January usually starts all the hubbub of the "Red Carpet Season" and something I kind of look forward to as we get to watch at least semi-real people wearing semi-real clothes. 

This is Angelina doing her leg thing which caused a whole craze in a new leg look, and probably one of the best outfits on the right after her double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery, not afraid to show a little on the red carpet.  Probably one of the best uses of the red carpet was the dress on the right. 

There's always the fashion crazies out there that we can't wait to point our fingers at and wonder, "What in the world were they thinking?"

And they all thought at the time, "It's the perfect thing to wear!"

But alas, this year is different.  I lament that we can see all these this time of year.  Not only for the humor and fun it brings, but because we can actually see how a garment moves on a person on the runway.  It's also a great indication as to what the "mood" of fashion is more than anything else.

With the Instagram/Social media mob taking over reporting and acting as editors of fashion, fashion has taken a wobbly turn.  And just recently another casualty has bit the dust at a venerable fashion publication, WWD with the departure of a long-time fashion editor Bridget Foley.   Now, I know that WWD nor Bridget Foley are not household names and that's OK.  What I do know is that she did some fantastic reporting and it was coherent and there was actual editing going on. 



I can remember the days that I lived for the latest copy of my WWD to find out what the social divas of New York Society were wearing out to lunch, to read about any gossip in the "Suzy' Gossip" column, and to be ever hopeful of  the Fairchild/Trigère feud would finally end - it never did.  




The remaining venerables on the runway front rows are still Anna Wintour, editor in chief of US Vogue and Tim Blanks who now is with Business of Fashion, bringing cache and respectability to both publisher and reporter. 

The upheaval that the Social Media created with the constant bombardment of fashion news and looks, has created a mob-type atmosphere around fashion show reporting.  If it's not over-played, over-exposed, and over-done, then it doesn't get seen or any attention.  This mob mentality that takes over an industry has to out rival each post, fashion look, runway show and seasons' looks to make it simply noticed, much less anything with wearable and stylish.

This can directly be laid at the feet of the mob rule of fashion editing.  These fashions are not only unwearable, they have lost all sense of flattery, and certain comfort which becomes disconnected and alienating to most consumers.   When each fashion show or look is competing to be more ridiculous than the next, what's the goal?...what's the purpose?...and what are the sales going to be like? 

Couture garments usually cost in the neighborhood of tens of thousands of dollars, and paying that for any of the frocks above is a huge rip-off in my mind.  There's this reaction that fashion must "have a message" or connote some underline cause du jour, which is fine, but fashion seems to have lost all relevance for most consumers as well as to store-buyers. 

So where do they go for their fashion?  Each store has to settle on its own look or style and go from there.  J.Jill has its look, Chico its look, while GAP, Abercrombie and Fitch have another, and Banana Republic has yet another.  Some are tending toward the more classic and some are completely off the scale of normal. 


 
As more and more retire or are fired from fashion media, they good editors are hard to find.  Fortunately Wintour (above left in a simply stunning, modern fashion ensemble and is always someone to watch) has made herself indispensable with the advocating of a museum within a museum at the Met.  The Costume Institute with Wintour as trustee has garnered huge attention and the Met Gala has become one of the must see/must do events of the "Red Carpet" season even though it's mostly held way after most of the awards shows of the first of the year.   While Tim Blanks has ensconced himself at Business of Fashion which has taken a huge chunk out of the fashion publication business.  It's main function started as reporting on the trends, movements and information on the business side of fashion.  What stores are closing, opening, how they are faring on the business side?  But that has led to more reporting on fashion too, in particular the "message of fashion".  Hopefully with Tim Blanks over there, they can actually get to some of the purpose of fashion - to make the wearer feel better, look better and (albeit very rare) be comfortable in his/her clothing.  It's commendable to have a message, but if this is at the expense of the original purpose of fashion, then it leaves open a huge gab that is dying to be filled.

 This is how Vera Wang got her start, when in the middle of the Grunge debacle, she went out looking for a flattering wedding gown and couldn't find one, so she made it and started her business.  With the dearth of beautiful fashion in the 90's, she designed flattering clothing.  She had practical, beautiful, classic gowns and they sold like crazy.

Why this matters to us sewists, is that like a lot of sewing consumers of yore, we looked to the fashion shows to give us reasonable, workable and flattering designs for ideas of what we can do for ourselves.  Even if it is simply a profile, or a whole look that needs a hem length alteration, those sorts of styles aren't even available to us anymore.













There is nothing here that holds even the slightest interest for me (Left Chanel Couture Spring 2021, Dior Couture Spring 2021 and right Valentino Couture Spring 2021).  It's more important to be outlandish and crazy than to have anything remotely akin to flattering fashion.

That's why I love the Red Carpet Season so much.  It at least had a modicum of practicality to it.  You couldn't wear that Valentino pink earring halter thing if you wanted to simply because it would be flopping all about and nothing close to practically modest for the person donning this outfit.  Most of the Red Carpet will be streaming and hopefully will cover the entry (or what is typically called the red carpet part, even though it may not be red), of the stars so we can see them move and work around in their fashion. 

It will also be later than usual, as the Golden Globes which starts the whole season won't be till February 28th.  Usually the Oscars ends the season, and won't be till April 25th. 

So if you're wondering why you haven't heard from me and my usually red carpet posts on Facebook, now you know.  Once some of the shows start up, hopefully I can get on to see them and make comment - the good and the bad. 

 

 

 

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Enjoy! 

 

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