The Dilution of the Trend
Adrian
“The Return of Grunge”. “The new, voluminous silhouette”. “Black is back!”
Headlines from the September 2006 Vogue? Possibly, but I beg to differ.
Sure, grunge, volume, and black are huge trends for the upcoming fall season. But, wait a minute, haven’t these been the same few trends for the past three of four seasons? In fact, the return of grunge was first heralded back in 2003 by the New York Times’s in an article by Ruth La Ferla, “Smells Like Grunge Again”. The new volume? Did that not make its first appearance on the Yves Saint Laurent runway in 2005 in tulip shapes skirts, when Stefano Pilati first took the reigns at the iconic house? And ‘Black’? I can date ‘Black’ being a consistent, season-after season fall trend to the days of Tom Ford’s departure, with his inky-hued dresses and gothic-inspired blouses slithering down the spot-lit runway
This summer, I happened to be in the club district, walking aimlessly through the streets of downtown Toronto. Aside from the distressed, American Eagle/Abercrombie/Stitches jean minis and Christian Louboutin knockoffs, I was blinded by one universally-worn object: a belt. No, not just any belt, but a thick belt, often in red, white, or black, and in some short of shiny, leather-look-alike material – I am sure you all know which belts I am taking about. Yes, particularly those who watched Yves Saint Laurent’s 2005 spring show (presented in 2004) the same show that first brought the return of the voluminous, bubble skirt. It is now 2006, more than 2 years after the thick belt (yes, the belt that returned the focus to the waist - the new It-zone) was first shown on the runway and yet, I argue, it still hasn’t hit the main stream, considering it is still being touted by the MisShapes crowd.
YSL SPRING 2005 RTW
It really comes down to our obsession with speed. Think about it? Ferrari cars, fast food drive thrus, how quickly you can get into Paris Hilton’s dress – it’s all about throughput and, maybe, just maybe, we haven’t got there with fashion yet. Am I asking trends to come and go quicker? Do I want to add even more dispensability to the clothing we all adore? No, not particularly, but let’s be honest about it - Next time you tell me “Black is black”, just add “for Consecutive Season #7283”
