cannot escape. And so, some collections let us know that we are not falling so closely with all that is retro. the future is inevitable, even if not entirely knowable. And the news for now is that it's being livestreamed, shared and finding new ways to be ours.