Hosting a fashion show with no fashions
No one wants to get up and make clothes anymore. Are we meant to wear merch and ideas now?
It’s almost Valentine’s Day and there’s no one to kiss
A better person may sheepishly say, ‘happy new year,’ but it’s literally 31 days into the year, and I have some pride. I’ve recently been reading Creating African Fashion Histories - a hefty work on the curation of African fashion history across the world, put together by the same person behind the Africa Fashion exhibition at the V&A (that’s also another book on my TBR list). There’s a quote from it that’s been floating in my head for a minute now:
“Fashion is the manifestation of an impulse to innovate, rather than simply change that may be motivated by other factors.” - Victoria Ravine.
Following a pretty splendid Couture Week (fashion is fun again?) and the explosive article on Pyer Moss’s Kerby Jean-Raymond’s failed promise, and the laughable release of the Nike x Tiffany Air Force 1; this distinction between fashion and dress/clothing has starting to sink to my stomach.
Everyone’s just making merch
I know I’ve always been quick to proclaim that fashion isn’t art, but, god, it can’t be this either.
I spend a lot of time watching cosplayers and historical costumers manipulate fabric, colour and the laws of physics to bring 2D items to life - I’ve been fascinated by the engineering around curving darts in such a way that they turn a flimsy, flat piece of cotton into a standing collar that would make Dracula blush.
I’m obsessed with the ways in which Game of Thrones’ Michelle Carragher would bring together thread, jump rings, beads, and laser-cut leather to create the fantastical lion crests on Cersei’s shoulders or imitate dragon scales on Daenerys’s robes.
I watched a TikTok where someone mended the holes in a shirt by crocheting around them.
In short, what truly makes fashion is that impulse to do something absolutely deranged. And, yet, at the same time, shopfronts and social media feeds are feedback loop of the same strappy black heels, puff sleeved blouses and ill-fitting bodycon dresses that have been done, redone and done for the past 10 years. It’s like how certain sea life keeps evolving to crabs but worse because it’s not necessarily about great design but about great profit.
1 million brands, but there’s nothing to wear
If you’re on High Fashion Twitter, you’ll probably have come across the explosive expose on Kerby Jean-Raymond, the designer behind American brand Pyer Moss which was once the must-have, must-see leader of the new American lexicon.
You can read the article here. What struck me most about it was the revelation that Jean-Raymond seemed more interested in building a brand, a persona, than actually offering products. No, literally, they were barely selling anything. But everyone, myself included, spent a lot of time buying into him because he was so willing to speak truth to power - calling out virtue signalling at The Business of Fashion, ‘I Can’t Breathe’ printed on clothing, the disastrous couture show celebrating inventions by Black people.
It’s always been really splendid to see creatives weave narratives and themes into the very fibres of our lives - the things we literally adorn our bodies with but at some point the message became more important than the medium. Now, as opposed to worrying about the boring stuff like scalability, quality control and paying employees, we get emphatic fashion films and long essays by designers and creatives about the meaning behind collections that don’t exist. WHERE ARE THE CLOTHES???
We’re all dressed for the metaverse
This emphasis on ideas reminds me of the “utopia” of fashion in the metaverse. 1s and 0s, unburdended by physics, cost and time - a place where we’re all just dressed in code.
But this isn’t The Matrix, bitch. We’re still bound to reality for the forseeable future. Let me know your thoughts - on this, on the metaverse, or anything really.
Let’s keep in touch
I’ve joined the 5 AM cult and hope to be the kind of person who delivers on all of her promises. Hopefully ripping into Pyer Moss will inspire me. Expect a love note weekly, or biweekly, and a YouTube video soon if I can remove myself from my office desk long enough.
xoxo
Khensani