Don’t hate on fashion week — it actually does a lot of good
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
NEW YORK — Regardless of what religion you are or what you celebrate, most can agree that there's something special about the holidays.
We take extra care to dress up our homes, prepare favorite foods and do little extra things for loved ones. In other words, we put our best foot forward.
There's a similar spring in the fashion industry's step during New York Fashion Week. For seven days, designers showcase their latest work, and editors, buyers, bloggers and the like pause from business as usual to check it out.
It was disheartening, then, when a recent list released by the dating app Hater — which matches people based on their mutual dislikes — included fashion week as one of the things that rubs some Pittsburghers the wrong way (along with tipping less than 15 percent, Tom Brady, paying $2 to add guacamole to something, etc.).
For those who have never been to a professional fashion show, don't knock something you haven't seen. And for those whose opinions are rooted in stereotypical presumptions — wealthy women clinking cocktail glasses as they gab about
lipstick — there's a lot more to fashion week than that.
At this season’s shows, which began Thursday, I’ve seen an uptick in designers using fashion to send a message, to make a difference. One example is “Fashion for all,” a handful of shows devoted exclusively to clothing for plus-size women, including an Addition Elle lingerie and ready-to-wear show on Monday.
There also seems to be more emphasis on diversity in models (Dennis Basso, Chromat and Christian Siriano are a few who stand out this time). In past seasons, designers have used their events as a soap box to speak out about everything from fair immigration policies to LGBTQ rights.
Though these topics deserve our attention yearround, sometimes it takes a special occasion like New York Fashion Week to recalibrate our focus, just as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza remind us to be grateful and appreciative for people and things that matter to us.
Whether you're a fashion lover or loather, take a few minutes this week to see what's trending on social media at New York Fashion Week. Like the Grinch's heart on Christmas morning, your love for fashion might grow a bit.
Sara Bauknecht: sbauknecht@post-gazette. or on Twitter and Instagram @SaraB_PG.