Dior Homme Spring 2007
The last great change in men’s fashion came when Hedi Slimane graced us with his designs through Dior Homme. While there, he redefined the male silhouette by sending out models who were skinny, pale, and androgynous. He introduced to fashion an aesthetic that had been lurking around the daring underground of rock’n'roll, punk, post-punk, etc; and, consequently, slimmed men’s tailoring for some time. Look at these glorious, skinny boys in tight pants and slim blazers! It was powerful in a way that these people; these clothes shouldn’t be. Boys looking like girls shouldn’t, by society’s standards, exemplify power, yet, here they were–are you a boy or are you a girl?. It was a wonderful, WONDERFUL time in men’s fashion.
That’s not to say that looking unhealthy was something to be idolized. It’s not cool looking at an Hedi Slimane Dior Homme clone walking down the street and saying, “Geebus, the new street solider needs a sandwich!“ It’s not about one’s perception regarding how these people achieve their waist size (toilet+self-induced vomit=DIOR READY!) or perceptions of attractive body image (Who I’d Like to Meet: skinny boys in skinny jeans SO HOT) . It’s about the position that androgyny took in male fashion. I’ve discussed this a bit in a previous post. Who needs bulging biceps and man tits when menswear could be shared by all. Since you can’t discern if these are girls or boys, suddenly there was this venn diagram in fashion (and it wasn’t forced too). Indeed, there will always be MENSWEAR and WOMENSWEAR, however, in the middle was Dior Homme. As a result, women were just as invested in the designs of Hedi Slimane as men. Hedi Slimane smeared the definition of form, in turn, leaving an aesthetic that affected the fashion of both genders for some time.
Raf Simons Fall 2009
On the other hand, nothing stops the party. If there’s been any time to keep the party going, it’s now. It’s time, even for a fleeting moment, to put our concerns behind us. After all, there’s always tomorrow right? Can we please have fun now?
Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall 2009
PROTECTIONISM
Two of the biggest components in the equation for economic success are:
1) The consumer (i.e. people have to spend)
2) Exports (i.e. people have to buy our shit)
Two of the biggest components of our economic problem are:
1) People aren’t buying shit (i.e. even Wal-Mart’s been having problems)
2) People don’t want to buy each other’s shit (i.e. ‘Buy American’ or the European Union having trouble keeping itself together because of countries that are starting to make protecting their own backs the top priority–as opposed to working to protect the union as a whole–and a diverse Eastern European economy that, as a whole, is challenging the EU to define its absolute protective reach)
The key concept here is that everyone is playing for their own interests. The banks, the consumer; the countries are all protecting their assets. In a world of this nature, the skinny, adrogynous thing is only serving to bum everybody out.
In a recent 10 Man interview, Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci pointed out that fashion is returning to manlier–in the classic sense–models. There’s mention of the idea that fashion is always searching for the perfect male form in a way similar to Hitler’s search for the ’perfect race’. Just like Hitler; however, fashion is finding out that the world around them is too idiosyncratic to be so ideal. Regardless, again just like Hitler, fashion will always search for that defining form because it helps them cope with the pain of human frailty.
When Hedi Slimane first rolled out his delicate models, it came during a time when things were superficially “alright”. Any financial problems we were about to endure were lurking underneath the boundless possibilities of ignorance. Indeed, there were wars to be fought, wars to be ended, Bush senior advisors to indict, and U.S. Attorneys to be laid off; however, these could be dealt with at another time; with another administration. Right then, the kids were alright. If a boy dressed like a girl it’s because he could be fragile and didn’t need to fight anyone’s fights. That’s for those military jarheads and such. When a girl dressed like a boy, she was fighting the fight. She didn’t need the boys to have fun.
Suddenly, people started losing money, wars were taking too long, and the President was blatantly trying to live outside the law. Now that being overtly fragile or overtly strong isn’t a facade, everyone’s suddenly reverting to classically tired social conventions. In fashion, as the observant Riccardo Tisci pointed out, the true MAN is coming back.
From (L) to (R): Emporio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Dsquared² Fall 2009
You’ve probably already discerned the reasoning behind this. This is the classic; Greek male right here. Suddenly, we need the chiseled male as some iteration of strength. If the male model could ever get close to the aesthetic image of the ‘perfect race’ (minus the necessity for blonde hair and blue eyes of course) than these beefcakes would nail the audition. On one hand, you have the idea that big muscle equates to sufficient supplies of protective strength. I mean, who’d want a scrawny bouncer at the door anyways? However, it’s also a bit Platonic in the sense that if we stare at their form it gets us closer to understanding perfection without even getting close to perfection. I like The Republic and that’s why I mention it from time to time and, in this example, these men–chiseled chin, muscle definition, and all–aren’t perfection. It’s just a fake. In a crumbling world; however, thinking that perfection exists might be enough of an escape to help us get through it all.
That said, I much prefer it when designers use the design to get their message across. Earlier, I talked about the “one who embraces the gloom”. There’s something more relevant to me in being more pragmatic when it comes to conveying a certain mood. Like stated, I thoroughly enjoy Plato’s Republic; however, I also respect the legitimacy of the artist and their ability to use their medium expressively. When a designer utilizes form and color to get across a certain emotion–in this case practicality and, ultimately, fear–that’s much more tangible than staring at Michelangelo’s David wearing 20 different outfits.
From (L) to (R): Prada, Raf Simons Fall 2009
Yohji Yamamoto Fall 2009
From what I’ve seen, that is the most indicative image from Fall 2009. It’s my favorite one too.
//Vladimir Sorokoskev
that last image is the most evoking for sure