This whole University malarkey is just a nightmare, and in my opinion, overrated. Let's face it, they're all trying to expect that you're going to be an individual that can be moulded into the stereotypical trash seen in main-stream society, which of course you know, that just isn't what I want to be. We've appeared to forgotten the main reason for fashion. It frustrates me to no end. Oh, I had to write an essay for interviews at Bristol UWE and Southampton Solent on anything to do with fashion, so I suppose in a way and relation to my ranting, here it is:
Fashion. It’s quite a complex and almost complicated thing
to write about considering the broad extent of which the industry can cover. But
in that sense, you could also ask yourself what exactly is it? Posed like this you have to scratch that (rather
stylish fashion-addicted) head of yours and ponder. To you and me it can be
classed as two completely different things. Confuse Google with the question
and it will churn out 2,590,000,000 articles on the topic, but also leaves us
with that all important definition at the top of the page that reads: “(Verb) Make
into a particular form”. And that’s simply it. Everyone’s perspective of it is
going to be completely different, as form and influence differs from one
individual to another. But you can’t help but argue that the mainstream fashion
industry has got a lot to answer for in more ways than one.
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| Christian Dior's New Look |
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| Mat Quant's revelation of the Mini Skirt |
Initially a
way of keeping modest and warm, the diversity of the industry has expanded
quite dramatically over the past century. We notified the definitive arrival of
change during the 1920’s, where Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, a designer from
France, burst onto the scene during the Art Deco period. The controversy made about how women should be
perceived within society took a turn for the freedom-searching individuals when
corsets became a thing of the past as the Little Black Dress became the iconic
go-to evening garment, which still holds its right in every female wardrobe
today. The relaxation of tailoring inspired by menswear at the time likewise
became an iconic piece in Chanel’s classic tweed suit in 1925, which reinforced
a desire for comfort amongst women. In 1947, we saw Christian Dior embrace the
industry with the ‘New Look’ after women had donned trousers and shirts during
the second world war to help keep Britain’s workforce running. Although rations
were still enforced after the war had ended, Dior astonished many other
designers of the time by creating a figure with swathes of fabric that
emphasised ‘prominent shoulders, accentuated hips and a small waist’ to
reconnect women with a feminine reality check. However, as decades progressed,
one woman by the name of Mary Quant highlighted an important target market that
was missing out on fun free fashion. Rebelling against the feminine figure once
again, we saw the arise of the Mini Skirt in 1966, along with bold, eccentric
colours and patterns that drew in the attention of young people. Once again,
the rebellion of form and appearance changed, this time taking its hat off to
the youth; which saw developing designers bring new ideas and ultimately a new
‘modern’ image to the streets of London. But it doesn’t stop there. As technology
progressed with our desire for inspiration and new developments, so did our
experimental taste towards our rebellious nature. Renowned for her Punk and DIY
appearance, Vivienne Westwood ultimately brought DIY fashion to the forefront
of the industry. Setting up shop ‘Let It Rock’ in 1971, which later was renamed
‘SEX’ in 1974, she began styling for the Sex Pistols during the Punk-Rock age before
moving onto more high-end couture later on in her career; which ironically saw
the revival of the corset with underwear becoming outerwear in the mid 1970’s.
Her extravagant pieces and excellent tailoring-work pays homage to British made
fabrics such as the iconic Tartan and even linens to strengthen individuality
and a unique outcome.
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| Alexander McQueen's Floral Dress |
Another area
that hugely benefits our ideas yet seems to be undermined as an alternative magical
vision of fashion to wear on a regular basis is the entertainment industry. Originally working at Angels Costumiers, the
late Alexander McQueen began his career in theatre costume construction before
becoming one of the most influential fashion designers of the 21st
Century. His theatrical-influenced catwalks were, and still are, a
differentiating change to the regular shows seen by other designers; as it
offers a different perspective from an alternative industry towards another.
The West end and Royal Ballet Theatre exhibit shows with astounding garments
that emphasise personality of characters on stage, similarly to the characters
of McQueen’s unusual garments. The Nutcracker, a ballet performance based on
the story ‘The Nutcracker and The King of Mice’ by E.T.A.Hoffman, is in
particular a world-wide phenomenon. It’s enhanced by the beauty of David
Walker’s costume designs for the main characters involved within the play,
which allows you to connect with the exaggeration of personality and elegance
of each piece. Extending an array of luxury fabrics and highly skilled
hand-crafted embellishments, it opens up a door to beauty and aesthetically
pleasing designs. This can similarly be seen in period dramas on television or
films, where costume designers curate masterpieces that accentuate roles and
periods to their rightful era. The fabrics used, the accessories paired with
outfits, and the style and form of each individual provokes an innovative story
behind each piece and distinct visualisation as equally as luring as fashion
trends, yet for some reason is very rarely noticed amongst the streets of
‘modern’ society.
However, although
this sounds amazingly glossy, there is the other end of the scale, of which I
like to call ‘The Mass-Market Clone’ component to the industry. Despite being
able to have a wide variety of garments to cater for all occasions, events and
comfort factors, it seems that everything that is produced in High Street
chains is just, well, generally too similar. The juxtaposing soft and harsh
features of recent inspiration doesn’t necessarily create just one unique
element but seems to be a reoccurring piece within the mainstream industry. It’s
nice to have some form of commodity that has an altogether sense of connection
between different Light and Dark elements within people’s interests in society,
but our desire to be unique and individual seems to be slowly becoming extinct
despite an uproar of demand for it. Of course, it’s amazing how such beauty can
be clashed together to make a distinctive concept that would appeal to
everyone, but it just seems either too formal or too tacky to be desired by an
entire civilisation.
We all have dreams of changing stubborn society, but we secretly know
we can’t. Contradicting myself to a ‘T’, don’t you get fed up of people getting
slagged off because they want to be original? Aspects of fashion are other forms
of art and ideas generated through inspiration from paintings, stories,
developments in technology, and the need for a purpose. It should be a way of putting
something together that emphasises who and how we feel as individuals, and a
way of expressing a personality without being afraid of consequences. It’s an
alternative answer to beliefs and idealism's of today’s culture. In the words of
Gianni Versace, "Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own
you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress
and the way you live." ‘So what?!’ if it’s not practical? – if you
don’t like it, get out there and change it.
I know it can be tedious listening to someone moaning about an insane subject, but I believe that it DOES effect everyone in one way or another. What happened to the beauty of it? What happened to the fierce power it had in an individual way? Trust me, life is just boring with the mass and batch produced trash thrown on the shelves in today's society. I'm not saying it's going to be easy to get my voice heard, but I'm not going to sit back and watch it all crumble into a mess any longer. Let's bring back one-off, bespoke pieces for EVERYONE. Let's rebel.
(please note, the essay here has been copyright protected.)
