Sophie about Fashion Week: ‘The fashion world is done with the stunt culture of brands’

NSMBL’s Sophie writes monthly about a subject, trend or brand that moves, inspires or makes her think. The overarching theme? Fashion. Everywhere you look, everything you do, every thought you have… Subconsciously it is all – at least partly – part of a trend or zeitgeist. Times change, styles change, points of view and people change. This way you also stay informed.

Unpopular opinion…?

The birth of Fashion Week

In 1943, the very first Fashion Week – then called ‘Press Week’ – took place in New York. It was originally intended to take place in Paris, but World War II threw a spanner in the works and prevented anyone from traveling. This moved fashion week to New York.

The fashion week was conceived to give brands the opportunity to present themselves to a large number of fashion professionals at the same time. If everyone is in one place at the same time, brands, buyers and the press do not have to travel to a hundred thousand places to do their work. So the aim was to show the latest designs as effectively as possible. Giant smart.

This original goal has expanded considerably in recent years. Brands don’t just want to show their designs, but their entire vision. They want to stand out and preferably create the most talked about fashion moment of Fashion Week – and there is quite a bit involved.

Present, stand out and stunt

This is how shows were created as a moment to stunt. Balenciaga has already had her models walk through a snowstorm and through a mud puddle. Coperni had Bella Hadid sprayed with an ice-cold substance to create a dress live on the spot and let robots steal the show this season. Gucci only ran their show through twins. Beate dropped all their models on the floor. Botter gave models condoms with water on their hands. At Heliot Emil, a – literally – burning man was sent down the catwalk. Victor and Rolf literally turn their designs upside down. Anrealage changed its collection through light and Stella McCartney gave a show in a riding school with a real horse whisperer.

Every show a hype

The most beautiful locations, the most famous celebrities (read: Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Pharrell Williams, Lindsey Lohan), the most special artists, the most absurd decorations (such as Area’s 80,000 flies), the loudest music, the craziest stunts… everything is from the cabinet pulled to make a statement. Of course, this stunting is nothing new. Alexander McQueen already had a model painted by robots in 1999. Nevertheless, the frequency has undoubtedly increased considerably. Where McQueen was the talk of the town at the time because of the performance, it is now the rule rather than the exception that something remarkable happens during a show. A brand’s collection is of course still important and leading for its ultimate success, but the hype culture that social media has created has stunted almost every brand.

Still, I wonder if this stunt really belongs at Fashion Week. Do not get me wrong. I can enjoy a striking look, enchanting act, surreal location or unexpected, surprising elements like no other. However, it seems that many fashion brands are in danger of forgetting something crucial. There seems to be almost no show anymore that really revolves around the quality and purity of a collection. All the fuss is used to make statements, to stand out and – of course – to show the vision of a brand. The collection comes in third place.’

Anything but ready to wear

Of course, the stunts tell a story and give media a reason to write about the brand or translate it to social media. Confusingly, the collections just shown are all about the ready-to-wear items. Clothing that therefore does not belong to the Haute Couture week that took place in Paris earlier this year, but is intended to be worn directly. Now there is no one more than me who encourages a striking look – not a dime a dozen for me – but walking to the office in a burning suit or with water-filled condoms on your hands to the supermarket seems very clumsy to me. In my opinion, the collections were damn unwearable for a ready-to-wear Fashion Week.

Where there is an excess, there is a countermovement. So we may well be on the cusp of change. Who knows, in a few seasons we can really enjoy a (well) unexpected and surprising stunt. I can only hope so.

Milan Fashion Week has spoken: these materials are making a comeback