Monday, June 04, 2007
If Y'all Fresh to Death, Then I'm Deceased
While prepping myself for the start of a new job next week, perusing the endless amounts of pages targeted toward pop culture and contemporary life, I stumbled across this article on Moli that raises an interesting question. In relation to fashion trends, is fashion an oligopoly? "Hrm", I found myself wondering, "this is an excellent concept." Unlike music trends, that are a little more based on consumer tastes from the bottom up, Fashion is dictated from the couture epicenter in Europe, and then spreads out from there. Those that design tell us what is in, and usually there is some counter culture that reacts (hipsters). Is there a legion of Vogue elite that tell us skinny men with boyish looks and strong cheek boned women are in, and that short men with body hair, and curvaceous ladies are out? I'm pretty sure the answer is yes, but you can read these links to the NYtimes and Fashonista, and decide for yourself.
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2 comments:
I think agreeing that there are tastemakers in fashion as well as other cultural areas is maybe not as drastic a claim as calling it an oligarchy. If you breakdown fashion magazines and find out what percent are actually about high fashion, I'm guessing it might not be a majority. Style and Health tips don't count. And some of the Ad space has to go to affordable products.
But yes, Karl Lagerfeld decides what is going to be hot this spring, but you know what, he gets his ideas from somewhere. And that's usually from street style because authenticity is what sells. So I think high fashion is just bastardized or recycled gear.
What we're really talking about is taste and sensibility.
Perhaps Lagerfeld is street based, but I think the major argument was linked to high fashion. Ruffles and pirate shirts and what not. You could argue that those are recycled, which is true, but I think that the point that there is a collective feeling on what is fashion is the focus. A call that comes down on high, that platform shoes should look such a way isn't the sign of similar muses, but a collaboration of the elite.
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