^ it's a combination no? the forum went downhill in terms of content, members but partly too thanks to the direction of the site from the new owners focused on pushing that horrifying homepage by, among other things, sinking the forum.. I think that if I was tempted to sign up now, if I clicked on the homepage by mistake I would be like 'uh nevermind..'.
Then of course there's really the shift in fashion.. I remember day 2 of PFW was candyland for me, there were so many acts to keep track of, people experimenting or just somehow pushing the envelope by being themselves (e.g. Lutz)... most of them vanished after the crisis in 2008. These days I end up browsing, out of a need to see (except nothing to see), and even trying to form an opinion or justify things I would have never given the time of day back in the day (like Saint Laurent.. I even looked at dumb Versace and thought 'it's actually kind of fun?'). I always thought that even when people complain (and they do this ALL THE TIME) that quality's decreased and the old times were better times, if you actually make an effort and dig, you'll find gems in pretty much any field (fashion, art, music, films). I still find that in, say, music, but have nearly given up on fashion... the presentation and the qualifications to be that designer that gets to "show" are so awfully corporate and.. wrong, that the only high I get is through the actual store, on-your-body / out-of-body experience sometimes. Always hated shopping though, so it hardly compensates..
I would also like to add that back in the day, when there were a ton of independent acts, I thought all of them deserved some merit just by being independent. I view that differently now that I'm older and feel confident enough to question things that seemed surrounded by an aura of cult-like respect... I ended up maybe relating more, or relating less, to the motives behind some of these labels.. like Rick Owens, Wendy&Jim as mentioned above!. I feel a bit repulsed by the philosophies, the clique-y vibe, the phony ways in which some present themselves as an alternative with nothing substantial or truthful that supports this positioning, the people that gravitate towards certain aesthetics, the snobbery combined with a general lack of social responsibility (which is common in the industry but you don't parade yourself as a defying element when you subscribe to exactly the same).
I found
this interview today that might interest you.. I kept thinking about the generational thing all this time and I'm glad he's talking about it too... and that's hard to beat.. it takes a whole other generation really (as in the kids that are currently around 12 lol).
.. you could learn a lot on these type of emerging brands about 10 years ago, but there was a severe case of model fanaticism, which caused an exodus from members that cared about fashion in that vein.. model fans later moved onto fashion but the commercial/big houses kind and primarily focused on casting (casting of their favorite/legendary models="great collection!"). If it helps though.. track down runner's posts.. he's the only one left really.
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