In the fashion world, the calendar revolves around seasonal fashion weeks. Here, the latest and innovative trends are unveiled in highly stylized runway shows all around the world. It’s undeniable presence in the most iconic cities sparks a notable divide between the apparent spheres of those who devote their lives to fashion and everyone else. In the latter group, a lot of resentful vexation stems from the opinion that fashion week is an over-priced, pretentious and empty farce, leading to articles like: “I Dressed Like an Idiot at Fashion Week to See How Easy It Is to Get Street-Snapped”. On the other hand, fashion enthusiasts from professional to recreational deem it a necessary celebration of self-expression and creative power.
Indeed, the seemingly inscrutable world of fashion week can seem hierarchical, where well-established designers, journalists and celebrities appear to pontificate about what is worth talking about, leading people to believe that such shows are prescriptive and have a great deal of control. For example there is a great deal of power that emanates from having a seat in the front row. This embodies the microcosm that the outside world experiences through filtered glimpses on Snapchat stories of the likes of Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid.
Another concern is the highly conceptual and un-wearable outfits. After all, fashion should be accessible, comfortable, empowering for everyone and to a certain extent, practical, right? Although this is undoubtedly true, the reality of fashion week is that the pieces unveiled on the runway are not meant to be worn on a day at the office or a first date (just imagine rocking up in an elaborate head to toe feathered ensemble for a coffee date, resembling the plumage of an exotic bird in a display of mating). Being fully aware of this high-brow stance, these pieces are meant to be works of art, to be interpreted and speak of the current social climate and our ideals. For example, during one of the Florence fashion exhibition, models in a catwalk showcasing African designers included refugees to spark discussion on recent refugee crises and culture. You can read more about the show here: http://www.konbini.com/us/lifestyle/refugees-catwalk-florence-fashion-show/. Another example is the frequent self-conscious nods to the materiality of the clothes.
Nonetheless, elements of the collections can be filtered down and presented in subtle ways when presented in high-street displays from Urban Outfitters to Primark and everything in between.
Through the connective power of social media, the covering of fashion week on popular platforms proves to be one way that the influence is spilling out in more accessible ways. What is encouraging about these blogs, promotional videos etc. is that they show the hectic and exhausting reality of fashion week behind the scenes. This breaks a lot of our illusions by getting an inside vicarious pass. In doing so we see how much work goes into its running and a tight knit community is revealed to us: A group of people genuinely passionate about fashion as a medium to revolutionize how we think.
Fashion is always regarded as a lesser creative outlet. But just like a film premier or a book launch, fashion week is undeniably a space where new ideas are being tested and showcased for the world to see and digest.