Sharing some thoughts on contemporary fashion design
What is fashion design today? What is it? When everything is already done and nothing new can be made? But you still happen to read news about “the one who complained the other one copied her.”
So what is it when those who started their own collection or image concept already did it by taking inspiration from others and remixing what other designers have already done! Perhaps they don’t even realise where their ideas come from.
And what is fashion design today? When contemporary creatives have no humility to say: ‘I made this’ – and this is my style because I took inspiration from this or that designer who made such a fantastic work.
What is fashion design today? If people praise the ones who complain that another designer has copied them! But for what? For flower prints? Or for flowered head decorations? Really?
Again, what is fashion design today? When everything is possible. So brands who assemble clothes as we’ve seen trillion of times, feel like the new gods of fashion.
And when inspiration and remixing have flattened the fashion industry to such a degree that everything, every brand, looks the same. And doing so has deprived fashion of its DNA, core differences and, in essence, of its meaning.
Can modern designers, creative directors and so on stay humble? If they feel copied, Mr Cristobal should resurrect and say something about endless collections made from his archive! Can people understand there is no true genius in the fashion industry nowadays?
On 14 October, in Florence, Antonio Marras arranged a show making clothes for 20 cancer patients; the defilè – “Sfilata del prendersi cura” (the show of taking care) – was a message of hope. You can watch it here. But, an Italian brand accused him of copying her.
Really?
This sterile controversy made us reflect. First, Marras’ idiosyncrasy has never been in question. Also, bravo for this caring project! In the end, what is fashion design today? It’s about copy and paste. In some cases, following a valuable guiding idea. In most cases -those who tend to complain – pointless reproductions we could avoid seeing. Moreover, it has been done so many times, that the arrogance to claim originality seems out of context.