PrintFor many people both on and off Columbia’s campus, Fashion Week is less than a blip on the radar. These people are apprehensive, confused, or even hostile towards the pomp of the fashion world—and the fashion world, in turn, may seem callously condescending to those outside it. But the changes occurring on runways this season might just show that both sides want some reconciliation.
Many designers are shifting focus and direction, changing their expected aesthetic and making their collections more relatable to those who usually might not be interested in high fashion. These shifts maintain the high standards that have kept some designers and their wares on the A-list for years even as they allow those designers to innovate. Aesthetic changes and the designer teams behind them are both a driving force behind and a result of the changing relationship between fashion and the world outside of it.
For his Spring 2010 collection, Alexander Wang, an industry darling known for his rock-girl-rough wares, seemed to have moved towards the all-American athletic—some may even say avant-collegiate. Perforated leather and sexy black mesh were replaced by football uniform-inspired sweatshirt material and khakis.
Other designers were changing course as well. Another crowd favorite, Charlotte Ronson, eschewed last season’s slashed fabric and black severity for a pink-and-gray ’80s exercise look. Meanwhile, Rodarte strayed from their futurist aesthetic to a swampy slew of jungle women, clad in tattered, raggedy fabrics that, through it all, showed expert handling and skill.
Although these new directions may not please every fashion insider, they nevertheless show direction—and confidently, at that. While Wang’s devotees may still cling to the studded black pants and motorcycle jackets of the past, they should remember that aesthetics can and should change. Sometimes a designer can express more by switching things up than by digging a deep, dark pigeonhole. These somewhat radical aesthetic changes also reflect a reaching-out on the part of designers, an attempt to keep things fresh and catch the eyes of those who might normally give a Rodarte dress a raised eyebrow instead of a second glance.
Wang’s evolution, like that of many designers across this season’s Fashion Week, tells us that designers still can and will make what they want. But they’re also thinking of their audience—be it the ferocious editors perched at the edge of the runway or more low-key weekend shopaholics—without pandering, and this is apparent in the quality of the clothing and the careful way in which these designers are setting a new course. It suggests that in terms of collections, most designers have something to say beyond making their clothes marketable—though that desire is factoring into the equation now more than ever.
Fashion has always straddled the line between art and function, between what’s wearable and what’s just kooky. For example, Alexander Herchcovich closed his show this season with wildly colored dresses armed with massive shoulder flourishes that dwarfed the model heads between them. Giant birdcage skirts also arced around a few tiny waists. A girl who actually purchased these pieces would have to give her legs as well as her credit card a workout—no one’s taking a seat in a boxy hoop miniskirt. But most of these ensembles aren’t destined for a boutique on Howard Street—like many designers, Herchcovich has sent out a few looks that are never even intended to make it to the stores. Instead, they’re simply part of the spectacle of the runway.
Sometimes, this kind of spectacle bubble that is a part of fashion becomes its own black hole. The addictive shine of Fashion Week can almost overshadow the clothes themselves. Some attendees seem more focused on the glamour, glitz and free basil-infused cocktails than what’s stomping down the runway. Crowded and debaucherous after-parties can also take focus from the shows for which they’re playing end credits.
Still, there is a purpose to the mayhem, and the distance between the world of fashion and the real world is not as far as one may think. While the parties may throb on, the clothes and the work that went into their construction remains. Even the fashion-averse should take note of this, especially because designers are giving their collections a fresh accessibility while maintaining a creative edge and a strong voice this season. While Alexander Herchcovich sent out dramatically football-padded maidens that may never make it off the runway, he also premiered some beautifully constructed peach satin pants and boxy short-sleeve tops that most definitely will.
Similarly, while the quiet quirk of Wang’s game-ready girls won’t work for most shoppers, some of his pieces, like a richly roasted brown leather coat, can find a place on anyone’s shoulders. Other designers also turned out wearable looks that didn’t detract from their vision. Ronson’s ladies, especially those in gray, acid-washed jeans and shorts, plaid shirts and army jackets, didn’t lose a sense of Ronson herself, though the looks themselves would do just as well on College Walk as the catwalk. Philosophy’s layered, undeniably optimistic looks are also worth noting. They might not turn heads on the street, but their simplicity speaks for itself. Anyone, including those who are only confused by the idea of a runway show, can “get” these clothes. This fall’s Fashion Week proved that what designers show does not have to be shocking and eccentric to be good. Accessible clothing doesn’t necessarily translate into a lack of inspiration or cop out on the design end.
The fashion industry itself is also making more of an effort to get the attention of the uninitiated. During the first-ever Fashion’s Night Out, a one-night event with joint manifestations from London to Tokyo, some 700 stores across New York City stayed open late and fueled shoppers with freebies, blaring music, champagne, and h’or dourves. Everyone and anyone was invited, giving the whole city a taste of the exclusive reveling usually reserved for fashion’s insiders. On top of that, recent films like “Valentino: The Last Emperor” and the devilishly good “The September Issue” have given unfamiliar audiences an inside look into the workings of the fashion world.
It seems that fashion is finding a new place for itself in the hearts and minds those who previously may have believed that fashion was superficial and superfluously sealed off. In its opening weekend, “The September Issue” grossed over $240,000 from a mere six theaters, making it the fifth largest debut for a documentary ever according to indieWIRE. If this, and the crowds who flocked to Bergdorf’s for Fashion’s Night Out, are any indication, many people are genuinely curious about and interested in the fashion world. Meanwhile, designers like Wang and Ronson have kept larger audiences in mind while maintaining their own voice and direction.
A new popular awareness of the fashion world means that the subtle and not-so-subtle design shifts spotted in shows like Wang’s may not go unnoticed by the general public. Designers continue to innovate while extending their collections to a wider, increasingly curious audience. Masses might just be starting to embrace the world of fashion. Just don’t wrinkle the Marchesa.