Dolce & Gabbana
Christian Dior
Something has happened this spring ‘10 season- the more information I soak in- the more confused I become. Why? Because it seems that this season Madame Fashion has decided to revel in her fickle and frivolous nature-looks that we were told by her were so wrong have miraculously in one season become so right. I understand that to keep the monetary wheels of Fashion turning that it must act as a pendulum-swinging haphazardly back and forth; but if you take everything it hits you with this season, you will risk looking like ‘the emperor who wore no clothes’. Speaking of wearing no clothes- one of the scandalous trends this season is ‘wearing your underwear as outerwear’. If the Dior, Fendi and Dolce & Gabbana shows are anything to go by, we should be wearing our bras, corsets, bustiers and big, frilled knickers for the world to see. The great thing about this trend is that it is cost- effective-all we need to do is ensure our bra straps are always exposed and wear our night time silk with lace trimmed camisoles during the day. And who do we have to blame for this look? Madonna- circa her Blonde Ambition Tour and to be more specific Jean-Paul Gaultier, who designed those conical bras and basques which she sported with wild abandon. I have experimented with the ‘making a bra part of your outfit’ look on models when doing ‘edgy’ editorials by putting a black bra on top of a black and white striped fitted long T, but it’s one thing to experiment with this look on editorials, catwalks and music stadiums and it’s quite another to pull it off as a ‘mere civilian’ on the streets. In the former situation I find myself commending the look’s ‘fierce-rocious’ factor but in the latter I mutter the lyrics of the Destiny Child’s song, ‘Nasty girl’- ‘Nasty put your clothes on….you trashy…you sleazy…you classless…’
Chloé
House of Holland
There was a time when wearing a ‘Texan Tuxedo’ (wearing denim on top and below) was considered the ultimate scandalous no-no; hence the derogatory and condescending insertion of the word ‘Texan’. The look was said to be too obvious and fashion encouraged us to experiment, use our imagination and mix things up. I too began to buy into this way of thinking and in the nineties when I looked at the Marlboro adverts and saw the man lounging insolently on his horse clad in his denim shirt and jeans, I thought that I could forgive him for trying to deceive customers into thinking that smoking ourselves to an early grave was ‘cool’, but I could never forgive him for encouraging us to look like denim freaks whilst doing so. Well, this season it looks like the Marlboro man got the last laugh when designers like Chloé and House of Holland sent their models striding confidently down the catwalk in the dreaded double denim look. Furthermore, in the latest H&M 2010 campaign titled ‘The Blues’- billboards of Daria Werbowy wearing various assortments of denim shirts with jeans are now pasted all over London (I’d be singing the blues too if I had to sell such a dated look to the public.) I am dreading to see how this trend is copied on the high streets by teenagers and those old enough to know better- yes WAG’s I mean you.
Louis Vuitton
Alexander McQueen
This season footwear has decided to step things up and outshine their clothing counterparts in the extreme fashion stakes department. In the Louis Vuitton shows, models miraculously kept straight faces as they walked in clogs and boots trimmed with decidedly silly furry ‘old man’s’ moustaches. As for the contraptions that passed of for shoes in the Alexander McQueen show- it’s surprising that the models managed to walk in them at all! Fashion loves the ‘freaky’ and is calling the latter ‘Armadillo’ and ‘Alien’ shoe designs in the collection-‘collectable pieces of art’. But when it looks like lobsters and snakes are mutating on your feet- how can this ever be a look to aspire to? It’s easy to watch the Lady Gaga ‘Bad Romance’ video and get seduced by these ridiculous 10 inch monsters but let’s not forget that this is an artist who recently had to be undressed in mid air as the ‘clothes’ (yellow and black duct tape) and shoes (blue Alexander McQueen shoes) she was wearing caused her legs to swell with the early signs of deep vein thrombosis. So it may not be wise for us mere mortals to copy someone who is willing to literally risk her life and limbs to be fashion’s dhhhaaarling.
Although it can be argued that it is great to see how the above trends show that fashion is not taking itself too seriously this season and has decided to play around with the traditional ideas of functional and respectable apparel; with the monstrous price tags that are sure to be stamped on most of these designer pieces- are we sure that we the consumer aren’t the ones being played this season?
Pictures courtesy of www.style.com
