Identity is a real intriguing thing. We date based around it whether its religion and race or gender. But theres this one part of identity i find almost riveting in a certain way but also repugnant in others. That would be the Dating because you wear a certain type of clothes. Akin to dating people for listening to a certain type of music.
Beauty of Artisanal Wear
This is how riveting this is there are people who find a clothing brand and relate to the person who makes the clothes so much; feel the person is telling their story (much like a musician) and wear that persons clothes for the rest of their lives, better still they will only wear this person. I can only imagine what that is like, to want to wear someones designs for the rest of their lives. To feel what this person who has made these clothes have felt, when you touch the clothes you see where they’re coming from, when you wear them you walk in their shoes almost, or the shoes of the person they’re inventing is projecting; possibly kind of euphoric.
Bastardisation of Fashion Houses
The repugnancy of it all is deep and complicated and very precise. Let me explain. In the era I grew up in theres a thing going on, I don’t know whether this has always happened though, there are men, them and women out here who went through phases of dress from department store, school clothes, etc, landing themselves at the discovery of european fashion designers one way or the other and determined this was the upper echelon of dress.
I myself went through phases where i didn’t want to dress like everyone else but wasn’t trying to impress with a name but with my style, wearing particular items together in a way that made me feel good, unique, stylish.
I don’t feel the same energy, what I sense is the discovery of a cult following that has been going on for a few decades now and believing this is the greatest thing a friendship group doesn’t know about, this concerns, Margiela, CDG, Ann D, CCP and the favourite few names of this class. This discovery has led to many new ways of being, the rabid variety, who will bite your head off for not knowing who the designer they worship is, or worse still look down on you for not knowing who their cult leader is, which is the more sheepish part of the personality. They feel it is any different from people who lord Chanel, Gucci, or Louis Vuitton. Where its just the same thing with little known designers from that era.
The Facetious Fashion Industry
I found it terrifying hilarious that there are young guys out there that went through a “phase” of wearing “hyped” clothes as they would put it, – didn’t grow out of it – and ended up pushing the mentality of ‘I have this I am better than you’ on European and Japanese etc. high-priced clothes
I will like to say high fashion is not equal to European made clothes
nor is high fashion a high priced item.
as these “luxury”/Heritage houses have taught us, they have devolved luxury to what the name will bring you socially, which is status and approval from those who approve of your status through your clothes. That their clothes aren’t synonymous with well travelled and artisanally made wears and licenses.
This mindset though has travelled to the mind of the youth who know nothing about well made history of the house. But equate name and brand to the clothes and luxury to the price tag.
All together has made for a diluted system of people who believe hard work in marketing means your clothing brand can be successful and automatically luxury with whose body you’re able to get it on.
The Fictitious Fickle Fantasy of Youth
The Era of clout and trolls has given rise to what I like to call the Avant-Whore a person who uses the same issue with Hype beasts and adds it to the Anti-fashion or more artisanal houses. But has more sensibilities and possibly more knowledge, like a true fashion elitist would.
I have seen Men go from streetwear, a very calm genre of wears on its own, to saying they outgrow it and deciding now it must be only wear [insert off the beat and path designer] clothes. Perfectly fine on its own but the projection of the insecurity comes in when they feel their friends need to be what they’re on, vying for more validity. Or thinking their friends in the click are less acquainted with what “real fashion” is do to their styling or buying choices.
My further analysis, because these people have the power of elitist who also wear the same clothes , the cult followers who buy and trade, and the true fans who will support the designer(s)in question no matter what. This person will decide based on their new attire that they will only date people who dress as they are, as if it were some status symbol or new level of elitism the acquired.
all due to the fact they’re near – people who love it, for their personal desires, or people write on it – they feel an allure of to talk and act mightier than thou. More Accepted than anyone else, more in the know than anyone else.
Enough to project it onto a partner that fashion is their life and if someone else they’re talking to isn’t deep in fashion as well then theres nothing to talk about.
I find it concerning that this thought process even exists, and just thought provoking that there are young people that think like this. I even know there are older people who think this way enough to give fearless kids to take it a step further and project this mindset onto the people outside fashion because those are the people who have less knowledge of fashion than they do.
All in its disconcerting people roam the world thinking this way, as a writing topic and someone who has deeply studied Behavioural psychology and Sociology its a riveting subject to talk about, but as someone who is in fashion and has a high level of fashion knowledge and can’t be effected by these people, I wonder how it is effecting the people who don’t have a good defence on it and are made to feel this way by the shoal of fashion.
Whatever Moves Your Dial
Damilare. Not Your Typical
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