Feature
Fashion is Dead
Samantha Cabrera
I have this insane love affair with fashion. I mean, we all do, don’t we? Everyday we wake up, and have to put something on to get through the day. So even if you are one of those people who simply puts on whatever is on the floor, you still have a say in how you present yourself to the world. Whether you put some thought into dressing or not, it seems that as the days grow longer, we have less and less when it comes to options.
Mass market retailers come up with lame and pathetic runway interpretations that leave us all with a blank look. Meanwhile, designers (from the contemporary spectrum to seasoned ready-to-wear veterans) leave us looking like clones. It’s all tunics. It’s all wispy dresses. It’s all been done.
It seems society has become equally obsessed with fashion, thus killing it. Pick up any magazine, even ones that have little to do with fashion, and you’re likely to come across some “expert’s” opinion on what’s hot and what’s not. Not that I’m any better, it’s just that I fear for the day when National Geographic does a piece on what to wear in the Andes mountains. Come to think of it, that may actually do fashion some good. It would be better than reading about “up-and-coming” models whom have graced major fashion house campaigns for two years. And it would also be more refreshing that having to get myself through another article in which a teen starlet tells us her fashion staples. You’re 16. You don’t need staples…you could get away with wearing a lampshade.
The runway shows were less than stellar, and the New York shows alone left everyone with a sour taste in their mouth. Not only were things uneventful and tedious, but the fashion shown echoed that vibe. Since everyone is involved in fashion, it seems fashion has this horrible need to please everyone and become (gasp!) wearable. But is there such a thing as too wearable? Definitely. Any hardcore fashionista will take a psycho no-name concoction over a simple shift with a pricey name stitched on the tag. As more and more take this vast interest in fashion (everyone from my mother to random women in Gap recognize a Stam bag), it seems fashion is taking this dive for the worst. Designers obviously want clients, and clients obviously want to designers to make things they can actually wear in real life, even if there life isn’t one that is infested by fashion. It becomes this inevitable circle of lack of creativity and uniform beauty that appeals to everyone. But can true fashion ever appeal to everyone? I certainly hope not.
Because if art is an expression of one’s feelings, and fashion is namely an expression of one person’s (or in some cases, a team’s) take on beauty, or what is beautiful for the moment, can it be something that everyone will relate to? Sure we gravitate towards a certain designers or collection, but every season? Only Yves Saint Laurent can I love season after season, no matter who is the creative director. It’s simply a line, or image of a life, that I adore and long to imitate. While I am crazy about what Alber does for Lanvin, and what Marc does for everyone, it isn’t season after season that I feel this way.
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