It’s not difficult to be photographed at New York Fashion Week.
Throw on a black and white striped blouse with a pink paisley blazer and hot pants, and then scour a flea market for shoes that are marked vintage, which in this case, really means hideous and discarded. Put it all together in an attempt to look effortless, carry a designer bag, and slouch against a wall at Lincoln Center. Pray to appear on various fashion blogs such as The Sartorialist, Bryan Boy, Garance Dore : chances are you will.
Lately it seems like outlandish is synonymous with fashionable. The more absurdly you dress, the bigger the chance that people will mistake you for a style-settler like Anna Dello Russo or Leandra Medine. Both of these heavy hitters in the fashion world have garnered a large fan base by layering unconventional combinations of designer pieces on their thin bodies. Why is looking like a bag lady suddenly fashionable? Because fashion treasures originality and there isn’t anything left to do that hasn’t already been done. If you live long enough, you will see every trend recycled at least once. Perhaps this is fashion’s last hurrah of individuality. However, in our desperate attempt to look unique we end up sacrificing aesthetics. With this “look at me” mentality getting dressed has become a competition: who can make the biggest impression? Subtlety is almost non-existent.
Of course fashion is subjective and it always comes down to a matter of taste, which is also subjective. The Fashion Police cannot really issue tickets, and risks are encouraged. But dressing to shock in order to be photographed is really just a cry for attention and being gawked at is not the same as being admired for being fashionably dressed. Street style and its bloggers are a fun form of entertainment but Fashion Week should not be synonymous with Halloween.