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FALL 2022, soon…
Category Archives: Paris Fashion week
Chanel. Pre-Fall 2022 – Paris
(Images: Chanel)
Virginie Vinard’s 1980s and early 1990s super model-esque Resort 2022 presentation in October this year, was in lieu of what could be deemed as an overconfidence ala Europe and U.K. after the 2020 lock downs and en masse vaccinations for Covid-19. We have all been sent another curve ball. A new variant has hit the world, which, and yes one must hold degrees of cynicism that the wealthy countries such as America and the U.K. who were hit hard with the first pandemic in 2020, did indeed ensure that even though they began widespread inoculations, it was the hoarding of vaccines in a vain effort to make sure Summer 2021 was an opens-for-all affair. But, with asymmetrical vaccine roll-outs, mutations will occur and it will be the poorer countries that will continue to generate more virulent strains of Covid-19, such as India (Delta) and South Africa (Omicron). So, quoting from the late Karl Largerfeld, who once said, “The beat goes on, ” it does indeed, however this changing of our social and economic environment will have a lasting effect on everything, including the fashion industry.
Viard since taking the reins from Largerfeld after his passing in 2019, has offered a more philosophical take on the Chanel brand, playing around with its historic time lines and in some cases existential concepts, more notably her Resort 2022 showing to which she drew from Jean Cocteau’s 1960 avant-garde classic The Testament of Orpheus. Her latest collection maintains the said themes of defining fashion as not just aesthetically to be of a cultural important, but also to maintain the longevity of its artistry, deciding to show the Pre-Fall collection at Le19M in Paris, a newly opened building to celebrate, protect and restore the artesian of designer fashion.
Titled “Metropolitan”, the collection is very much in tune within the architectural structure of the Le19M complex, which could be considered, architecturally, a post modern building design, yet, despite the modernist aspects of Viard’s Chanel, her Gothic and darkened inclinations are maintained, with her, dare I say, avant garde styling integrated into the Chanel imprint. Allowing a mix between the modernist silhouette and deconstruction elements to Viard’s arrays, it is her textured layering and intricate weaving which keeps her collections in tune to the finery of Chanel’s Haute Couture, which is Viard showcasing her exceptional skills as a designer whilst crafting her own directive under the Chanel banner.
The Pre-Fall stylizations, although heavily set, also reveal Viard’s vixen inspired looks, as a continuum from prior seasons, ensuring the Eros trend of 2019 and 2020 has carried on despite the tumultuous world we all live in, maybe it is indicative as an accentuation that the amorous will reigns supreme on the runway in 2022 and designers like Viard have reflected all this pent up desire. But, Coco Chanel’s subtle mystique of the feminine, to which Viard has also instilled, in respect to Lagerfeld’s legacy, remains a stalwart benchmark for the Parisian designer. Even though Viard’s bare all radiance is in contrast to Chanel’s sophisticated template, it has been toned down with this Pre-Fall collection in lieu of Viard’s sexually charged Resort array.
A stunning collection.
Max Mara. Spring Ready-to-Wear 2022 – Milan Fashion Week
(Images: Max Mara 2021)
Just recently the mega sports brand NIKE advised that they will have major supply shortages going into the end year holiday season, thus impacting on new products designated for 2022, which is a very good example of the supply issues that the apparel industry is facing post Covid-19 pandemic. So, Ian Griffiths less-is-more delineations mixed with his Max Mara modernist cue, continues to move on ahead into a not so certain world. While presenting his Spring 2022 collection in Milan, as restrictions begin to ease across Europe and the U.K. the impact that the global pandemic had on society remains and this can be see in the fashion industry.
Two trends emerged from 2019 at the dawn of the 2020 pandemic, which were the lingerie outwear styles and the stalwart modernist imprint that both fall firmly within Griffiths tenure with Max Mara, so it’s not surprising seeing it as a more leaner version for his Spring 2022 collection. Although the avant garde is making a comeback, which is reflective, even though there is no definitive counter culture in our present time, of a rebellious nature. The shell shock at how devastating this pandemic was mixed with large doses of denial whilst fumbling by global governments and a asymmetrical vaccine roll out – it would be foolish to assume that a complete victory has been sought here in light that the populous has been granted their freedoms after lockdowns, only to maintain mass consumption. I wonder if we learned anything from this viral outbreak?
Griffiths is not what one would deem as a rebellious designer, although his background is, as a young gay man growing up in early 1980s Manchester and part of the goth and punk culture of the time, took courage to overcome the violence and prejudice against the U.K. gay underground cultures of the 80’s. Becoming the sought after designer that he is today, now with over 30 years experience as the creative director with Max Mara, designing the Ready-to-Wear collections. He has offered a subtle rebellion to the women that he dresses, from militarist and modernist guises to a fluidity of the feminine that she can indeed dress like a man whilst expressing herself with such a finesse. His Spring 2022 collection is by far the most rebellion originated.
The clean modernist cues are evident throughout, but some of the tweaks and accessories keep it from becoming too rigid. From hanging belts and crop tops, singlets and one piece bandeaux’s. Griffiths latest ensemble reflects the current trend of the eros, with rising hemlines above the knee the collection offers splashes of 1980s hedonism, yet at the same time retrained, focused and cultured in its offering. A sophisticated sexy. Which is what one would expect Griffiths in setting the stage for a renewed Spring 2022, that, also may reveal a darker and yes, goth avant-garde touch to the overall presentation. So, what we know is true, that there are dark days ahead and rebellion is that light bearer in all of us. To endure.
VTMNTS. Spring 2022
(Images: VTMNTS)
Guram Gvasalia has revealed a side project/label to his brand VETEMENTS called VTMNTS, which in its reflective contrast to the Vetements aesthetics, very much keeps in tune with his Eastern European style and roots. In fact Guram, through his offshoot VTMNTS brand, has brought back some of that back street former Eastern Block looks. Which from a historic viewpoint, at least from a fashion perspective, evolved within a post-Communist Eastern Europe, ala the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s as the youth of Poland, Lithuania, Georgia started buying up sportswear brands in their own unique mix and match version of the West’s street style styles. This is Guram’s homage to his Georgian background and how important the Gvasalia brothers (Demnsa, who is now at Balenciaga) have been, inserting the East European template onto the current fashion industry, that, as mentioned offers a unique take on the decades of viewing and desiring the styles and looks of the West, before their economies opened up and began trading with Western European countries.
So, in sourcing one’s roots for inspiration, it is by its cultural and an environment that molds a past to present imprint, offering a personal influence to which Guram has honed to represent the antithesis of fashion and its backlash, while cultivating the luxury brand into his fine tuned selling point. VTMNTS, although reminiscent of earlier incantations of Tbilisi street styles from the early 1990s, was indeed a region that offered hidden gems of ideas for designers before Western fashion journalists figured it out. Yet, as the Communist countries unwinded out of their shackles of a centralized economy, the freedom of embracing Western capitalism did not quite manifest into the European Union perceived utopian wonderland, there is a great book written by Polish journalist Agata Pyzik called “Poor But Sexy: Culture Clashes in Europe East and West” that may offer clues to the Fashion backlash that the Gvasalia’s have instigated whilst at the same time able to manifest and more importantly sell their pop culture heritage.
Like the previous VETEMENTS collections, VTMNTS debut is at 100 pieces, although slightly smaller than the larger Vetements styles of late. The spread is impressive for the exclusivity on offer under Guram’s business ethic of limited ranges and higher price tags, the collection also doesn’t offer a duel Men’s and Women’s styles alike the Spring 2022 Vetements array, rather VTMNTS, so far, is solely a men’s presentation. However the fine tailoring is certainly evident throughout out, so are the masterful fits and presentations, very much in a more sleeker definaition. Guram has removed the labeling and placed barcodes and numbers as slogans, also seen is the pronoun digital marketing via social media, seen on t-shirts, which maybe Guram’s take on how the social media feeds actually cheapen social causes and individual struggles of identity via trivialising the issues. As VTMNTS offers a more punk way of looking at the current state of over thinking our social standards, by saying “Fuck Off” on each of the toe caps of the shoes. But, regardless of social and even political aspects to this collection, this is high end and very expensive, as noted via the accessories on display, namely the sunglasses and jewelery that is moving up the pricing scale from 1000k plus to 10,000K.
Offshoot labels can be an refreshing take from the original branding, however, it will be intersection to see what Guram does with this collection, which may end up being a “X” collaborative play on future collections, to which Vetements has already been working the market with Reebok and Oakley under its belt. Still, the Simacrum of past impression in pop culture maybe that tweak that has been played out countless times, yet, if we return to the original point and look for ideas, when may just see the apparitions of past concepts. Popular culture has a knack of creating a lot of noise and hype in plundering the past to offset a dark and unknown future and the human race, collectively is probably at a turning point. Maybe we should look ahead, without planning for a moment. Be still and see what happens.
Authored: A.Glass 2021
Undercover. Men’s Spring 2022
(Images : Undercover 2021)
The virus pandemic is changing society, yet, we as human beings are unable to grasp that nature, by its definition is vastly more powerful of its impact on human beings, than ours on it. Yet, the ancients who followed the omnipotent called this a god, in a deeper spiritual meaning, beyond the monotheist, it is the unmovable presence that is complete an empty at the same time. The Buddhist teach, that to suffer within the cyclical is unnecessary, that the cycle of life and death can be broken – to be released from the pain of life. Nature also teaches this, without being a teacher. The problem, is we are not learning, the desire of the material world is at a fervor point in our history, the grasping of fame and fortune and the narrowing of that piece of the pie is causing the discord that we see today. The on and off again lockdowns, the over desire of fame to be within crowds and travel. The fast paced world of ambitions and entrepreneurism. If we don’t get it in the end, we blame the other person. And it is nature, who has and always will have the last laugh.
But, there is light, humans are, by our metaphor, the lightbearers in the darkness. In Greek mythology, it was the god Prometheus who had pity for man, rather than be played and toyed with by the other gods, he brought light, sciences and the ability to shield ourselves from the elements. To not fall to the ignorance, to rebel against the predicaments, to become and live in this imposed darkness. And no longer suffer under the burden of life. Jun Takahashi, the Japanese fashion designer and creative director of Undercover, who of many of his collections has instilled both Western and Eastern philosophy as a theme for Undercover’s seasonal arrays. For his Spring 2020 collection has drawn from the distinctly Japanese Zen philosophy of Wabi-sabi, in its difference of that desire to perfect beauty often found in Western art. Wab-sabi is the admiration of the imperfection and impermanence of what is seen within nature.
Takahashi’s Spring 2022 collection also serves, as an accompanying theme to Wabi-sabi, a nod of respect to the founder of the Japanese Tea Ceremony Sen no Rikyū ( 千利休) with Takahashi’s stylization of ceremonial robes and simple headpieces, the designer has titled the collection “Once in a Lifetime” in an effort, as quoted by Takahashi, “…It reflects my wish to create designs that are not excessively decorative, but deeply rooted in everyday life.” However, the simplicity of Takahashi’s pieces move back and forth between rugged street style looks, to the more tailored styles reflecting an overall Wabi-sabi impression. Giving the collection a rougher, less cohesive presentation, that by its design is very much in representation of the Japanese philosophy of beauty that has been naturally crafted, yet, there is of course the Western influences that are also dominant throughout Takahashi’s latest collection. With some very interesting 1950s science-fiction and modernist prints, which in a paradoxical way are counter to Wabi-sabi principles of the here and now of Japanese Zen aesthetics, to which Western modernism was about futurist possibilities, whilst relying on the permanency and expectations, in an artistic sense, to control the natural elements.
There is refinement to this collection beyond the Zennist influences, which I find is also holds that distinctly Japanese concept of merging outside influences within their cultural dynamics, such as the simplicity of natural styles with the clean Western modernist take. The color palette is of Earthly tones, with the whole collection defined in, dare I say a renewed, yet also a contradictory sentiment. So, maybe it is better that we except our contradictions.
I will leave you with the 9th Century ‘iconoclastic’ Ch’an master Yúnmén Wény (雲門文偃) advice:
“If you walk, just walk. If you sit, just sit. But don’t wobble.”
Authored: A.Glass 2021
Iris van Herpen. Spring 2021 Couture
(Images: Iris van Herpen 2021)
Iris van Herpen’s couture is not only a representation of her precision artisan skills as a technological savvy fashion designer, but also a keen explorer in pushing the boundaries of science in all of its hope and futurism. Her Spring 2021 presentation of this year was a stunning achievement, integrating earthy tones into her now synonymous 3D printed flowing styles, sourcing, as an inspiration, the biological study of Mycology. I have been reviewing her shows for over a decade now and have always been impressed with the reflection of nature and the interactive aesthetics, which, as she has promoted in her seasonal collections, advocating an ecological stance of renewable materials. With her Spring couture showing endorsing the plastic recycle company Parley for the Oceans, who scour the global oceans and seashores for the tons of throwaway consumer plastic that flow within the ocean currents, that either ending up dumped on beaches or consumed by wildlife. To which Van Herpen has used these recycled polyester fabrics in some of her more elaborate 3D printed styles.
With COVID-19 somewhat abating throughout the world, due to vaccinations and of course the age old use of quarantines and lockdowns. It is science that has come through with the answer, yet it hasn’t been easy, with the over inundation of information and fast paced digital relay feeds. Truth can be distorted from all angles and the effort to encourage vaccinations against the virus has been fraught to say the least. Van Herpen’s Fall 2021 couture has been titled “Earthrise” despite it still within the lookbook setting, the Dutch designer has incorporated a vast and cinematographic perspective to her new collection. Themed by the intensity that nature has to offer and its awe inspiring power, her latest Couture showing is truly a grand spectacle, with models walking through and posing in front of formidable natural landscapes, whilst having Domitille Kiger, the world champion French skydiver leap from a plane with a Van Herpen Fall 2021 couture dress on. It is one of the most emotionally driven fashion film clips to come out of the lockdowns, a motivation piece more than not, witnessing the Earth rise from the moon at the start of the clip, to its ending, as the Sun rises, as viewed from the Earth. If there is a unambiguous lesson here, it would be, we, as human beings are truly nothing and yet everything within the natural cycle.
The collection is 19 pieces in total with collaborative efforts between jewelry designer James Merry, who did the eye and nose jewelry designs for the collection and Rogan Brown’s science and nature based sculpture artwork to the extraordinary talented artist Casey Curran, who is inspired by the natural formation of sea coral. Yet, it is Van Herpen’s Utopian ideas of Science and Art merging, that holds the closest distinction of those futurist possibilities, which she has further elaborated in displaying her Fall 2021 collection. The flowing, ethereal dresses, enveloped to represent the anfractuous changes of natural, that despite it at times appears deterministic, is most definitely a chaotic presence. But, it is Van Herpen’s humanism which manifests a unique point of view, even as the natural foreground holds a grandeur of relevance, her intricate and stylized couture work is of exceptional quality.
A strikingly beautiful collection.
Authored: A.Glass 2021
Y/Project. Spring 2022
(Images: Y/Project 2021)
Glenn Martens deconstruction fashion styles under the avant-garde Y/Project banner, have held the course since he became creative director of Y/Project after the founder of the French brand Yohan Serfaty passed away in 2013. As a mentor and the striking character that Serfaty was for the Y/Project brand name and of course Martens himself, in a respectful manner since his debut Martens has been able to steer the brand away from the drapey, gothic Rick Owens-esque styles that were Serfaty’s earlier Y/Project designs, reformulating the fits and concepts to fall in line as Marten’s postmodern interpretation of fashion. Of late, he has also experimented with one of the major trends before the pandemic hit which was the lingerie outwear and eros inspired styles of 2018/ 2019, which, have taken a slight backseat being replaced, surprisingly, by a return of the draped goth looks that are wrangling with the cleaner modernist styles.
While runway shows are eager to return with gusto in 2021, the digital lookbook and fashion clips are still the platform until the COVID-19 all clear is given. Which would be when vaccination rates are over 50% of the population and hospitalizations are trending down, yet uncertainty still clouds the horizon, while plans are already in place to offer grander 2021 shows, starting with Couture – expectations may overtake what will eventually materialize. Regardless, Marten’s more tailored arrays have started to transverse over into larger collaborative plays, such as his 2021 Diesel collection in hope of rebooting the financially struggling Italian brand name. And for Y/Project’s Spring 2021 offering, Marten has joined with FILA to reanimate his street styled aesthetics with the now recognizable dismantled looks, whilst at the same time brining back the skimpier and amorous Y/Project styles.
Despite Marten’s postmodern sentiment, his collections are certainly not exclusively androgynous, aligning his styles as both male and women’s collections, Marten’s Spring 2022 styles have been mixed with the Ready-to-Wear looks revealing a filmed lookbook of 75 pieces. With the 1st part of the collection exhibiting the sheer and stripped down looks, the middle aspect of the array is his FILA collaboration with the tail-end of the collection representing Marten’s contorting styles and tweaked fabric looks. It is certainly a lot to digest as 2022 collections are starting to combine seasons which is creating an inundation of designs on display, showcasing 2021 as a year that could be make or break for a lot of designers, hence the collaborations with the conglomerates heating up.
Yes, COVID-19 slowed everything down, now, with quarantines and lockdowns being lifted its all revving up into an inflated hyper drive. And obviously Slow Fashion was yesterdays catchcry.
Authored: A Glass 2021
Yohji Yamamoto. RTW Fall 2021.
For the first time, Yohji Yamamoto has not given any interviews in a prelude to his latest collection. As countries try and remove their lockdowns before Spring/Sumer 2021, vaccinations for the first COVID-19 strain are proving to be effective, President Biden’s massive stimulus is about to pour down onto the American populous. Due to misjudgment of governments and central banks increasing debt and flooding the world with US dollars as their solution to the viral outbreak – sans constructing a newer economy around a pandemic, it was all about keeping alive a zombified old one, we maybe about to enter into a very harsh period of inflation. Which could become hyperinflated, so watch the price of your bread each month and we can’t blame a non thinking, unconscious entity such as a virus as the culprit. It has been, once again, purely human folly. What could have been a time of reflection and contemplation of humility through these so called lockdowns or quarantines it instead alighted paranoid deluded protests and complaints that one cannot go to a music festival or buy a cappuccino. The pandemic, unfortunately, has brought out the worst.
So, the tiring master Yamamoto with his own fraught conditioning of the mind, has been for the most part portrayed an erratic behavior to his presentations since the first and second lockdown for Europe, mishandling, in what could have been an irresponsible manner for organizing a packed show for his Spring 2021 showing in October 2020. One cannot help but take note that time maybe the issue for the aging fashion designer, it all of its relevance, offers a crushing blow to the ego, that despite what Albert Einstein said about what time is within the Universe in his theory of a ‘block’ Universe, in an attempt at softening its imprint onto the human mind, that there is neither a beginning or an end that time is both future and past, no straight line. But the reality is, in the end, it ends. Therefor slight doses of Nihilism maybe helpful in offsetting our overconfidence that we can easily be seduced by, which has a knack of blurring out reality. Which is this overconfident mindset that can and has lead to errors of judgment.
With scant show notes and no interviews, Yamamoto’s Fall 2021 Ready-to-Wear collection is probably some of his most deconstructed styles to date, as the trend for 2021 is appearing to be the goth furlong look, which maybe taken to more extreme levels, depending on the designer. Yamamoto is of course no stranger to both the avant-garde poise and the colorless expression of black, even though black absorbs light, it is the variants of shades that can be experimented with, rather than just a complete Stygian embrace and there is no doubt that Yamamoto, over his illustrious career, has mastered the shades of darkness, with elements of grays and whites to balance out his collections. His latest offering is almost completely Gothic inclined and as mentioned the most broken down and reworked. With added detailing and accessories, overall it has been masterfully arranged and exceptionally well set onto the models, however this time, Yamamoto has allowed the heavy wool yarns to weigh onto the styles presented. It is not delicate or subtle, nor particularly feminine, rather the densely layered ensemble in Yamamoto’s war torn looks in similarity to his men’s Fall 2021 collection, have crossed over to the women’s, as equally they feel the weight of the world bearing down, with all of its problems.
Yet, she may offer an Oracle, thy witches from the Temple of Tumult. Rise.
Authored: A.Glass 2021
Ferrari. Spring RTW 2022
(Images: Ferrari 2021)
Recently I watched (again) Oliver Stone’s 1987 movie Wall Street, which is the quintessential movie depicting greed of the 1980s, even though it serves as a snapshot of aspiring ambitions of what was deemed as the emerging yuppie class. The movie represented in its clear division between the working class everyday struggles against wealthy dream makers and financial gurus that do indeed play, in all of its nefarious ways, the inside trade. Prestige of the yuppie illusion was all about personifying brand names in its reverence of wealth. 33 yrs later, the greed laced villainy of the character Gordon Geko, played by Micheal Douglas, synonymous with his catch phrase “Greed is good”, has now reached its fervor point through the multitudes of the 21st Century market place. It rings true more than ever; we’ve all become yuppies. So, the brand name expansion continues on, despite the amount of “x” collaborative deals with established fashion designers, it is not surprising that Ferrari, which has been collaborating with the likes of Giorgio Armani through to the sports giant Puma, setting up a plethora of brand x deals over the years, has finally come out with its own runway collection.
Ferrari’s success took off in 1951 when Ferrari won its first Grant Prix, yet its breakthrough as a luxury car manufacturer occurred the following year, when it produced in 1952 the 212 model, a twelve cylinder powerhouse with its sleek design and the now iconic red finish. The epitome of luxurious branding of the Black Horse, over a yellow setting, standing upright on its hind legs. Owned by the Holding company Exor, Ferrari after 68 years when it first revealed to the world the exclusivity of its first commercially available vehicle, is now a fashion brand, employing the expertise of Italian designer Rocco Iannone of the famed Italian suit maker Pal Zileri. Showcasing his first Ready-to-Wear collection for Spring 2022, in lieu of the runways slowly come back to life from a year long hiatus, the actual show was held within the Ferrari headquarters at Maranello, Italy in front of a small mask-wearing crowd.
The collection is distinctly a modernist affair, as you would expect particularly from a designer who has a background in formal wear ala Pal Zileri, yet the Ferrari motifs are plainly obvious as is the yellow and black colors representing the luxury car emblem, so there is a mix between the fine tailoring and RTW fixtures, while representing both a men’s and women’s collection. The use of fine wools and synthetic overlays works for some of the looks, yet the layering between the two materials struggle overall in delivering that definitive runway silhouette. And since the runways are coming back, the skill of creating clothes that work within a real time setting means designers may need a refresher course, to avoid bunched up and clunky styles that will overshadow the more delineated looks. To which Iannone has yet to streamline the styles on show and refine it for a runway setting. This collection probably should have been a lookbook presentation.
Still, as a debut for the epochal car brand, the styles hold possibilities, yet in business, despite its materialistic expectations, as we all known longevity is the key. It will be interesting to see what later seasons may herald for Ferrari.
Authored: A.Glass 2021
Bottega Veneta. Pre-Fall 2021
(Images: Bottega Veneta 2021)
Daniel Lee who decided to end the Bottega Veneta instagram account and replace it with an online magazine as a way creating an exclusivity for the Italian fashion house, could have retained, although now it maybe seen as a token representation, an important creative gesture of creativity in light of the saturation of social media feeds. But, unfortunately or maybe not, pertaining how one views celebritydom in all its hyperreal manifestations, it all came crashing down when he orchestrated a Berlin party in April of 2021 as an exclusive preview for his upcoming collections, amidst the middle of Germany’s third lockdown by allowing a crowd of ‘celebrities’ to view in person. Arriving maskless and ready for an all night ‘Salon’ party, thumbing their noses at Germany’s strict 9.00pm curfew to stem the COVID-19 pandemic. The social media feeds that were apparently shunned by Lee, lit up with images of attendees with accompanying footage of a packed and vibrant party under the Bottega Veneta banner.
Still, if this, as mentioned hyperreal world in all of its blurred distinction and contradictory realities, tuned to the rapid pace of celebrity Tweets, while frantically chasing markets, is disappointing, it is more so when one attempts to use pop culture references to try and figure out what is real. Case in point, is Lee was actually 2nd in flouting his disregard to Germany’s frantic effort to containing a terrible global viral outbreak, it was the Wachowski sisters of the Matrix franchise holding a post production “Matrix 4” party, also in Germany, after filming had wrapped up in November 2020 amid the second lockdown, covertly calling the party an “Ice Cream Team Event” in its not so subtle mocking of local quarantine laws. Reality is so much more interesting than a movie.
And if irony does indeed hold the key, it is film that is actually becoming an emerging trend for fashion in 2021 and 2022, which is understandable with the many fashion designers that did show a responsibility in dealing with the pandemic, reflected in the creative and interesting ways in showcasing their seasonal collections whilst in lockdown/s. Lee’s Pre-Fall 2021 collection for Bottega Veneta, despite the controversy of his “Salon” party at the height of the pandemic in Europe, appears to be also representing aspects of film and style, although not completely delving into costume design. For his latest ensemble he was quoted in saying, “They’re generic in a way. I like this idea of quite banal everyday clothes”, which feels like a dystopian fixture from a Hollywood production or a broken Utopian idealism, very much in the vein of a decayed homogeneity, as reference to the article: “The Simulcrum of Utopian Decay.” However, the “banal” stylizations of Lee’s Pre-Fall collection feels attuned to minimalist science fiction costume looks of movies such as the 1997 production “Gattaca”, created by the extraordinary talented costume designer Colleen Atwood.
The other movie that Lee’s Pre-Fall collection reminds me of with its straight lace suiting and minimalism, is Spike Jonze’s 2013 movie “Her” depicting Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with his home computer, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. To which costume designer for the production, Casey Storm, revealed in a 2013 New York Times interview saying, “I’m realizing this retroactively. What a lot of futuristic films do and we didn’t, is add things. No epaulets, badges, materials, textures. Those are things you look at the entire film going ‘That’s the future. That’s the uniform.’ What we did instead was take things away … We don’t have any denim or belt buckles or ties or baseball hats. We barely have a collar or lapel. The waistlines are all higher.” So yes, there is a futurism perceptive merging from the digital lookbooks of 2021, the avant-garde has returned which has been wrestling with the more modernist styles, to which there is certainly a drawing of ideas from movies.
How developed this trend will be moving into the later part of 2021 will be hard to determine, of course depending on the actual sales which will always be a deciding factor. But, in this surreality that in some cases, as mentioned, has been magnified by arrogant dispositions, the fashion industry, like everything else, has been effected deeply by a pandemic, that no one saw coming. Yet, in a sardonic way, perhaps you can ask that poignant question: Are are we’re all living in some f*cked up simulation of a simulation?
Authored: A.Glass (2021)
C H I A S M U S 