FASHION INFATUATION

What is it with fashion week? How can I love it so much and at the same time have thoughts of escape and new horizons when I have to talk about it?
Keeping up with the shows always ends up becoming a frenzied choreographic act which sometimes saps my energy, making me wonder about the nonsensical nature of the theatricality on display! Fashion seems to speak a distinct language, with its transitory and fleeting trends, a rapidity of movement which demands equal rapidity of execution (think Top Shop), it has its own social reality accompanied by a capricious power over others. But despite all this, ever since I discovered my mother’s wardrobe as a child and inquisitively watched her put together the most beautiful outfits, fashion has become an irresistible passion. The shows are an intoxicating experience which often transport me to a timeless and fragrant space, a spectacle sometimes so alienating that 70% of it just remains a fantasy. I’m always aware that there is a radical separation between the beautiful dreams born from creative imaginations and the materialisation of these dreams into daily life. In recent years, I’ve discovered that the key to it all is to approach this circus as a spectator capable of taking a step back instead of immersing yourself completely. Like an amateur detective, you need a speed of perception allowing you to distinguish which pieces will best translate into the streets and sales, you need to find the accessible element. I love deciphering the influences behind collections, recognising the ideas and essence of a show, finding timeless treasures. The bombardment of colours, textures and cuts on the senses is an unqualified pleasure. Fashion is a fascinating spectacle in transition: it’s always been about change, the constant unravelling of the new, individuality and the inventive in any direction. But often its effect is the reverse and encourages conformity. How many fashion editors, stylists, models etc were recently seen wearing Balmain’s structured shoulder jackets? So many that Christophe Decarnin is successfully perpetuating uniformity!
Anyway, now that shows are over I can go back to more normal activities (finishing to watch Ugly Betty season 3, reading “The Magician’s Assistant” and calling my sister two or three times a day – ha ha ha).

Photo: I'm not sure where it comes from. I saved it a long time ago without making a note of the photographer or stylist.