WM JOANNE Watkinson
REMEMBER THE CLOTHES, NOT THE STUNTS
There have been so many stunts pulled during the recent Fashion Weeks that even I, a hardened defender of the industry, have been left a bit baffled.
These moments are intended to cut through the noise that is the fashion circus, shock tactics that will hopefully go viral on social media and garner the brand hype and attention.
I understand the need to market your product in a digital world but I still read physical magazines, while a lot of content is now consumed online.
Modern attention spans are limited to the length of an Instagram reel, so the stunt has to be fast, engaging and encourage you to comment or share to a friend.
While the eyes on the brand increase, how many people are converted as customers when clothes aren’t the topic of conversation?
Join me as I take a trip down memory lane to the days when the late Alexander McQueen was fondly known as the enfant terrible of fashion.
His shows were renowned for their “stunts” – the Kate Moss hologram, the painting robot and SS10’s Platos Atlantis that saw human-alien-animal hybrids strut down the catwalk.
Despite being described as the most “dramatic revolution in 21st-century fashion” by Vogue’s Suzy Menkes, it is the clothes not the spectacle I remember so clearly.
The Platos Atlantis models wore incredible, structured digital print dresses and the now infamous Armadillo boots.
As I kicked about online wondering whether I will ever feel the same buzz about a Fashion Week show, I happened upon a video of a dress being cut from scratch, giant scissors carving through the fabric and dozens of giant glass crystals being sewn on by hand.
I turned up the volume, it was Stella McCartney talking about the black gown she custom made for singer Adele for weekend nine of her Las Vegas residency and I instantly fell down an Adele fashion rabbit hole.
During her five-month stint in Sin City, her on-stage wardrobe is a who’s who of designer black dresses, from Schiaparelli to Givenchy to Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci, Maison Valentino, Balmain, Giorgio Armani, Oscar de la Renta and, of course, Stella.
Each one is memorable not a novelty.
Because sometimes all a girl (and a fashion designer looking for ‘likes’) needs is a little black dress.