For me, fashion has been much more than a textile. This is because fashion, at its best, is the result of a creative director’s long-coming vision. Most designer and couture fashion have this artistic approach in mind; especially the ones you see at the forefront of headlines. Fashion, in its many forms, often evokes harsh criticism or great praise due to the continuous push of creative extremes.
With Milano Men’s and Paris couture passing by, Fashion Week is just on the horizon. The recent outcry of Viktor & Rolf’s Paris Haute couture line featuring dresses upside down and sideways along with Kylie Jenner’s lion-head ensemble at Schiaparelli’s show is just the result of this creative vision – which many forget to acknowledge. Seeing a fashion show, many individuals remain under the guise that these items are to be bought and sold, however, during many events such as couture shows, the items instead represent the fashion house’s future.
Couture must be seen more as an art, and less as fashion; it isn’t designed to be worn on the daily. In many cases, it is not even suitable for a red carpet or the Met Gala. Crossing the lines between reality and fiction, couture focuses on detail and drama – eliciting the trafficked headlines we often run to tell friends about. For every couture show that takes a more extreme artistic approach, there will be another full of wearable clothes designed to go on the market. Designers and creative directors do this in hopes to grab the attention of the press for traction during “normal” fashion week where they often walk pieces that are meant to be sold and worn. London is known for pushing the extremes, especially during couture season. In the rare case when you see a piece that was included on the couture runway on say a red carpet, you may not notice it at first due to the drastic difference in styling. Many of the individual pieces taken apart from a runway outfit look completely different offstage when they’re not dressed up for fashion photographers and thrill-seeking fashion junkies.
Although many of these extreme trends we see on the runway fail to translate into everyday wear, you will often see brands and fashion houses use elements of these designs in their Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter collections. Like Viktor & Rolf’s recent runway, we probably will not see any upside-down dresses anytime soon, however, elements from those dresses such as an asymmetrical shape or overwhelming ruffles may rise to the forefront of the brand and fashion trends alone.
All of the concepts that come from Fashion Week, however, eventually filter down from the runways. First making their stops at fast-fashion, with brands such as Shien and FashionNova, these online retailers pump out thousands of new styles weekly. Eventually “mall brands” get a hold of the trend, months after its peak. It seems as though everyone can hop on a trend, however, many of these designs are saved for the rich and famous – a seemingly free marketing tool, if the brand’s reputation is worthy of the celebrity’s caliber.
The fashion industry as a whole has its highs and lows, but oftentimes, it is the news surrounding the designs and brands that make it one of the most coveted topics around the globe. With high fashion brands catering to the wealthy and others months late to local mall racks, the fashion industry seeks to stand out in order to fit in.
Sources:
Borrelli-Persson, Laird. “From Paris, Couture with a Human Touch.” Vogue, 30 Jan. 2023, https://www.vogue.com/article/spring-2023-couture-trends.
“Men’s Fashion Week.” Fashion Week Online®, 19 Jan. 2023, https://fashionweekonline.com/mens.
Paton, Elizabeth. “Kylie Jenner’s Lion-Head Outfit Stuns at Schiaparelli Show.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Jan. 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/23/fashion/kylie-jenner-schiaparelli-lion-head.html.
Willson, Words By Tayler, and Tayler WillsonEditor. “Fashion Is Upside-Gown Thanks to Viktor & Rolf.” Highsnobiety, 28 Jan. 2023, https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/viktor-rolf-upside-down-dress/.
Dear Melina, I really liked when noted how “… the fashion industry seeks to stand out in order to fit in.” I wonder if in the years to come this notion of standing out in order to fit in will continue to hold up, or if the industry will ever become desensitized to this boundary-pushing. In other words, I wonder if boundary-pushing by designers will become so ubiquitous in the future that the most radical thing an artist can do is create a simple and generic design.
* (Grammatical correction made)* Dear Melina, I really liked when you noted how “… the fashion industry seeks to stand out in order to fit in.” I wonder if in the years to come this notion of standing out in order to fit in will continue to hold up, or if the industry will ever become desensitized to this boundary-pushing. In other words, I wonder if boundary-pushing by designers will become so ubiquitous in the future that the most radical thing an artist can do is create a simple and generic design.
I appreciate the distinction you draw here between high fashion and everyday wear. I also found the trickle-down of trends from runways to mass retailers like FashionNova and SheIn interesting, well done!
I love the idea of couture as a storytelling art. I have always appreciated the drama of fashion and the way in which small aspects of these pieces become trends, like a color or a ruffle.
This piece was really informative. I had no clue that many of the trends worn everyday have elements that come from couture. Never made the connection because like you said, couture is about the “drama”. Also liked the visuals of Kylie Jenner and Doja Cat’s recent outfits.