FASHION GETS A REALITY CHECK
Why the industry needs to wake up to the realities of life in its quest for a youth market
The news of Linda Evangelista’s cosmetic procedure trauma has been the talk not only of the internet, where the former supermodel’s Instagram post about what she said were the negative effects of a CoolSculpting treatment has sparked vociferous response, but also at the recent shows in Milan, where Evangelista once reigned and where her tale has passed from one socially distanced chair to another like a fashion horror story.
It has raised questions once again about ageism and size-ism in the industry (and society in general), and the continued focus on extreme youth. Because for all the strides that have been made on runways toward diversity in skin colour — and there has been real progress — what is increasingly clear is that when it comes to size and age, very little has really changed. Indeed, although on the runways of New York there were some efforts to expand the definition of beauty to encompass the true spectrum of body types, in Europe the models are once again very young and very thin. Gigi Hadid is strutting her stuff as a new mother, but generally in the “Wow, you’d never know she’d just had a baby” category.
Like many things in fashion as we emerge from the pandemic (or semiemerge), it feels like a step backward, rather than a move forward. There is comfort in familiarity, sure, but not this particular kind.
YOUTH VOTE
Fashion has long been obsessed by the youth vote and the need to woo generations of consumers yet to come. But that can lead you down some very mistaken paths, as it did at Missoni, where the brand’s new creative director Alberto Caliri seemed to equate the desire for “fresh” and “new” (and TikTok) with a kind of seedy voyeurism.
Old denim was paired with string bikini and scarf halter tops that barely covered body parts, sections were chopped out of trademark knits, and halter gowns gleaming with sequins were cut low enough. There was nothing empowering about it; more like objectifying. Even the models kept surreptitiously checking to make sure everything was in place.
Missoni is a brand that has always understood the genuinely universal, sensual power of the knit. Some simple column dresses (and some slouchy patchworks shown over cargo pants) did capture that allure. Just not enough of them. It was a reminder, though, that like many of the clothes on runways here, they would flatter many different kinds of people. Isn’t it about time to show them that way? Consider, for example, the hautehippie-on-the-Silk-Road smash-ups of denim and crochet and maxi dresses, paisley and mandala prints at Etro. Which — crochet tops aside — reference a fantasy owned by no particular personal profile. Or Emporio Armani, celebrating its 40th birthday, which — despite being known as the “younger” line of Armani — offered up a quasi-retrospective of signature loose liquid tailoring for both men and women, flippy little silk dresses, paillette-strewn evening wear and desert shades that segued into sporty primary colours.
Like many things in fashion as we emerge from the pandemic (or semiemerge), it feels like a step backward, rather than a move forward. There is comfort in familiarity, sure, but not this particular kind.