Fashion: An Apologist's View

I came across this article this morning in The Guardian - it's quite old, I know, but I don't think that diminishes its relevance any. In it, the writer Tanya Gold talks about how much she hates fashion - how she hates walking past shop windows displaying 6-inch heels, how she laughs at the "imbecility" of clothes on the runway, a luxury afforded to her, she says, ever since she put on some weight and decided that "even fashion wouldn't pretend it could fix me." She wonders why women can't renounce fashion and just "squeeze... (themselves) into a library and have an inner life instead", as if a love for fashion and for books can only exist mutually exclusive of each other.

Everyone has a right to their opinion, of course. And it seems to fit perfectly into the natural order of things that the more frivolous, the more seemingly vapid fashion gets, the larger and stronger grows the backlash against it. Certainly, there's much to berate about the industry - the list is long, from the use of underage, anorexic models to fashion houses' ironclad rules about lending clothes for editorial spreads, effectively killing all creativity, to the increasing number of products out there that simply do not justify their price tags (see post below).

The reason I find myself unable to stay away, however, lies in people like Alexander McQueen, Giambattista Valli, Azzedine Alaia, Nicolas Ghesquière. Looking at the things they create often moves me and sometimes brings a lump to my throat; the experience is not dissimilar to finding pleasure in music, or classic art worthy of the adulation it receives, or dance or literature or the joy of effortless eloquence.

The jury's still out on whether fashion crosses over into art, and I'm not entirely sure what my take is on the matter either - but I still find it is imperative to recognise the great creativity and often, the vision that many in the fashion world possess. We all want to be heard, especially when so many of us are so stifled and our voices silenced so much; the desire to create is most natural, most human and whether creativity finds its outlet in art, music, words, or just clothes, it deserves its place in the world just like any other.

I think it's unfortunate that Ms. Gold chose to filter fashion in the way that she did and take it as personally as she has. Fashion is, of course, an industry like any other - and one could say art is more about creativity for its own sake and hence entirely different from fashion, but surely a closer look into the art world would change anybody's mind - and the clothes mean nothing if there is no one to buy them, but that doesn't mean that there is no beauty to the madness, that all fashion is derogatory to women, that its sole purpose is to make us feel worse about ourselves, or that to buy into the dream of enchanting clothes is to declare yourself an exercise in frivolity to the world. I have a problem with extremes, especially when it comes to those in opinions and I don't believe that the right answer to anything lies in one or either polar opposite.

And that is, as they say, is my two cents.

p.s. That bit about wandering about Harvey Nichols like "an insect with a broken antennae" observing how "miserable all the shoppers look," and how shopping always involves "a kind of brief, bright burst of self-acceptance, which always evaporates" when one reaches home? Utter drivel. Tanya Gold has obviously confused a distaste for shopping with her right to a diatribe on fashion. I'm not sure what she meant about the miserable shoppers, because I certainly feel nothing but ecstatic when I'm in a store. And contrary to Gold's opinion on the matter, I think the best part of the entire experience is going home, unwrapping your new purchases, and hanging them up in your wardrobe.

In fact, the only thing better than that particular experience is wearing it all for the first time.

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Alexander McQueen Spring / Summer 2010

I just watched the show on McQueen's website. Goosebumps all over. And when it ended it was like being sucked back to reality through a portal. Fashion like this is art.

Make sure you click on the enlarge button to see the show on the fullscreen.

Alexander McQueen - Plato's Atlantis from SHOWstudio on Vimeo.

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The Future of McQueen

It's been exactly a week since Lee Alexander McQueen passed away and amid the general sense of shock and mourning there have been the inevitable questions about the future of the company, which was bought by the Gucci Group in 2000 with a 51% stake. Given how close his death was to Fashion Week (McQueen exhibits in Paris) it was sort of a given that his Fall / Winter collection was almost done, but there was no news on whether they would be showing.

They will be as it turns out, according to Gucci Group president Robert Polet, who made the announcement today. The fashion house will also definitely go on without the founder, although there is currently no heir apparent.

Gareth Pugh is a name that has been tossed around and frankly I think that'd be an absolutely incredible fit.

I love Pugh's work, it's so surreal and fantastic in the truest sense of the word - I think that the two shared an exquisite sense of the macabre that might translate well into McQueen's legacy.

But what a legacy that is - whoever it is that steps in has some very, very big shoes to fill.

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Of Ghosts and Demons - Goodbye Alexander McQueen

I found out about Alexander McQueen passing away on my way home day before yesterday via a text message from a friend. It's now been two days and I'm still a little shocked at the turn of events.

I always held Alexander McQueen's work in such high regard. It went without saying, always, that he was one of contemporary fashion's true visionaries; nobody every really questioned that his work would go down in the annals of fashion history, the stuff of textbooks and fashion courses for decades to come. It's just such a damn shame that he died so very young. Creativity is only secondary to happiness of course, in my eyes anyway - better to live a life of contentment than to suffer a tortured soul (I am not unaware that by this logic we wouldn't have some of the world's best artists to speak of) - but there was so much iconic talent waiting to see the light of day, and all of a sudden it's just - gone.

Most of all, it's very sad to think of how tortured one must be to be to willingly end their own life. Wherever he is, I hope that he is happy, and the fashion world thanks him for the body of work he left behind and will never truly forget him - in that sense, he has achieved what every artist dreams of.

I guess my first reaction to the news sums it up better than this post can:

"I am so sad to hear about the passing of Alexander McQueen. He was among the few designers whose creations struck and immediate and intangible chord and it's sad to think of all the productions in the waiting room that we'll now never see - it's only fashion, but it's still art. If only tortured souls weren't so synonymous with exceptional creativity..."

Rest in peace Alexander McQueen.

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Wangs of Desire

I am totally crushing on these ridiculous glasses by Alexander Wang for Linda Farrow. They remind me of a pair of red ones I saw at a Ray Ban in Houston once but I didn't buy them because I thought, "Well, what am I going to wear them with?" Everything is the correct answer, but it's too late now.

I love the retro frames, the signature Wang fetishistic zippers, those steel-tipped frames. Not so hot for the third pair, but I'll take the top two any day!

While we're on the subject of Alexander Wang, I've just got to say I love his clothes. They're edgy and stylish and while I guess you could in all fairness say that those two terms are synonymous with pretty much every designer these days, it really is true with Wang's clothes.

I was on the Saks 5th Avenue website yesterday and it turns out that they've now got international delivery (which means India too!) and they were happy to display all the prices in rupees, which I thought was very nice of them.

I had three pieces in my basket, this gorgeous Alexander McQueen jacket:

and two dresses, both Alexander Wang:

and another one that I can't find anymore, but it was gorgeous, one-shouldered with a big billowing sleeve, orange silk, oh my...

And then I whipped my card out and clicked on checkout, and they told me that the dress wasn't approved for international delivery yet and would I please select something else.

No I bloody well would not! Why on earth would they lure you in with promises of international shipping and instant currency conversions only to turn you away at the zippered gates at the very last minute? It's atrocious.

Shame on you Saks. I shan't visit your website again.

p.s. call me when you've got your delivery options sorted out.

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