I think we’re slowly sinking into a fashion low tide. The marvelous Bill Cunningham of the NYT recently informed us that if grey isn’t the new black, it’s the next closest thing. Likewise, the Sartorialist has been documenting nigh countless incidents of it around the globe.
I don’t fundamentally have anything against grey. It matches every other color, and can look downright dashing. But what world are we living in where even Carine Roitfeld is caught wearing it head-to-toe?
And if grey weren’t enough, Hilly recently pointed out to me that the hipster contingent appears to be bringing back that blandest part of the 90s, best documented on Rosanne. Imagine a palette in which there is neither bright red nor purple nor any decent shade of green. I know we’re in a recession, but last I checked there isn’t a color tax.
Aside from these palette problems, a lot of the spring collections I’m seeing are so damn derivative that I’m ready to hide in my hole for another six weeks and see if something better happens next season. Not that they even count, as I’ve never been that fond of Libertine line (nor its designers; Hartig made me want to punch his daylights out with this request for a straight-acting or straight boyfriend), but their latest menswear is especially deplorable. It’s like a Mannerist take on preppy punk, with random patches and sharpie-esque portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and others covering everything like a mold:
Libertine's sharpie line
Yawn. Seriously, What. Is. This. Bullshit. 2009 Fashion World, we are in a fight.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
I blame the economy. For instance, my female students cannot afford pants so they walk around in tights. I want to tell them how idiotic they look, but how can I mock their poverty?
Reply