Is Minimalism Dead?

[tott]

^^^ It's a good definition. Simplicity and spareness is what it's all about. Purity, clean lines. Functionalism stripped from unnecessary decorations; the garment and its lines are decorative in themselves. Interesting shapes and cuts is enough.

Minimalism doesn't have to be boring at all, but it's often more subtle. Perfect cuts, high quality materials and flawless execution are all very important because there aren't any frills and details that can hide the basic fit, quality and design...

 

[disco54]

its always there...right now its pretty big..i feel

 

[tott]

How much can you put on to not be regarder as minimalistic anymore?

How are the 'rules'?

There are no definitive rules... Clean and elegant, strong architectural/geometric feel is def. minimalistic. It's a bit subjective, like any art or design movement...

 

[just_me]

subjective to a ceratin degree, no-one can say that Marc jacobs is minimalist for instance.

But thanks for your definition tott.

 

[Afreekan]

Wikipedia.com has a pretty good piece on minimalism... Check it out if you would like to know more about it...

 

[John_M.]

Haven't been on here for a while. Let me welcome myself back with a post here.

I guess it would depend on how you'd define minimalism. In today's layering age, some ladies think that slopping together clothes is the way to go now in this "I love the '80s" theme (I HATE the '80s!). I'm guessing the deal here is that regular essentials in fashion aren't really there. One of the reasons why I haven't been as pleased with the layering look is that makes most ladies look overdressed. And in most other cases, too much layering leads to completely unbalanced looks. I guess I could finally understand why shrugs were so fashionable among ladies (I had it as the second or third worst fashion trend of last year). The thing I've figured out is that it's possible to piece together clothes to sort of provide a basic silouhette (I know I misspelled). Or here's another way of looking at it- take a fairly slinky T-shirt and pair it with a regular tie-front shrug. The basic look is still there, just two different garments pieced together for a unique look. The biggest fashion piece I've been against was leggings under skirts (especially denim skirts). I (and someone else) argued that the beauty of a skirt is ruined when you have these leggings on paired with the skirt. One girl with bad taste in fashion tried wearing leggings with denim SHORTS! It was at that point in which I thought layering was going too far and really botched potentially good looks.

Back to minimalism. I think minimalism still prevails. Just that today's fashion has been more of "just keep layering." Well if you keep doing that and mixing up fashion pieces that normally don't go together and don't look stylish overall, then that's the risk you run. It's said how only certain people can get certain fashion looks going great. Well, only so few can get layering done right. The picture in Post #10 has a lot of minimalist looks. I don't see any serious over-dressing. Everything is just normal and not all mixed up. Minimalism is not dead. Not by a long shot. It's just that ladies seem to think that minimalism is so long ago. The concept of "less is more" is still good even if times have changed. Time changes (in fact, don't forget to set your clocks back one hour since Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend), but not minimalism. Remember that.

 

[city girl]

i don't think so..if collections like yigal azrouel and zero maria cornejo in new york are anything to go by

 

[iluvjeisa]

I can't help but think of how in science or logic the most desirable solution is an "elegant" one, or the simplest explanation that still accounts for everything. To me, this is the heart of minimalism and an idea that will never go away.

Still, isn't there a limit to how fascinating Occam's razor can be? Once you've got the gist of it it's kind of trivial. And isn't it rather more of a sport to get the challenge of looking at something more complex and layered rather than something that has sort of been spelled out for you? Personally, I think it's more fun with expressive fashions. But a dose of minimalism is very good, to ground yourself, once in a while. Just not a 90s minimalism OD...

 

[fixoid]

minimal jeans, minimal scarf.

http://phs.abstractdynamics.org/archives/007884.html

http://ubercoolische.com/ow.asp?RichieRicardoMagdaPartEleven

magda make the tea

 

[just_me]

those last images, imo is not minimalism is just boring 'student' style.. you know..

 

[tott]

Still, isn't there a limit to how fascinating Occam's razor can be? Once you've got the gist of it it's kind of trivial. And isn't it rather more of a sport to get the challenge of looking at something more complex and layered rather than something that has sort of been spelled out for you? Personally, I think it's more fun with expressive fashions. But a dose of minimalism is very good, to ground yourself, once in a while. Just not a 90s minimalism OD...

Well, I think it's entirely possible to be a hardcore minimalist and still look interesting. "Trivial" is in the eye of the beholder.

But I also happen to think that variety is the spice of life, it would be boring if there weren't all sorts of styles... A healthy dose of maximalism can also work very well...

 

[Alexandra8715]

I think to make minimalism look good you have to have clothes that are extremely well made, an interesting shape or a good fit. You can't just wear a crappy tank top from the supermarket and call it 'minimalist'.

 

[iluvjeisa]

Well, I think it's entirely possible to be a hardcore minimalist and still look interesting. "Trivial" is in the eye of the beholder.

That's true, entirely true, but you so often see minimalism held up as somehow more "worthy" than other genres. Mostly, I think, because ornaments and flamboyance is generally looked down upon in protestant culture.

 

[Lena]

I think to make minimalism look good you have to have clothes that are extremely well made, an interesting shape or a good fit. You can't just wear a crappy tank top from the supermarket and call it 'minimalist'.

excellent comment, quality, cut and fit are very important in minimalistic looks
i believe in the 'revival' of minimalism, we miss a new 'breed' of well made
'basics' with a creative twist that can last in time

 

[Fabulyss]

On the contrary, I've noticed that minimalism has somewhat come back lately (at least in the color pallette). However, I'm glad its not entirely ubiquitous (although, of course, it will always be classic) as I don't want to look like everybody else.


I noticed in this months Vogue (cate blanchett) there was more minimalism in some of the photos...not really the editorials themselves though

 

[Afreekan]

In this age of Hip-Hop and "bling" I just don't see it being in the consciousness of society like it used to be (Which isn't a bad thing). I think now it is more for the elitists, which is kind of annoying because when some random person asks me about my personal style, they begin to scratch their heads when I tell them that I am interested in minimalism. It makes me sound snobbish.

 

[casem83]

One problem I can see people having with minimalist dressing is that it may make the wearer feel less creative about the look they put together. If most of visual interest is inherent in the garment (the cut, material, shape, detail) and not in how the wearer put it together, they may feel less creative than one who piles on a bunch of pieces that may not look that unique if they weren't styled with creativity.
Personally I don't have a problem with wearing beautiful pieces in a simple manner, but maybe that's people's motivation for all the layering that John M. is talking about. They feel more creative and in control of their look if they pile it on. I always feel a bit overdone and contrived if I try to pile on the layers, but some people do it really well.

 

[loubylou]

Hi everyone, first post here, I've been on men.style for awhile, thanks for the invite fashion_boi to join TFS.

I think minimalism will continue to be relevant in all forms of art/design/music. As our sociey and lives get more and more complex I think we will continue to appreciate simplicity in art. I agree that we won't go through another concentrated form of minimalism as we did in the 90s, but it will continue to influence designers.

My perspectve comes mostly from music, I am a composer and I'm very interested in the minimalist style. So I'm sometimes confused about the way people use the word in fashion. It seems like people tend to throw it around way too easily to describe anything that isn't lush and romantic. While at the same time it seems designers are quick to distance themselves from the label of minimalist (Helmut and Raf more recently have denied that's what they do).

Minimalism is really the stripping away of certain aspects of an art so that one is forced to focus on other aspects (that may have been ignored otherwise). So in fashion I can see minimalism taking many forms. I would say what Raf did for Jil Sander F/W 06 is minimalist (though he denies it), the repetition of black pants, black shoes, white shirt, makes you concentrate on the silhouette, fabric and necklines.

I can't help but think of how in science or logic the most desirable solution is an "elegant" one, or the simplest explanation that still accounts for everything. To me, this is the heart of minimalism and an idea that will never go away.

This last paragraph is so true. Gold star!

To me, minimalism is like fashion in it's purist form. But it is for this reason that I personally feel that minimalism is a trend which is better suited to more mature women, who wish to display their wealth of knowledge and experience, not only about fashion, but themselves. The limited, but statement pieces they wear are based on an accumulation and development of personal style.

Similarly, I believe that the advantage of youth is the ability to make fashion mistakes and learn from the experiences. Once a person is aware of their own style and what suits them, they can benefit from this knowledge and purchase statement pieces of their own.

Much like science and logic, to reference casem, it's a cycle.

 

[BlackBNovak]

perhaps...

A white tee and jeans--sounds good in theory, but doesn't do it for everybody
and it's good for the economy when folks are wearing 18 pieces--jewelry, leggings, hats, scarves...$$$

 

[litchickuk]

minimilism is soooooo boring. I love clutter and lots of things thrown together whether its a fabric print, a room or and outfit!