Today, WWD asked the elephant in the room question of the moment: “What’s wrong with fashion?”
One of the featured quotes to the question de jour was by Ken Dowing, Neiman Marcus, who said that, “The customer for Fall is very interested in color and the fashion houses continue showing black, gray, navy, and brown.”
Why I disagree:
1. This spring and summer is all about the bright hues of yellow, pink, purple, orange which will become tiresome come fall when we will gladly welcome a more subdued palette.
2. When that first gust of chilled air blows through the city,women are aware that the tan you acquired and perhaps also that flat beach stomach you were conscious about maintaining will get caught up in the breeze. Dark colors are more flattering to a paler, less toned body.
3. Finally, it isn’t even true. Yes, the main colors of Fall are the four basic darks, but they are usually mixed with rich Fall hues of the ROY G BIV spectrum. Last winter we even had splashes of bright blues and purples. Anything more than a splash would feel ridiculous in 40° weather. Is it just me?
Renzo Rosso, Diesel, had the audacity to say that, “Companies have been focusing less on clothes and too much on accessories.” Since Diesel has never actually had a groundbreaking accessory line, I refuse to even validate that comment with a response. (What Chanel or Gucci did for sunglasses; what Marc Jacobs or Balenciaga did for bags; what Diesel did for…hmm that’s right they didn’t!)
With an economy that is affecting everyone, fashion has managed to at least keep its head above water. Don’t get me wrong. The industry has suffered. But compare that to the housing market and gain some perspective. We have a war, an economic crises, global warming, an uncomfortable fight for a presidency, and yet still a fashion industry that continues to grow.
Everything in the news seems to be pretty dark these days, so what if we dress to match?!
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