Paper 2, Draft 1 - Sept. 22, 2008

If one were to view the extraordinary concoctions made popular in the nineteen seventies by John Paul Gaultier, or Bob Mackie’s whimsical creations of the late eighties, or the fantastical designs of John Galliano in the nineteen nineties, one would perhaps comprehend a fraction of the fantasy, the escapism and the story inherent to high fashion. Couturiers have long paraded garments feathered and leathered, bustier-ed and bustled, sequined and beaded down the runways of fashions most elite cities, all with the most powerful of socially constructed messages. The gaping discrepancies between the whimsy of couture fashions and the practicality of prête-à-porter (off-the-rack) garments has always been accepted, much like the abstraction of Picasso is accepted while a young art student must toil to create the most accurate human form.

A recent article in the New York Times, heralded as a beacon of intellectual truth since its inception in 1851, bemoans the state of high fashion today, writing, “Now that the runways are a medium for just about everything…you can never be sure of the message, if there is one at all.” Author Cathy Horyn decries the impact of mass consumerism and designer apathy on an apparently disintegrating fashion industry in an article that both critiques stagnant designers as well as lauds the exceptional few. Horyn claims, “Young designers tend to dress the women around them rather than provide direction of their own,” which is a far cry from the avant-garde couture creations of years past. Is high fashion merely in a downswing created by the pendulum of fresh and stale ideas? Or is the state of high fashion declining due to the mass commercialization of the entire industry?

Point 1: lack of creative designs/imagination/fresh ideas/a message in couture fashion

“Ultimately tens of millions of dollars will be spent on collections, but…you have to wonder what you’re supposed to understand?”

“Jonathan Saunders, who is based in London, is an exception among young designers — or, anyway, he belongs to the school that doesn’t think it hurts to properly make a seam and actually propose something thoughtful as well as eye-catching.”

Point 2: greater number of designers designing for the masses – ex. Proenza Schueller and Isaac Mizrahi for Target (Target.com) – rather than for fantasy, leading to the specific marketing of garments to an actual demographic rather than the designer having a message for his viewers.

Point 3: women have more outlets today than ever to exercise their fantasies – the internet, vacations, more opportunities available, etc. – and combined with the more casual trend in fashion need extravagant clothing less and less, and the fantastical designs appeal to them less and less.

Cathy Horyn writes, “Women love to exercise their fantasies, and that is why we have designers.”

Conclusion

Works Cited:
1. Target Brands, Inc. "Women." Target.com. Target Brands, Inc. 23 Sept. 2008 http://www.target.com/women/b/ref=nav_t_spc_1_1/601-6704314-2507318?ie=utf8&node=1041790.

2. Horyn, Cathy. "Fashion, but maybe beside the point." NewYorkTimes.com. 8 Sept. 2008.The New York Times.8 Sept. 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/fashion/shows/09review.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=fashion,%20but%20maybe%20beside%20the%20point&st=cse&oref=slogin..