Silence
Spring/Summer 2011
Campaign Photographs
Model: Tomek Szczukiecki
'The Protagonist'
Model: Jaco van den Hoven
Photographers: Aline and Jacqueline Tappia
Stylist: Riccardo Linarello
(images via Homme Model)
"If fashion is clothes, then it is not indispensable. But if fashion is a way of looking at our daily lives, then it is very important indeed." - Yohji Yamamoto
Colour blocking, buck shoes, Vibram Christy soles, fisherman sweaters, Breton stripes, deck shoes, those Pradas, camouflage prints, animal prints, Americana revival, chambray shirts, washed denim, chore coats, sweatpants dressed up, cuffed chinos, dropped crotches, midnight blue suits, linen everything, desert boots, long on top with the sides and back buzzed. The list goes on and on. Sometimes it is as if there is too much noise without anything actually being said. And if there is, it is drowned out. Everything needs to be new, everything needs to be exciting, but most of all - everything needs to make money. Aesthetic expression is not free, it is subject to the whims of the market. A designer who is unable to sell, is unable to design for very long. You look at what is being sold and you wonder whether the people buying it really know what they are buying.
There is too much anxiety around the idea of being 'in fashion'. You worry about that and you lose sense of your own style, but more importantly, you lose sense of yourself. You see people dressed in impersonal uniforms, clothing that does not reflect them but rather the latest hot trend, all in the guise of fashion. People worrying about wearing what everyone else is wearing. The term fashion anxiety was used to describe that nervous energy the crowd has outside a fashion show - it is the fear that what they are wearing now will soon no longer be relevant. Thoughtful spending is replaced by flash consumerism. Something bought today only to be replaced tomorrow. You see all those different faces, but dressed in the exact same thing - changing day-to-day, absolutely terrified that one day they will slip up and be left behind - no longer in fashion.
I want to react and engage on a personal level. It needs to be visceral, emotional, and intimate. Give me shape, silhouette and texture. Give me something subtle, something intricate, something thoughtful, something personal. I have to see something in that garment that goes beyond the garment. A feeling, an understanding, a sense of self. Forget about trends, forget about what is hot, forget about what is 'in'. Find what speaks to you, what moves you, what you love. Forget about fashion, think about style. Forget about what they are wearing, think about what you are wearing. What do you want to wear? It is a simple question, but one that many people never seem to be able to answer.
There is too much anxiety around the idea of being 'in fashion'. You worry about that and you lose sense of your own style, but more importantly, you lose sense of yourself. You see people dressed in impersonal uniforms, clothing that does not reflect them but rather the latest hot trend, all in the guise of fashion. People worrying about wearing what everyone else is wearing. The term fashion anxiety was used to describe that nervous energy the crowd has outside a fashion show - it is the fear that what they are wearing now will soon no longer be relevant. Thoughtful spending is replaced by flash consumerism. Something bought today only to be replaced tomorrow. You see all those different faces, but dressed in the exact same thing - changing day-to-day, absolutely terrified that one day they will slip up and be left behind - no longer in fashion.
I want to react and engage on a personal level. It needs to be visceral, emotional, and intimate. Give me shape, silhouette and texture. Give me something subtle, something intricate, something thoughtful, something personal. I have to see something in that garment that goes beyond the garment. A feeling, an understanding, a sense of self. Forget about trends, forget about what is hot, forget about what is 'in'. Find what speaks to you, what moves you, what you love. Forget about fashion, think about style. Forget about what they are wearing, think about what you are wearing. What do you want to wear? It is a simple question, but one that many people never seem to be able to answer.
Take a step back. It is far more simple than we are led to believe. Wear something that makes you smile. Wear something that makes you feel like you. Wear something that fits. Wear something appropriate to the situation. There - you did it. I'll come and join you.
P.S. Not sure what the images have to do with what I wrote, but I really like them. Plus it gives people who don't really read my posts something to comment on. My sincerest apologies for not being able to catch up with all of your wonderful blogs and emails, my health has been pretty erratic as of late. I will try to get around to it as soon as I possibly can. Mad love.
P.S. Not sure what the images have to do with what I wrote, but I really like them. Plus it gives people who don't really read my posts something to comment on. My sincerest apologies for not being able to catch up with all of your wonderful blogs and emails, my health has been pretty erratic as of late. I will try to get around to it as soon as I possibly can. Mad love.
xxxx