It's that time of year again: New York Fashion week.
Christian Siriano, Fall 2013 RTW
From Feb. 7 to Feb. 14, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts was once again home to thousands of fashion connoisseurs and couturiers for New York’s annual Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. This week-long industry event allows designers the opportunity to showcase their Fall 2013 collections to the public for the first time.
February is the first of two major fashion seasons throughout the year; Fall/Winter clothes debut in February while Spring/Summer clothes are shown in September to allow designers the opportunity to market their collection in the following months. These week-long industry events, beginning in New York, are also hosted by three other major fashion capitals: London, Milan and Paris.
While each of the runway shows is an impressive display of sartorial pageantry, “Fashion Week” at its core is about defining what is en vogue. So, what trends can you expect this fall?
In many of the collections, there was a profound sense of retromania with many designers drawing inspiration from previous decades. There was also no shortage of glitz and glamour as many collections featured opulent metallic detailing a la Gatsby. Beading and golden embroidery permeated many different collections. Also prominent was the cosmopolitan influence on the Fall collections. While there were the traditional English and French influences, many designers found unorthodox inspiration in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, from the extravagance of the Russian ballet costumes and the textiles patterns of Istanbul and Marrakech.
Christian Siriano Fall 2013 RTW
BCBG Max Azria, Fall 2013 RTW
While many collections that walked the runway showcased tasteful, innovating designs, the Tory Burch Fall collection fell short of expectations. It was uninspired and deemed by New York Magazine to be “outfits for when you just want to blend into the furniture.” Burch drew inspiration from Art Nouveau silhouettes with lots of floral patterns that would seem more at home on salon upholstery rather than on the runway. The collection felt scattered and surprisingly dowdy with a parade of frumpy, below-the knee hemlines, awkward boxy jackets and odd color combinations. Furthermore, the amount of patterns and embellishments on the pieces was somewhat overwhelming. For a designer who has built a reputation on effortless elegance, Tory Burch left much to be desired with her Fall collection.
Although menswear is more standardized, there were still several exceptional shows. Tommy Hilfiger debuted a collection described by the designer as “Savile Road meets Ivy League.” It was a nod to the brand’s traditional American style, although this time paired with mod London influences. A parade of impeccably tailored blazers dominated the runway with classic patterns such as argyle, herringbone and houndstooth. The Park Avenue Armory runway was converted to emulate the ambience not unlike that of Harvard’s library. The aesthetic was quintessentially preppy with a navy, red and white palette that is indicative of the brand. There were a few unexpected twists in pattern and texture that remind audiences that classic style does not necessarily mean cliche.
Looks like an Ivy library
I SPY AN ASIAN MODEL(he looks bored).
Most notably, the New York Fall 2013 runway shows signal a change in perspective within the fashion industry. American Express’s fashion ambassador Lottie Oakley remarked, “It's not so passe to wear clothes from last season. It used to be that it did matter if what you were wearing was from a few years ago, but now, if it's a statement piece, you can keep it going for a long time." Evocative of decades past, these shows make it so you can delve into your mother’s or grandmother’s closets and still be relevant. This kind of longevity and practicality is not usually associated with the fashion industry, but this change is not an unwelcome one, especially in the wake of a struggling economy.
And since Fashion week is more about looking at pictures than anything else, here are a few more of my favorites:
So because my head was spinning mercilessly for the last couple hours, I decided to take a break from thinking about Chemistry and the Japanese language to watch a little bit of YouTube before returning to my work. Also I haven't written for a couple weeks and this is the first thing I've been inspired by in awhile. So here we go.
In the latest Vlogbrother's video, writer John Green poses the question about whether it's actually necessary to go places to get the true experience of being there or whether seeing it on film is sufficient.
Which is think is a slightly ridiculous question.
While the internet has enabled us to see/read a lot of things basically for free, it is incredibly limited in it's ability to let us experience things.
For example, in the above video Green goes to presumably the National Gallery and looks at a few of the artifacts. From my studies, I've learned that curatorship includes taking a lot of different factors into account like lighting, entire rooms as functional units and galleries themselves to make going through a museum a cohesive experience. These(at least in the above video) do not translate well onto the internet because we've taken them out of context. Things that are tiny in real life can be zoomed in on to seem massive but true scale is also part of the experience of looking at the object. Furthermore, we need to consider the limitations of the camera itself as opposed to examining something with our own eyes.
Another thing to consider is the fact that our eyes are not the only sense that is being used when we are processing events/places/views. Consider the following:
This picture was taken in a small Parisian bakery and a few key aspects of what would be making up this 'memory' are missing. Namely, smell and sound. If you were to venture to this bakery you would be able to smell the baked goods which is REALLY important where bakeries are concerned. Also, the sounds that make up this scene are really important too. There are probably a few people talking in rapid French, some old French songs playing on the radio. Cars whizzing by outside, people talking and laughing as they pass by the window. This photograph has been removed from its original context and that needs to be acknowledged.
The last issue I want to address is the uniqueness of experiences. The memory of places we've been or things we've seen is incredibly personal. Two people can see the same thing and come away with completely different impressions. This is just due to the differences between person to person and that's also something that can't be accounted for on the internet. So while we know what John Green did and saw in London, what would YOU go see and do in London? Probably a lot of different things.
In conclusion, the internet is useful for a lot of things but you ABSOLUTELY can not make the assumption that it is the same thing as going and and seeing something in person. Is it worth it to pay money and go see something live instead of on your computer or on your TV? Well, you should ask the people who buy football tickets versus the people who watch the game on TV. But seeing a vlog of London and standing on the banks of the River Thames are not interchangeable experiences.
