Fashion Forward to Fashion Progress

The Death of Fashion

When did fashion quit becoming fashionable? Probably the rot set in across the mid- to late 1980s, provoked by a boom-to-bust economic system and therefore the emergence of AIDS like a potent metaphor for that delayed hangover that followed the 1970s. Not that this grim decade was entirely devoid of hope. The period also saw the emergence of the Japanese designers, notably Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo (of Comme des Garçons), whose ethereal black numbers mixed minimalist rigour with futuristic interpretations of conventional garb. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Ralph Lauren had been steadily building one of the ultimate fashion makes. Ralph was brought up on the Hollywood movies of the 40s and 50s, mentally filing away images of Cary Grant and Fred Astaire so that he could recreate their style. Lauren designed [his] outpost to feel like a gentlemen's club, with mahogany panelling and brass fixtures'. But Ralph Lauren is important for another reason. European luxury brands frequently dwell on their 'heritage' for marketing purposes, using a tradition of craftsmanship as a way of seducing consumers and justifying elevated prices (think of Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Dunhill and Asprey). Lauren created a world of aristocratic good taste, but it was pure invention. In many ways, Lauren was Jay Gatsby - the man who created himself. In The End of Fashion, Teri Agins suggests that girls misplaced interest in fashion since they ended up being extra worried about their careers: '[They] started to behave more like males in adopting their very own uniform: skirts and blazers and pantsuits that gave them an authoritative, polished, power glance. Stores selling comfortable but unchallenging garments, mostly run up on the cheap in Asia, crafted dressing straight down not just reasonably priced, but acceptable. The elitist stance once taken by fashion brands started to seem stuffy and - horror of horrors - old-fashioned. Even supermodels began to look less 'super'. Further, she observes that the utilitarian blandness of Nineties clothing made marketing more important than ever.

The Renewal of Fashion

The next wave of upmarket fashion brand names would come from Milan and from Paris; plainly, reviews in the death from the French funds received been significantly exaggerated. There is one name you can't escape when you attempt to write a history of fashion branding: Tom Ford. As Carine Roitfeld, the editor of French Vogue and a one-time collaborator of the American designer, says, 'In the history of fashion, there's undoubtedly a pre-Tom FRD as well as a post-Tom FRD period. The story of Gucci resembles an opera, replete with glamour, envy and murder. Or, as Roitfeld puts it, 'He created a dream world. It was fine that in winter 1995 Ford showed a collection of sexy, sophisticated clothes that attracted the attention of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. But he also redesigned every single aspect on the brand name, from print advertisements to stores, making certain that almost everything gelled to produce an 'ideal' of what the Gucci name meant. While outwardly deploring the pattern, the mainstream advertising acquired excellent enjoyable with fashion's filthy new image. Prada, too, understood that the brand message had to be carried right through from advertising to clothing to store. Two decades later, he is president of both Dior and LVMH, with a glittering portfolio of brands that includes Céline, Kenzo, Thomas Pink, Givenchy, Loewe, Fendi, Pucci, Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan - not to mention Louis Vuitton itself. It was baroque, excessive, warm, rich, flamboyant, brimming over with decadence and sex. Even if they could stretch to a handbag or a pair of sunglasses, where did they get the clothes to match? Enter Zara, H&M and Topshop - high-street brands employing talented youthful designers who made enjoyable, fresh creations that wouldn't seem out of location for the Paris runways, and had been sometimes straight inspired by them.

Surviving the Crash

In September 2001, a minor war had been pre-occupying industry-watchers for several months. Arnault had been stealthily buying shares in Gucci with the intention of taking over the company. By 1999 his stake had reached 34 per cent. It seems almost churlish to try to place an event as tragic and far-reaching as 11 September 2001 within the context of fashion. In Time magazine's autumn 2004 Style and Design supplement, an article headlined 'Luxury Fever' commented, 'Despite rising curiosity rates, staggering power prices. Such is the magnetism of fashion.

References:
Fashion
Fashion Trends
Fashion Designers