Is Fashion Fashionable for 2006?

[shopsmuch]

besides the over-exposure of celebrity "style", a lot of this must have to do with the fact that fashion is now so easily accessible due to the internet. you no longer have to be invited to a fashion show to have seen all the looks from it right away...you can find photos of the entire thing the night it happened, within less than an hour sometimes. so any old person from a farm in middle america or a random tiny eastern euopean town can know exactly who john galliano is and what his last collection for dior was like and even about less-than-mainstream designers if they have internet access. it makes fashion much less exclusive than it ever was before because anyone can see it, heck you can even buy it if you have the money thanks to websites like net-a-porter.

 

[pixiewytch]

I think that's very perceptive and right on. I, for instance, live in Florida but not in a big city where I can go to fashion shows, high end luxury boutiques, or anything to that degree. However, I have educated myself mostly online through websites and magazines. Then I buy a lot of things on ebay or through other online shopping avenues.

I never stopped to think how involved I would be with fashion if I didn't have the internet access. It would be difficult.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Fashion doesn't seem to be very fashionable where I am ... I wish it were, because I think/hope that would lead to less ugliness (although of course it might not). We just got a Zara, so maybe it's all about to change

People don't seem to think much about personal style, either, and when they do, the results are not always ... felicitous. For example, I know someone who buys novelty sweaters at sample sales (frequently they are actually too small for her), and inexpensive jewelry at jewelry shows. I think she must have a personal style rule enforcing a minimum one ring per finger Did I mention she's 59?

The best-dressed person I work with wears extremely classic clothes--no fashion influence that I could identify. That's pretty common here.

But I remember moving here from the Midwest, and immediately noticing how much more fashion-conscious people were. But I sure can't see it now

 

[tott]

besides the over-exposure of celebrity "style", a lot of this must have to do with the fact that fashion is now so easily accessible due to the internet. you no longer have to be invited to a fashion show to have seen all the looks from it right away...you can find photos of the entire thing the night it happened, within less than an hour sometimes. so any old person from a farm in middle america or a random tiny eastern euopean town can know exactly who john galliano is and what his last collection for dior was like and even about less-than-mainstream designers if they have internet access. it makes fashion much less exclusive than it ever was before because anyone can see it, heck you can even buy it if you have the money thanks to websites like net-a-porter.

I totally agree, great points!

The wheels are turning so fast that almost nothing stays limited and exclusive. You can buy the originals from a web retailer, or buy fakes on ebay... Sometimes you can even buy fakes earlier than the originals hit the stores!

I'm wondering if this "latest, greatest" stress will last though... If people get tired of the pressure they might just go after more classic looks. But they are copied and faked too!

I'm wondering if people acually value real quality and crafts, appreciate the fact that a bag can take a daily beating for 30 years or so... I know some of us do, but it seems like manufacturers aren't interested in supplying that kind of quality? It does cost more to produce great stuff as opposed to mediocre stuff... And if people are willing to spend hundreds of € on cheaper fluff, why not provide it?

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I think the current generation is barely even aware of the kind of quality that lasts decades ... I also wonder if people have become so accustomed to the disposable that they no longer even want that kind of quality.

I keep thinking that surely the pendulum must swing back in the other direction ...

 

[Kimkhuu]

I think it also has to do with the new wave of celebs.... Now it's all about the Olsen sisters, Nicole Richie, etc..... And in almost every new picture of them, you'll see a comment related to what they wear...

As opposed to back then, when THE mainstream celebrity was Britney Spears (among other popstars) who had a "casual" style, not too designer or catwalk or street trend obsessed.

 

[Lena]

I'm wondering if this "latest, greatest" stress will last though... If people get tired of the pressure they might just go after more classic looks. But they are copied and faked too!

i can see a 'i wouldnt care less about what's fashionably hot' attitude rising in the air, as illustrated by the new anti-fashionable trends in Japan..
it's only a justified reaction..
when the majority slaves trends and being fashionable, some 'elit' will just go out and say 'we can't really be bothered with playing the game anymore' i find this a healthy reaction

as for quality products, this is almost non existing in mass market..
everything seems a commodity with an expiring date (no durability) so the client will soon go out and burn some more money..

 

[Kimkhuu]

i can see a 'i wouldnt care less about what's fashionably hot' attitude rising in the air, as illustrated by the new anti-fashionable trends in Japan..
it's only a justified reaction..

But then again, that attitude is getting "unoriginal" since too many people are doing it....

 

[gius]

i'd probably agree that fashion for 2006 is fashionable because there are so many trends out there and people have more variety in choosing what they want. people start getting an interest in what they wear. the vintage item craze is still happening here, and so are the skin-tight leggings, volume dresses, chunky necklaces, etc. ...

 

[Lena]

But then again, that attitude is getting "unoriginal" since too many people are doing it....

but it's not a matter of originality, its a matter of being fashionably hot.. or not, the non-fashionable attitude as opposed to all-fashionable attitude

 

[susie_bubble]

^I too agree that this 'anti-fashion' is permeating a lot ppl's style and they seem to consciouly think about being 'anti-fashion' - this bothers me slightly since trying too hard in this way can only lead to unnatural style and style not true to themselves.

 

[tott]

i can see a 'i wouldnt care less about what's fashionably hot' attitude rising in the air, as illustrated by the new anti-fashionable trends in Japan..
it's only a justified reaction..
when the majority slaves trends and being fashionable, some 'elit' will just go out and say 'we can't really be bothered with playing the game anymore' i find this a healthy reaction

as for quality products, this is almost non existing in mass market..
everything seems a commodity with an expiring date (no durability) so the client will soon go out and burn some more money..

Too true...

And it is a healthy and predictable reaction. But isn't it funny and ironic that the reaction against current trends is also a trend? People jump on the same reactionary train, it's not like they explore totally new avenues. We are still all members of some herd... But that's what makes trend watching fun and interesting.

 

[ApertureRomance]

Shops target the youth , the majority have some kind of disposable income so buying into a trend isn't a problem.

 

[Lena]

And it is a healthy and predictable reaction. But isn't it funny and ironic that the reaction against current trends is also a trend? .

exactly, somehow everything is a kind of a trend (and this includes anti-trends as well) including elements of 'taste' in food (see starbucks), cars (4weels), vacation destinations.. nothing really escapes the trend frame

part human nature (sociology), part capitalistic reality (economics and greed)..
thats what makes all trends so exciting and fun to analyse, study and work with..

 

[milkeyedmender]

i completely agree lena, fashion is a reflection of how people feel, which is why i always find it so amazing how people can predict trends seasons(even years) before they happen. fashion is about so much more than just how you look, i really need to read more about the social context of fashion and clothing trends because it just fascinates me so much.

 

[JFCoelho]

Teen Vogue

Peace, I was thinking of that Teen Vogue article before you mentioned it! Can anyone scan it? It's really quite interesting. Marc Jacobs discusses the enormous popularity of tabloid magazines like US Weekly and he shows great disdain for US wannabees whose sartorial inspirations are drawn from an over-accessorized Lindsay Lohan shopping on Robertson Blvd.

Oh, this was my first post! I have been checking in on this site from time to time and I just want to say that there have been some really great comments here.

 

[AniexDaffodil]

since fashions seem to be retrograding, im still waiting for more of a early 90's "anti fashion appeal" to take charge in the U.S.

with everything thats going on politically with the war and the over exposure of fashion at the moment, it seems like the most appropriate next step

 

[pixiewytch]

I agree with others that I would love to see fashion to go back to a small boutique quality focused fashion house mentality but that is a thing of the past. As long as huge money making corporations can get third world children to make a pair of gap pants for ten cents an hour, nothing is going to change. Mass market fashion seems to no longer be about art, creativity, or quality, but about lining a CEO's pockets with money at the expense of quality and unfair working conditions for others.

As for Marc Jacobs, I'm a huge fan and LV fanatic but I have to say he contradicts himself a bit in that statement. I mean, does he not make the flashiest bags and accessories for the fashion house who is counterfeited a hundred times over anyone else for the sake of trends. I love Marc but talk about calling the kettle black.

 

[pucci_mama]

I personally think that fashion has started to become un-fashionable, as previous mentioned, trend after trend is being churned out too keep the masses happy, this as been a trend for quite some time to then distance one-self from everything too do with fashion.

Wear what is seem as not 'trendy' clothes, Carpe diem, Yohji, Comme des Garcons etc. but, tbh I think these people are just as 'fashion victim-y' as the rest of the masses.

But yeah- I do see a rise in the 'anti-trend' fashion has became too popular too the masses, so the 'trend-setters' need to find something else, it's all a cycle. And we are all a product of a marketing machine, no matter how much Yohji clais too 'hate fashion' and get followers by that.

I don't know if I make any sence, it's just thoughts, I find this discussion very interesting.

 

[melt977]

Having read your posts, I am wondering:

Didn't fashion prevail through all the decades up until the mid-90's when individuality became a sought after factor in people's appearance?

All previous decades untli the mid-90's had a very distinct fashion style. We all get an image of a fifties cut dress and heel in our mind, we all know what we are going to see when a magazine cites "Return to the 60's".... the 70's and 80's were very distinctive too...

What I actually mean here is that all the people used to follow the same trend, thus creating a distinct fashion cahracter that now describes the whole era. But is this just an impression of mine derived from the fashion revival of these decades through a very few selected trends? Or is it because back then people did use to dress in a similar way...

Also, back then, fashion was reflecting the socio-economic status of the major fashion cities... Is fashion doing the same now? Is this maddening pace of trend changing reflecting the consumerism of our days? Or is this happening because more and more people have access to fashion shows through the internet and the great amount of fashion magazines around? What is really going on?

And quoting Pucci Mama, I hope I'm making some sense... it's just several co-related questions that occur to me when thinking about fashion and what it represents.... and how we have come to a point that fashion has taken center stage in our daily lives... has this happened before, in a previous decade?