the GREAT escape
AS THE 24-HOUR NEWS CYCLE GETS INCREASINGLY GLOOMY, WRITER ANNE T. DONAHUE CONSIDERS THE ROLE OF FASHION IN LIFTING US UP
In the midst of 2016’s infamous upheaval, Stella McCartney gave us the spring collection we needed.
With her whimsical pieces emblazoned with ice cream cones, polka dots, and messages like “all is love,” she capped off the show with a dance party, with models taking to the runway to gleefully bust out some moves. Mainly, she gave us a brief reprieve from our daily grind and injected us all with much-needed joy. And I’ll take it. Months into 2017, and the social and political landscape is bleak. Daily, we’re being met with bad news that trumps news of the day before and it can be hard not to log off, curl up, and countdown to 2020. Which means fashion may be the last thing on our minds. But the thing about crises is that surviving them relies on sustenance. And sustenance consists of anything and everything that brings you joy or refills that mental and emotional pool. It can be through movies, book clubs, or a manicure. You can recharge through walks in the woods, or window shopping with a latte. And you can escape through fashion. Because escapism isn’t the abandonment of social responsibility, it’s something that will give you the strength to uphold it.
Which is why fashion this year has offered a welcome break from reality. Because where the vivid yellows seen in collections by Gucci, Valentino, and Jason Wu may seem like typical homages to summer sunlight, they also offer an aesthetic respite from the political sludge we feel coated in. In the same way, pink made its mark on the springtime spectrum, weaving itself through collections by Balenciaga, Celine, and Givenchy—which make sense when you consider the relationship between the colour pink and psychology. Pink has long been attributed to femininity and romance, but is also noted for its calming effects and relation to optimism. Bottega Veneta's fuchsia leather coat and Balenciaga’s shocking pink spandex not only command attention, but their vibrancy serves to distract us—at least momentarily—from the mundanity of our day-to-day business.
But we can get even more lost in fashion if we want to. Where retail therapy or “creating looks” have been consistent go-tos in the wake of bad news, this season’s celebration of dress-up urges us to check out of our 21st-century norms and delve into classical romance, whether via the ruffles of Preen, the empire waists of McQueen, or the high lace collars of Erdem. (And don’t forget the puffed sleeves at Marc Jacobs.)
Although that romance extends to what we over-romanticize, too: wearing Lacoste’s robes would suggest a life of leisure, while the pop-art floral prints of Ros-