THE EXCESS OF FASHION IS ENDING IN EXCESS
It has been hard to ignore all the talk around the blogosphere about the excess of fashion, especially since the publication of Suzi Menkes controversial article 'The Circus of Fashion'. While I personally disagree with her comments in some regard, I also admire her courage to speak out about the blurred line between what is genuine and what is simply not because in the end a lot of what she writes is undeniably true. I've read a million responses to the feature, both for and against, and yet I find myself opposing none.
The fact that the fashion industry is forever changing is no secret, but in the light of the radical digital era and large scale global accessibility, it is evolving faster than ever. Is it so wrong then that every individual now has the chance to contribute to a once closed-off industry that only a select and privileged few could experience? While I admit personally that street style snaps have lost their unique and raw edge that once hooked me, I also find myself avoiding some blogger platforms due to a general feeling of insincerity. After all, the reason I am so passionate about fashion blogging is due to its bona fide integrity - what you see is what you get.
So I ask, is it then perhaps us that are not particularly accepting of change, so much so that we're comparable to the conservatives of the 50's and 60's? Or have we just reached the declination stage of another trend in the fashion cycle? The excess of fashion is certainly coming to its over-saturated end, where just a few will rise above obsolesce to become classics.
And so we find ourselves embracing 'paired back looks', what I believe to be a direct response to the cycle where the pendulum has swung from one end of the scale to the other - from excess to minimalism, just as the fashion of the 90's retaliated the indulgence of the 80's. I for one am jumping for joy for the reconstruction of 90's fashions in form of the 21st century, as my wardrobe is full of fabulous monochromatic basics.
In the end street style and blogging will grow and adapt to a zeitgeist, just as trends have and will.
One Teaspoon boxer shorts via General Pants Co. (on sale here),
ASOS sweater (similar here) and denim shirt,
ASOS sweater (similar here) and denim shirt,