Make Room
Helmut Lang
Fall/Winter 2001
We miss you Helmut.
Edit your wardrobe.
Edit your possessions.
Edit your life.
But remember:
Reduce and refine.
Everything's already there, I just need to edit it.- Rick Owens
About five or six years ago I felt strongly that my role was done. But nowadays, especially in Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles, everything is covered by fast fashion. Faster, faster, cheaper, cheaper. People have started wasting fashion. So suddenly, there was some space again for me to do something. Minor in terms of numbers, but there might be young people who have questions or doubts about this trend, they might be waiting for something to come back or for something new. So I said to myself: "Yohji, you can continue to do your job. Don’t change. You can just continue to do it." I told myself this last year.- Yohji Yamamoto, August 2011
(via The Talks)
More, more, more. It would seem that we are encouraged to be nothing more than the money we spend, always buying into some dream of a better me. The modern self is stuck in a state of continuous flux, refining and redefining themselves, fuelled by the feeling of never quite being happy with who they are now. Or perhaps to be more accurate one should say deconstructing and reconstructing themselves. We seem to severe ourselves from our own pasts all to readily. Sometimes there seems to be no coherence any more - one trend today, another tomorrow, the old you vanished in an instant. Although it should probably be noted that even dramatic twists and turns can still contain a thread of coherence. That coherence speaks volumes about the individual, a testament to their refining.
We are caught between two points, going from the perceived lesser us, to some ideal endpoint that is ever-elusive. We are taught to change and change and change, looking totally new each time, but without any real substance behind those changes. Glossy smiles and glossy eyes, airbrushed waists and airbrushed lives. I can always look better, dress better, live better. Self-improvement is important and the journey is beautiful, but people tend forget the 'self' part. It is about you, your character, your personality, your mind, and yes, your body.
But I think it is always about more than simply surface - you change your thoughts and you can change your life. All actions begin with a thought, so exploring those thoughts before changing actions seems to make the most sense. I own things, I am attached to things, but usually I could live without most of those things. I am not saying throw everything away and live like a monk, but rather that sometimes having less rather than more allows you a sense of freedom. Think about what you have, consider why you have it, consider whether you need or want it, and edit what you have - reduce and refine down to what you love.
Live life, love life, and surround yourself with beautiful things, but know what you want and never settle for less. Think, research, look, find, choose, meditate, decide. It is about knowing what you love and trying to find it, not going out and buying anything that catches your eye or what happens to be popular at the time. I like the idea of a refined and highly edited wardrobe (and life) because it means I can focus more on what I love. Without the noise there is only what you find beautiful. Look back, look around, look forward, and find something that speaks to you. Ignore trends, ignore fast fashion, ignore keeping up with everyone else. Go at your own pace and find your own beauty.
I do not believe that you need necessarily go to any extreme to prove a point. Sometimes the smallest of whispers can be more powerful than any shout. I like silence, I like subtlety, I like people to see me and not my clothes. Personal luxury in fashion is about wearing things that are beautiful to you. You are wearing the clothes, so it should be something that fits and feels right to you. Then comes the context and what everyone else sees. However whilst you are dressing for you, we do live in a social world, so to entirely dismiss others is to do a disservice to the art of dressing. I believe context is important because wearing a three piece suit to go for a run is not individual, it is impractical and just a little stupid (charity runs notwithstanding).
What do I look for in a garment? I put something on and it is as if in that moment the designer knows everything about me and I know everything about them. I may never meet them, or speak to them, or ever know anything about them, but through that garment maybe we have said everything that needs to be said. It is that connection I look for and that connection that takes me back time and time again to the same designers, or artists, or writers, or thinkers, or people. Everything is built upon personal connections. Of course knowledge follows from that initial contact as you learn and research about the person whose work spoke so softly to you.
I always used to think of style as a process of transformation, of becoming someone new or someone better. Therein I think there was disconnect between me and my clothing. But in the past year I have come to view style and dressing as a process of realization. I am not trying to become someone, I already am someone. Even if that someone is different from the someone I was yesterday, or from the someone I will be tomorrow, at least I will be dressed accordingly. Being true to yourself and all that sickly stuff. Or perhaps more to the point, the freedom and happiness to be you.
We are caught between two points, going from the perceived lesser us, to some ideal endpoint that is ever-elusive. We are taught to change and change and change, looking totally new each time, but without any real substance behind those changes. Glossy smiles and glossy eyes, airbrushed waists and airbrushed lives. I can always look better, dress better, live better. Self-improvement is important and the journey is beautiful, but people tend forget the 'self' part. It is about you, your character, your personality, your mind, and yes, your body.
But I think it is always about more than simply surface - you change your thoughts and you can change your life. All actions begin with a thought, so exploring those thoughts before changing actions seems to make the most sense. I own things, I am attached to things, but usually I could live without most of those things. I am not saying throw everything away and live like a monk, but rather that sometimes having less rather than more allows you a sense of freedom. Think about what you have, consider why you have it, consider whether you need or want it, and edit what you have - reduce and refine down to what you love.
Live life, love life, and surround yourself with beautiful things, but know what you want and never settle for less. Think, research, look, find, choose, meditate, decide. It is about knowing what you love and trying to find it, not going out and buying anything that catches your eye or what happens to be popular at the time. I like the idea of a refined and highly edited wardrobe (and life) because it means I can focus more on what I love. Without the noise there is only what you find beautiful. Look back, look around, look forward, and find something that speaks to you. Ignore trends, ignore fast fashion, ignore keeping up with everyone else. Go at your own pace and find your own beauty.
I do not believe that you need necessarily go to any extreme to prove a point. Sometimes the smallest of whispers can be more powerful than any shout. I like silence, I like subtlety, I like people to see me and not my clothes. Personal luxury in fashion is about wearing things that are beautiful to you. You are wearing the clothes, so it should be something that fits and feels right to you. Then comes the context and what everyone else sees. However whilst you are dressing for you, we do live in a social world, so to entirely dismiss others is to do a disservice to the art of dressing. I believe context is important because wearing a three piece suit to go for a run is not individual, it is impractical and just a little stupid (charity runs notwithstanding).
What do I look for in a garment? I put something on and it is as if in that moment the designer knows everything about me and I know everything about them. I may never meet them, or speak to them, or ever know anything about them, but through that garment maybe we have said everything that needs to be said. It is that connection I look for and that connection that takes me back time and time again to the same designers, or artists, or writers, or thinkers, or people. Everything is built upon personal connections. Of course knowledge follows from that initial contact as you learn and research about the person whose work spoke so softly to you.
I always used to think of style as a process of transformation, of becoming someone new or someone better. Therein I think there was disconnect between me and my clothing. But in the past year I have come to view style and dressing as a process of realization. I am not trying to become someone, I already am someone. Even if that someone is different from the someone I was yesterday, or from the someone I will be tomorrow, at least I will be dressed accordingly. Being true to yourself and all that sickly stuff. Or perhaps more to the point, the freedom and happiness to be you.
xxxx