fashions manic episode: part one
Globalized fashion brands have a huge disadvantage when it comes to the worldwide reception of a collection. Brand recognition is one of the most important things a designer label can attain and with that, brand consistency. I've discussed previously why labels such as Iris Van Herpen, Vivienne Westwood, and Dolce and Gabbana have gained such notoriety, my take has largely been their faith in their brand image; having a set range and artistic sphere they like to operate it. Comparatively, this is why I think a lot of more palatable brands suffer from worse feedback because fans of the designers aren't always as sure of what they're going to receive. Obviously, a brand's designs and style choices are going to change based on the times, cut and fit are always fluctuating therefore the designs they produce would follow suit, however when the aesthetic of your brand begins bouncing back and forth, reliant on what is most consumable, it looses a lot of its notability. However, amidst this jumbled mess of what is consumable, desirable, wearable, sellable, unoriginal, or unique, something more special than upsetting has come out of it. During and post-pandemic a lot of articles were written about the noticeable change in the classification of dress. Formal became a lot more casual, casual became a lot more expressive, and as a result, we saw a lot of people putting more thought into their style choices than we would have a few months prior. Three years later this is largely what is responsible for the tension in the fashion industry, however, rather than talking about it from the perspective of the fashion world, this part of the article will focus much more on the styling.
One of the largest shifts in fashion (I'm still going to use the word 'fashion' instead of 'style' when referring to a broader category) is where consumers are getting clothing from. I have been into fashion for a good amount of time now, and have seen discourse occurring long before I decided to join the world, and I have very distinct memories of people getting into fashion, or, making TikToks about their clothes and where they got them. And for the most part, a majority of those videos revolved around fast fashion brands. Brandy Melville was huge in the late 2010s, Urban Outfitters, Zara, that-one-brand-Emma-Chamberlain-promoted-all-the-time, and most of the discussion involving style was which stores to get this item from, the best places to look for clothes like this, the new collection at Target that you should "run, not walk" to. Not to say those videos no longer exist, nor that any brands I mentioned aren't still being shopped at by the majority, even I can't help myself around the 50% OFF CLEARANCE ITEMS at Urban Outfitters, however, the style itself seems to be going in a much bigger direction than fast fashion stores can support. Most fashion girlies know that first-hand shopping is no longer the place to go if you're style is something you put a lot of thought into (more specifically if the style you want is something more specific which it seems like a lot of it is nowadays), thus, there has been a noticeable rise in second-hand and thrifted clothing being tossed back onto the market. This, as stated in the previous article, is also a large
contributing factor to much of the black and whiteness that the fashion industry has become, as they attempt to replicate the vintage and thrifted styles that we're beginning to turn towards. The benefit thrifting has is multi-faceted. The largest role player that I always push people to acknowledge is the individuality one can bring to their style when not purchasing mass-produced garments. Second-hand apparel stores have a lot more in terms of range, allowing individuals with a preference for honing in on their style to find pieces better picked for them. In addition, the cool pieces you're finding in antique or thrift stores are much less produced, allowing your style to not only be much more fitted to you but also decreases the chances that someone, even someone with the exact same taste as you, would own the same piece. Aside from the benefits of sometimes cheaper hauls, obviously, depending on the type of second-hand apparel stores you frequent, second-hand shopping is exponentially better for the environment. That is all I will say in this article to push on you my biases. The rise in thrifted clothing has affected the fashion industry in a really cool way. With more expression happening on a street level, the trickle-up theory doesn't take long to sink its teeth into.
Granted this has just as equally proved detrimental to a lot of brands, but has also provided some stunning collections that I really don't think we would see without the recent emphasis on individualism in fashion. On one hand, it has given a lot of more artistic brands the chance to gain recognition that they maybe would not have gotten in years prior due to their more out-there aesthetic that has only just recently begun to be appreciated. People want statement pieces, unique and in tune with their personality, thus brands that make more unique garments, such as I discussed, using colors or linework or silhouette, will get that recognition. A great example of this is brands like Diesel and Dsquared2 regaining a lot of lost attention, granted much of that is more associated with a change in designer, Diesel, but especially with Dsquared2, and even brands like Miu Miu or Ami who were more of an in-the-know brand (i.e. if you were into fashion you knew who they were but unlike Louis Vuitton or Gucci, anyone who didn't know just did not know, ya know?) gained traction upon a desire for a more unique look than designer labels had been offering. Thus, brands are actively getting campy-er. Whether some of them are successful is up for debate, but while big brands seem to be struggling, the smaller, slightly more obscure brands are flourishing in their new-found appreciation. This all ties back to my initial point; brand recognition. I am not in the fashion business, I've taken a good amount of business classes so I will admit it's hard to shake when talking about brands, however, this is why I feel like we aren't getting what we should from the designers we used to be given. Does that make sense? People are doing an amazing job at making the current style(s) cool, scroll through "WatchingNewYork" for three minutes and the inspiration will come flowing, but the designers aren't sure what to do a lot of the time. And while I don't encourage any artist to put themselves in a box of what they're allowed to make, I do encourage artists that are also businesses to maybe research more. We don't want Latex Body Suits, we never did. We want funky ties and lederhosen and shoes with toes because style is not supposed to be a brand it's supposed to be fun. This is why I'm so glad the brands getting discourse are Ami and BOTTER and Courages because they're giving to the people and they're giving what we want. Let fashion be fun again. Mermaid and circus themed runways. Mwah.