Fashion's Finest Protest Against Tyranny Of Cool

[stylegurrl]

Fashion's finest protest against tyranny of cool

Amelia Hill
Sunday May 9, 2004
The Observer

Fashion is dead. Long live fashion! The strangest strike ever held against haute couture is to be held this week, as those most deeply enslaved to the dictates of cool meet to protest outside Vogue headquarters.
In a gathering that could be ironic, hypocritical or deeply confused, catwalk models, fashion writers and clothes designers - not to mention a contributing editor to Vogue itself - will demonstrate against the tyranny of fashion.

'The tyranny of fashion is the creation of unfulfillable aspirations and pointless dress-code criteria,' said Kira Jolliffe, founder of the self-styled 'uncool cool' Cheap Date Magazine and organiser of The International Fashion Strike. 'It is also the tendency of fashion people to think they are great artists, the creation of homogeneity and fear of being different.

'While we are at it, let's not forget the premium given to youth and the consequent disparagement of older people and the encroachment within the fine arts of shallow, pretentious fashion photography,' she said.

Bay Garnett, contributing editor to Vogue and editor of Cheap Date, agrees that picketing outside her own office block in London's West End could be construed as contradictory but believes the message is important enough to risk her intellectual street cred. 'We're against big business brainwashing, built-in obsolescence, heroin chic and anorexia chic, creating physical discomfort by the wearing of uncomfortable clothes and the exploitation of child workers in Asia and elsewhere,' she said.

Catwalk models including Erin O'Connor, who opened John Galliano's Christian Dior 2004 spring/summer collection, upmarket model and accomplished table tennis player Iris Palmer and heiress Jasmine Guinness, have agreed to hang up their kitten heels long enough to join the picket.

Alongside them will be Anita Pallenberg, the serial Rolling Stones girlfriend, Sophie Dahl and Karen Elson, one of Britain's top models who is rumoured to have earned more than £9 million in the past four years from the industry she is now happy to lambast.

Adding more confusion to the picket will be designer Wayne Hemingway, who recently congratulated Nike for being one of the most powerful fashion forces in Europe. Some intellectual respectability could be lent by the expected presence of Carol Vorderman, who lifted her earnings into the multi-million range after conforming to the most rigorous dictates of fashion and publishing books advising others on how to follow her lead.

The group will make their stand on the morning of 14 May, with nothing to declare except their placards and a motley display of fashion faux pas.

 

[sweetjane]

what exactly are they hoping to accomplish? no more "anorexia chic" or "pretentious fashion photography"?!? for fashion people to stop thinking they are "great artists"??

and the next morning...
dont' these "protestors" go back to work to praise these great artisits and publish this "shallow" photography?


this smells like publicity stunt.

 

[seditionary]

a smelly stunt i wish i could be at... just to see the peeps.. n snap them in normal element... KAREN ELSON.. ERIN O CONNOR... aaaaggghhhhhhh ( did u see the thing on showstudio with erin where she was naked n these other naked people made up her clothes.. now thats what i call annorexia chic..)

i hate that i have an exam that morning... i hope they stay there till afternoon i will hop on a train asap... maybe i could take erin with me to meet sean.. n introduce her to some krispy cremes in the evening... get her away from annorexia chic the proper way!

 

[ignitioned32]

Such pretentous people I don't get. I mean look at Erin O'connor she's annorexic-looking (as sedi said, if you saw her at showstudio) then she became a model. Then don't get me started at Karen Elson, Sophie Dahl....

Don't protest if you want these things (I understand what they're trying to do) changed, just do it your way in the industry like Yamamoto, Kawakubo et all.

 

[ignitioned32]

EDIT: I do not know, really. I mean I like some, not all, things they are protesting for, but I am not ready to let go if what fashion is right now or really don't think they're gonna aclomplish anything. Plus they are really pretentious to quote sweet jane: and the next morning...
dont' these "protestors" go back to work to praise these great artisits and publish this "shallow" photography?

 

[mikeijames]

this is what happens when you have absolutely too much time on your hands.

 

[Scott]

The entire premise IS as stated....appallingly contradictory. They've earned their wads of cash to last them their entire lives and kissed cheeks(and not the ones on the face either!) and now they're bitching about the tyranny of the fashion world? That's disgusting. Anybody with an ounce of intelligence would realize that protesting in this business does no good. You want to change perceptions,how about starting with an idea. As igni said,the Japanese did,the Belgians did...

 

[seditionary]

erin rocks... in a way... forgettin this prostest nonsense...
she did a tv docu thing here 3 episodes last year...
n she was so down to earth.. sayin how she gets all these plane tickets sent to her first class to go for shoots n shows etc.. but she will exchange them for economy n save the pounds/dollars to her bank... n now she has this beautiful new york apartment... bla blah... that girl has good money sense if not anything else...

 

[stylegurrl]

Originally posted by Scott@May 10th, 2004 - 9:04 am
The entire premise IS as stated....appallingly contradictory. They've earned their wads of cash to last them their entire lives and kissed cheeks(and not the ones on the face either!) and now they're bitching about the tyranny of the fashion world? That's disgusting. Anybody with an ounce of intelligence would realize that protesting in this business does no good. You want to change perceptions,how about starting with an idea. As igni said,the Japanese did,the Belgians did...

My sentiments exactly! These people make me so What do they think they will accomplish with this ridiculous stunt other than possibly making themselves into laughing stocks.

 

[ahhGucci]

Originally posted by mikeijames@May 10th, 2004 - 3:01 pm
this is what happens when you have absolutely too much time on your hands.

 

[asta]

oh geez.

i see that the crop of imitation of fashion do gooders is still breeding & attacking us with their ideology.

 

[Spacemiu]

Originally posted by Scott@May 10th, 2004 - 7:04 am
You want to change perceptions,how about starting with an idea.

so true


these peopel are compelately contradictory and pretensious. theya re not looking at fashipon above a pretensious level.

 

[Lena]

i understand the views expressed here, and i can see why most take this as a hypocritic publicity stand BUT truth is models and designers are the most fashion oppressed group out there.
its not too hard to revolt to fashion when you work in fashion yourself, regardless how much money you make out of it.
models do really suffer the most ridiculous humiliation of anyone involved, horrible clothes and silly make up, hard to walk on shoes, been treated like a dummy.. it can certainly make them mad, regarless the money they make out of it.

fashion includes a certain esthetic facism and swallow elitism,
excuses if i can see nothing wrong in revolting against silly fashion rules .

 

[helena]

I agree with you Lena but what I don't understand is why there are no systems and controls to protect these young girls? surley its in the agencies interests to ensure they are treated well...

 

[Scott]

That's why this kind of shocked me because I always thought of Erin O'Connor as perhaps the most intelligent and the most aware of many of these girls on the catwalk---particularly of her magnitude. I understand the anger that's built up but don't you think it is indeed a bit hypocritical when we all know that tomorrow they will be back on the catwalks and in the editorials of the people and companies they are protesting against?

I mean if they want to band together and protest,why don't they get some of the less obvious of the models,designers et al in as well; the ones who don't make the millions of pounds,dollars and euros. Otherwise,this isn't proving anything to me.

 

[catwalker]

Just Bizarre!

 

[Lena]

Originally posted by Scott@May 11th, 2004 - 3:00 pm
I understand the anger that's built up but don't you think it is indeed a bit hypocritical when we all know that tomorrow they will be back on the catwalks and in the editorials of the people and companies they are protesting against?

I mean if they want to band together and protest,why don't they get some of the less obvious of the models,designers et al in as well; the ones who don't make the millions of pounds,dollars and euros. Otherwise,this isn't proving anything to me.

well, they have no choice... do they scott?
of course they will be back at work the next day,
still at least they will have spoken up against fashion 'tyranny' which is better than nothing.

they are also giving a message to young models and teens that think fashion is all glam and fat money.. its also unhuman schedules, working under very hard conditions, exploitation from fashion agencies, unbelivable pressure and skin deep business relationships.

regarding young/less known models etc, it would be very easy for some to believe those models just protest in order to attract attention or even.. clients.
the publicity all this is getting is just because there are some top models involved, or else we wouldnt even discuss the case...

 

[ahhGucci]

I don't really think the is pretentious. If the workers of London Underground (Train services) can take industrial action, people involved in the fashion idustry have every right to protest at the working conditions and exploitation which goes on.

However, I think this particular protest is a bit of a farce, and the chances of catching the attention of the Tyrants are very slim. Nice try though , if at first you don't succeed....

 

[seditionary]

whats not funny is abt the models protesting ...
the fact that the protest has been announced in advance i find funny... and attention grabbing... also the vogue editor... she is a person who can make changes... she doesnt need to protest... she should just bring about a new asthetic...

 

[stylegurrl]

Whenever large sums of money are involved it's always hard to make changes. The fashion industry generates billions each year and no one wants to give up their slice of the pie. If one model complains there are others who will take her place. If one editor goes against the fashion rules, another will continue to follow them. Change in the industry will only come when the consumers rebel and decide that the industry's views of women and style are outdated.