Friday, September 10, 2010

School has STARTED!

This week in Fashion School we have been having a very interesting discussion about what fashion is for us and for others. I wanted to share some of my thoughts and hear what others think.


For me the most compelling reason for fashion is re-usability. I think at this point the world needs to find more ways to reuse our assets. In fashion this could mean using some really fabulous notions from the era you love so much. It can also mean finding vintage clothes and re-fashioning them into something today. This is especially compelling this season with so many designers giving an inspirational nod to the show Mad Men. The stars of the show were recently on the cover or Rolling Stone and I think they are giving off a modern vintage vibe thanks to their styling but also their deconstructed vintage dress.  I personally love a reconstructed party dress that I feel I am able to modernize but still keep the vintage vibe from. In my everyday fashion I look for functionality but love to add big hair or a fun print to keep it young and hip. 








In our discussion I have the chance to respond to my classmates my mate Emily is very interesting and fun to respond to. She has her own blog you can find it here http://ee-mfa-ds.blogspot.com/. Here is a quote from her and my response.


This connects to an ever present notion in the fine art world, that art is dead, that nothing new can happen because it's all been done. And while the internet and international media have diluted creativity with omniscience, there are people who are still stroking genius and creating heart stopping works (for example in the painting world, Brian Rutenberg). I think the important thing in any creative endeavor is to stay true to oneself and let all the little pieces of experience commingle to create something truly original and honest.-Emily Ellingsworth
When I think about fashion I mostly think of the designs I have seen as often I only see the designer as they take a bow at the end of a show or in some sort of interview. I think the designs should be able to stand for themselves. However I think there is a way as designers that we can live our design aesthetic and become a part of the art through our look. 
To hit on Emilys comment about the the ever present idea of art being dead and seen before. I think that while something may have been seen before in fashion that is partly because those things are what  people want to wear. The first consideration for most designers is their customer and who will wear it. I think designers have the capacity to create something new and never seen but who would wear it. For me in fashion the question of design vs designer begs the question designing for the customer or designing for art? Haute Couture is the part of fashion where I feel more experimentation and creativity can flow. Still in most of the Haute Couture for Fall 2010 I saw new and exciting remixes of old silhouettes.
       Chanel Fall 2010 Couture   Dior Fall 2010 Couture  Gaultier Fall 2010 Couture 
                                               (check out style.com to see more)
I also wanted to comment that I really like your sentence Emily "I think the important thing in any creative endeavor is to stay true to oneself and let all the little pieces of experience commingle to create something truly original and honest." I agree with you and think this is the best way in terms of this discussion for designer and design to be indistinguishable and unique.