Ever since man has been able to
travel, the secrets of the world have been unraveled, expressed commonly
through design as foreign influences have satiated our inquisitive nature for
centuries. Iconic design movements such as Rococo
(of the 18th Century) and Japonisme
(which reached the height of popularity in the late 19th Century) highlight
the continuous authority of travel on discerning British works of art.
Globally
speaking, fashion is an art form that no one is exempt from, whether you believe
you follow the trends or not, you are liaising with the fashion industry every
time you engage in buying constructed pieces of fabric to cover your modesty
(to put it plainly). Unless you choose to run around naked, which would result
you in undoubtedly being arrested and therefore forced to wear a ravishing
orange jumpsuit (orange is the new black as we all know) or the old fashioned
bold black and white stripes (Chanel was slightly late on the uptake with the Breton), heavily accessorised with the old ball and chain. Both equally chic
and more fashionable than most.
The
fact that it is becoming easier to travel year by year has only fuelled our
quest to search for the unknown; the adventurer gene is brought out from within
us as designers alike look to other cultures for inspiration. The introduction
of mainstream air travel in the 1960s meant that people began to travel with
great speed and the juxtaposition of fashions from other cultures, with
references from our homeland, was conducted with ease.
Historical tourists echo modern equivalents:
designers, students and those looking for something to fill a “gap-yah”, are no
longer content with travelling to one country alone and so instead choose to
globe-trot. The evolution of travel has out grown itself from necessity to
emigration to frivolity and our perpetual need for new stimulation.
The easy-jet generation,
a term coined by it’s namesake (who else?), were deemed as ‘the early riser for the morning cab, last minute packing, full of
excitement generation’, manipulating us into thinking that travelling
economy-class is something to celebrate. And it is, inexpensive equals freedom,
especially when it comes to travel, the world is your oyster (or jellied eel, the
poundland equivalent). With the cheapest flight out of the country being under
a tenner, London is providing more low-cost travel than anywhere else, making it
ever more tempting to pull information, first hand, from all corners of the
globe – with no better cause than to serve fashion.
The media offers us various mutations in reference
to ways of imagining identities and groups, causing material effects on how
people experience the world. There is a process of construction in terms of
building up an image of national culture. As the diverse nature of the media
grows rapidly alongside technological advances, more and more sources are providing
us with their own thoughts on a culture or trend, which are being driven to
extremities. This increasing “interconnectedness” influences us socially,
culturally and economically; three main topics constantly interfacing with
fashion. The total antithesis to how trends travelled country to country in the
18th Century where dolls were dressed in French and English royal
houses, globally distributed, thus igniting a new style. Evidently more gourmet
than our modern day fast food fashion binges, (literally represented by Moschino
and their parodied romance with Macdonalds or Kaiser Karl’s throwaway Chanel
supermarket).
Travel influences not only what we buy, but also
what we are told to buy as voices are given to anyone and everyone with access
to a computer and internet connection. Assaulting us with trends from all
corners of the globe. Talking to fellow Womenswear students at LCF, it is clear
that the juxtaposition of culture and concept assists the ability not only to
consume, but to produce fashions that are inventive and progressive in terms of
how we view popular culture. First year Ryan Sng commented that, as designers “we are attracted by things that are different because
they are new and exciting. I do think it's a problem though, when designers are
lazy and don't go beyond the surface of things”.
While we see fashion as an ever-changing
presence within the modern world, facile representations of the domains of
others are constantly manufactured as costumes from other cultures, barely
reinvented, producing superficial pseudo-stylistic designs. Most recently, Karl
Lagerfeld lazily added only a few tweaks to his collection in Dallas, symptomatic
of the common Cowboys vs. Indians stereotype. Hardly availing his creative
license to convey the world as he sees it. Taking qualm with the quantity of
cowboy inspired garments would be a crude undertaking, however, the depth and
variety of changes within stereotypes cause them to become just that, stale
stereotypes. Are designers utilising the world in which we live (and travelling
to the capacity their wallets will allow) to the best of their abilities?
Globalisation
can have a more positive dynamic on fashion (despite the clichés in circulation),
creating a renewed sense of “local”, in particular, local craft. Dame Vivienne
Westwood, who has previously voiced many outspoken opinions on globalisation
and propaganda, was quoted in saying, ‘the one thing that globalisation has taught us, is we are all on this
planet together and we can’t get off it, so we do have to have some shared
values’. We are not appropriating enough praise to the countries that fuel our
design. References should be made to these cultures, providing recognition
worthy of their mastery. Promoting, not only the designer (belonging to a
dominant society), but also the craft behind the costume.
Lets
not forget our fashion capital, the
rest of the world travels to London too of course. With the glitterati gravitating
to London Fashion Week twice per annum, the works of 58 designers are showcased
to over 5,000 people visiting England’s capital each season, amalgamating in
the generation of at least £100m in sales, a vast cum indeed. The crème de la
crème of journalists, stylists and celebrities travel to rub shoulders with one
another to discuss and gaze upon what fashion has to offer this time around,
only to circulate other fashion capitals the very next week.
With LFW being an opportunity (and an honour)
to represent ones country and boost the economy, why have designers like
Victoria Beckham chosen to frequent other fashion weeks? I debated this topic
with LCF student and ready-made designer in his own right, Christian
Cowan-Sanluis, as he showed his level of understanding by discussing that
although representing the country is necessary to boost economy, ‘designers are
constantly aware of their business and can be swayed by more money or greater
opportunities’. So perhaps their drive to progress is advantageous in
representing Britain overseas, fuelling interest in the products of our small
yet playfully creative island. Contrasting vaguely with the self-affirming high
brow Paris fashion week, for example.
Aside
from the cognitive advantages of modern air-travel towards fashion design, the
postmodernist aspects of globalisation cause us to focus on our own thought
processes. Being well travelled is one of the main ways in which people
subconsciously learn new things. As I previously touched upon the notion of juxtaposition,
the postmodern view on this is that by combining images from all over the
globe, we create pastiches. Alluding to the fact that we may create fashions to
parody and challenge garments of yester-year for comedic or profound effect.
For example, garments for summer, inspired by a colder climate may challenge
the value we put upon the four seasons.
The
catalyst of changing seasons is the amalgamation of postmodernism and
globalisation as we start to see the already ephemeral fashion industry speed
up and morph into fast food fashion, a literal rendition of heroin chic as
consumers the world over pine for their fashion fix. A glimpse of this can be
seen with the introduction of “pre” and “resort” collections, to suppress our
cravings just a little while longer; fashion pushers of the world teasing stylists,
bloggers and purchasers alike. An inflation of this would be seasons to
represent a spectrum of the world’s climate. If technology has allowed us to
travel with ease, fashion must evolve alongside it by collapsing the confines
of seasonal fashion. Travelling to warmer countries, avoiding the inevitable
hibernation period brought by the British winter creates a need for clothing
that corresponds with the forecast; particularly prevalent with those of us who
make it their mission in life to out-trend everyone.
Opinions
on postmodern fashion stretch far beyond trend, towards the ease of judgment
when creating fashion to shock and mesmerise. Atypically,
we are not meant to understand fully the meaning behind a collection, iconic
representations of a culture, such as combining a kimono with your Prada pencil
skirt, are all very well, but influences are often mistakable; as voiced by
fashion critic, Rebecca Lowthorpe, “we are not meant to understand. We are
meant to feel. Like great art – ancient or modern – the pieces [presented to
us] are charged with feeling, sometimes confrontationally”. Dissecting banal global
uniforms in favour of challenging the conventional image. Postmodernism down to
a “T”.
Assimilating
ourselves with the themes discussed does not make globalisation seem any less perplexing.
It is rife with polarising opinions as to whether travel really is beneficial
to everyone or lucidly uses global commodity to permit ongoing homogeneity. We
are no longer confined to the restrictions of class, country or traditions, yet
neither is anyone else.
“Everything has been done before”, a phrase
often muttered at the design table, to which I highly disagree. If we continue
to marry and challenge diverse cultures we surely can’t have exhausted all
sources of stimulus issued to us. The allure of fashion is multi-faceted and
thrives on freedom and fantasy.
