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Fashion Observed


Trend observations with a sociological eye from afar...

by Darryl S. Warren  

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W hile many have wondered about the sudden absence of Fashion Observed, rest assured that this blog is not gone. Far from it, dear readers. Rather, the realization of its role and, more importantly, its value is being carefully and thoughtfully pondered. Until a final direction is established and enacted based on such measured considerations, consider yourselves fortunate for now in what you receive. And...with that as a grand gesture established, let's look at other concepts of expansion, coming appropriately from an industry known for its largess: fashion, of course.

The multi-trillion dollar industry known broadly as "fashion" utilizes the finest sources of cumulative information and assessments from teams of sociologists and psychologists to forge measured paths of relevance that are fine-tuned each season to communicate in harmony with the general public. These days, fashion speaks in many messages, given that the fashion landscape is international, is well-connected due to technical advancements we now take for granted, and is multicultural, multigenerational, and multiclass-inspired.

Sometimes, fashion can be convoluted, such as what was revealed in earlier articles (like this one) that foretold the emergence of cubist assembly of design that deconstruction brought forth. It can be overwhelmed with detail and pattern, busy as our thoughts have been with the overload of information at our fingertips. After a while, though, we shift from one end of the spectrum to the other, seeking a "cleansing of the palette" that minimalist design tends to bring. This can be reflective in the safety of homogeneity that conformity brings, spurring directions such as normcore or monochromatic simplicity. At other times, the mere reach towards solids or color blocking often suffice (the minimalist design of Meghan Markle's wedding dress from Givenchy speaks well to this trend direction).

The recent commencement of 2019 Resort collections, a trickle at this early stage as they are being released, is fast alluding to a few major identifying points. One, that our retro embrace is at least moving more towards the 21st century, hovering within the last few more recent decades where the seeds of modern fashion expression were ignited versus the earlier decades that had clearer connections to the previous century. The other is found in the growing presence of simplicity in block cuts and solids, suggesting a return to clarity and simplicity itself. Prints that did show up so far tended to be more mechanized as were in the 90s, where pattern was rendered repetitious and uniform. That is, busy enough to offer contrast yet uniform enough to fit in the simplicity while subtly embracing a tech/machine age implementation versus something more organic and randomly naturalistic. The mid to later 90s grew more fixated on the technological explosion happening around us as the internet became more prominent as a new mainstay and more sophisticated innovations in textiles were being equally embraced. In fact, at one point collections were wholly influenced by tech itself, with collections finding inspiration in computer card and circuit boards, the extent of the worldview regarding tech at that time.

But these more established labels now showing also project a prudent awareness connected to the growing discussion regarding fiscal restraint that is becoming a rising presence in media. There are emerging murmurs that a rather dire recession (perhaps even a depression-era-level event) is confirmed as an expectation, and thus the formula of survival laid out in the 90s by designers who sought the streamlined simplicity were the ones who survived.

This blog has seen this before (long-time readers of Fashion Observed are quite familiar with this documented awareness) and has written about the insecurity that fashion has demonstrated, along with the effective countermeasures implemented in the design process that collections embraced. The oscillation and duality of the creative messages is present largely due to the complications of a more interconnected global economic landscape, where virtual economies are more omnipresent, and are more susceptible to change. And so we look at percentages of change as much as what is introduced. That there is always someone with money lets us know that the consensus of austerity isn't as broad...yet...but the manners of reacting with austerity in mind lets us know it's more present.

The simplicity of solids is the primary hint. The scale that the greater fashion world is currently playing with, though, is another story. While the 2019 Resort collections thus far are more carefully measured, the greater fashion world, along with newer, more experimental talent, has been letting us know that there is still room for grandness, and it comes down to scale (like this, this and this).

When looking at the Fall Winter 2018/2019 collections (and, in some cases, the Spring Summer 2018 collections) from Comme Des Garcons (example here), Dion Lee (and here), Gareth Pugh (and here), Jil Sander (and here), Issey Miyake (and here), Palmer Harding (and here), Rick Owens (and here) and Zero + Maria Cornejo (and here), we see that the implementation of scale is the prominent component. A garment of large, architectural scale provides shelter and cover, armour from the external, and connection to our long time expression of what we see as modern. Grandness of simplicity is, in itself, architectural. We saw this played with at times when architecture itself had a greater role of public inspiration, something that this blog observed in prior seasons (here, here, here and here, for example). Scale affords a manner of imposing grandness that can be appreciated if only for its magnitude, and more so can be altered should the times call for it should fashion scale down, such as in the contrast from the 50s to the 60s or from the 80s into the 90s. In both cases, grandness was insulating and protective, and when the times called for a change where body-consciousness prevailed over internal protectionism, the extra playing room of oversized design allowed the fashion customer the option of alteration to maximize dollar/wear (and one of the perceived drawbacks when looking at fashion from the business end).

This may seem counter-intuitive for a company to create items that later discourage consumption, but it subconsciously encourages continuation of brand association as the garment and the label stay in a longer relationship with the client and thus becomes associated with the client as a name that produces longevity. Thus, it conveys perceived durability, translating into a name associated with good investment versus temporary consumption that fast fashion eventually finds as its detriment. This is especially so in a climate where ecology is a factor within the conversation.

So, not only are established labels indulging in this more appealing form of creativity but emerging labels are doing so as well, such as those from Amsterdam designer Aimmea (example here), Berlin-based designer Anja Dragan (and here), London label BesFxxk (and here), indie designer Divna Davidovic (and here), Ukrainian designer Irina Dzhus (and here), newcomer CSM MA designer James Nolan (here, here, here and here), Spanish designer Jean Claude Court (and here), Ukrainian design company Lyskevych (and here), East London label thisisFred (and here) and designer Peter Do (and here).

The streamlined clean scale of expression serves to elevate ourselves as it does to insulate us from the woes of our modern world. Just as cocooning structured garments have done so in past seasons, the continued variation of this concept finds form reflecting with more inspiring incarnations that our external world provides. The world of dreams is what real estate promises, be it aspirational to the dreamers who find it out of reach these days to those who can and do participate yet feel the need to shield themselves from the tension these dreams have caused. Fashion serves greatly in meeting broad sentiments, and clever designers know to choose the most multipurpose affinities. The emergence of this balance of economy and demure ostentation is timely and, for now, given the convoluted aggressive chaos we find erupting around the world these days, quite apt.

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