It might be controversial to make this statement, but in the height of social media, of hashtags and selfies, it would appear that fashion has begun to take itself a little less seriously. It might not be the industry itself that has lost its seriousness and its exclusivity, but the rhetoric that surrounds it most certainly has.
What is trending on social media and Google is often what’s trending on the streets and the blogs. These trends are usually adopted and adapted from the most dominant and accessible items or trends on the catwalk. Admittedly such trends don’t generally tend to be long lasting, but they form quickly and their reach vast, across the whole wide world and its web.
When Jeremy Scott paid homage to the American fast food conglomerate in the A/W 2014 -15 Moschino collection, displaying McDonald’s memorabilia all over the Moschino runway, it looked like Scott had chucked up his McDonalds. The collection wasn't refined nor elegant. In fact it was garish and brash and celebrated a brand that was far from vogue. One wouldn't imagine that the likes of Anna Wintour loved it, but on the whole, the fashion set ate it all up.
Anna Dello Russo and her fellow fashion spectators attended fashion shows with their McDonalds fries phone cases held in their hands - showing them off proudly like they were a statement handbag. The excitement travelled from the runway, to the street style icons, to the blogs, across social media and you know how the rest of that story goes. Who knew the fashionable world could get so excited about McDonalds? The reaction was phenomenal and the internet was there to document it.
Autumn/Winter 2014-15 Spongebob Squarepants led the Moschino pack down the runway. Prior to that, I am sure the only affiliation the cartoon character have with fashion be Marc Jacob's Spongebob tattoo. On the runway of the Spring Summer 2015 models emerge onto the Moschino catwalk looking like real life Barbies, dressed in bubble gum pink, with giant synthetic hair -just like Barbie. Aside from the ongoing Barbie body debate, when was the last time fashion followers gave much thought to Barbie, the fifty odd year old doll? Probably not since Vogue released the Vogue Italia Black Barbie issue in 2009.
The most recent Moschino collection, Jeremy Scott gave the spotlight to thugged out Warner Bros characters, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Taz, Sylvester and Daffy. These iconic pop-culture figures were the characters of Warner Bros Studios Looney Tunes animated series, which began airing in 1939 during the golden age of animation. Of course, how Jeremy Scott selects the iconic figures and brands to head up his collections is interesting, but the ultimate question here is, why any characters at all?
Why are these highly characterised, mass culture icons infiltrating high fashion? And how come the likes of ex-Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld and Anna Wintour aren’t outraged? Possibly for the very same reason that Kim Kardashian has now featured on the covers of both Vogue and the CR book.
Fashion editors have long lost sole control of the media that surrounds it, as bloggers and street style icons democratise fashion and social media becomes a massive part of any marketing and branding strategy. As the landscape of fashion evolves hand in hand with social media, leaders of digital marketing, bloggers and influencers have long found themselves sat in the FROW and in the driving seat of the industry. Just look at what the bloggers, the influencers and the street style icons did for the Kenzo Tiger sweatshirt. Was there ever a fashion show in 2013 without a Kenzo Tiger sweatshirt spotted on the streets or in the audience? And was that sweatshirt ever not sold out?
Then Ricardo Tisci had Disney's Bambi head up the Givenchy A/W 2013-14 collection. It wasn't only bloggers, celebrities and street style icons that joined the Bambi club. Even Carine Roitfeld left behind her open shirt and pencil skirt signature style to pledge her allegiance to the Givenchy Bambi club. When did it ever become so OK to wear what she's wearing and it to be so apparent?
Since the decline of the IT bag, conspicuous consumption has never been so fashionable and the world wide web is just working away, making these trends more conspicuous than ever. Jeremy Scott has mastered the dance between fashion and social media, he has seen what translates from the runway, to the streets, to the blogs and across the internet and he's running with it.
Take the aforementioned Kim Kardashian, despite her mass appeal, like McDonalds and Spongebob, she isn't deemed particularly high-brow. Her presence in the world of high fashion is somewhat controversial, but her reach is wide and her impact impressive. She is not technically a blogger, but her fame definitely relies heavily on the number of Followers, Likes and Google searches she has accumulated over the years.
Of course, Kim Kardashian's affiliation with fashion designer, rapper husband Kanye West has helped her fashion inauguration, but its her mass appeal and her social media dominance, her relevance and her influence that the fashion industry could no longer deny. Is there really any difference between McDolnalds and Barbie to Kim Kardashian?
Fashion has always been fast, but it needs to be even faster to keep up with the demands of social media and the world's ever developing digital state of mind. Statements need to be bold and they need to have mass appeal to have a fighting chance to impress and impact the short attention spans and trends of today. Jeremy Scott has seen what translates from the runway, to the streets, to the blogs and across the internet and he's running with it.
What is trending on social media and Google is often what’s trending on the streets and the blogs. These trends are usually adopted and adapted from the most dominant and accessible items or trends on the catwalk. Admittedly such trends don’t generally tend to be long lasting, but they form quickly and their reach vast, across the whole wide world and its web.
When Jeremy Scott paid homage to the American fast food conglomerate in the A/W 2014 -15 Moschino collection, displaying McDonald’s memorabilia all over the Moschino runway, it looked like Scott had chucked up his McDonalds. The collection wasn't refined nor elegant. In fact it was garish and brash and celebrated a brand that was far from vogue. One wouldn't imagine that the likes of Anna Wintour loved it, but on the whole, the fashion set ate it all up.
Anna Dello Russo and her fellow fashion spectators attended fashion shows with their McDonalds fries phone cases held in their hands - showing them off proudly like they were a statement handbag. The excitement travelled from the runway, to the street style icons, to the blogs, across social media and you know how the rest of that story goes. Who knew the fashionable world could get so excited about McDonalds? The reaction was phenomenal and the internet was there to document it.
Autumn/Winter 2014-15 Spongebob Squarepants led the Moschino pack down the runway. Prior to that, I am sure the only affiliation the cartoon character have with fashion be Marc Jacob's Spongebob tattoo. On the runway of the Spring Summer 2015 models emerge onto the Moschino catwalk looking like real life Barbies, dressed in bubble gum pink, with giant synthetic hair -just like Barbie. Aside from the ongoing Barbie body debate, when was the last time fashion followers gave much thought to Barbie, the fifty odd year old doll? Probably not since Vogue released the Vogue Italia Black Barbie issue in 2009.
The most recent Moschino collection, Jeremy Scott gave the spotlight to thugged out Warner Bros characters, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Taz, Sylvester and Daffy. These iconic pop-culture figures were the characters of Warner Bros Studios Looney Tunes animated series, which began airing in 1939 during the golden age of animation. Of course, how Jeremy Scott selects the iconic figures and brands to head up his collections is interesting, but the ultimate question here is, why any characters at all?
Why are these highly characterised, mass culture icons infiltrating high fashion? And how come the likes of ex-Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld and Anna Wintour aren’t outraged? Possibly for the very same reason that Kim Kardashian has now featured on the covers of both Vogue and the CR book.
Fashion editors have long lost sole control of the media that surrounds it, as bloggers and street style icons democratise fashion and social media becomes a massive part of any marketing and branding strategy. As the landscape of fashion evolves hand in hand with social media, leaders of digital marketing, bloggers and influencers have long found themselves sat in the FROW and in the driving seat of the industry. Just look at what the bloggers, the influencers and the street style icons did for the Kenzo Tiger sweatshirt. Was there ever a fashion show in 2013 without a Kenzo Tiger sweatshirt spotted on the streets or in the audience? And was that sweatshirt ever not sold out?
Then Ricardo Tisci had Disney's Bambi head up the Givenchy A/W 2013-14 collection. It wasn't only bloggers, celebrities and street style icons that joined the Bambi club. Even Carine Roitfeld left behind her open shirt and pencil skirt signature style to pledge her allegiance to the Givenchy Bambi club. When did it ever become so OK to wear what she's wearing and it to be so apparent?
Since the decline of the IT bag, conspicuous consumption has never been so fashionable and the world wide web is just working away, making these trends more conspicuous than ever. Jeremy Scott has mastered the dance between fashion and social media, he has seen what translates from the runway, to the streets, to the blogs and across the internet and he's running with it.
Take the aforementioned Kim Kardashian, despite her mass appeal, like McDonalds and Spongebob, she isn't deemed particularly high-brow. Her presence in the world of high fashion is somewhat controversial, but her reach is wide and her impact impressive. She is not technically a blogger, but her fame definitely relies heavily on the number of Followers, Likes and Google searches she has accumulated over the years.
Of course, Kim Kardashian's affiliation with fashion designer, rapper husband Kanye West has helped her fashion inauguration, but its her mass appeal and her social media dominance, her relevance and her influence that the fashion industry could no longer deny. Is there really any difference between McDolnalds and Barbie to Kim Kardashian?
Fashion has always been fast, but it needs to be even faster to keep up with the demands of social media and the world's ever developing digital state of mind. Statements need to be bold and they need to have mass appeal to have a fighting chance to impress and impact the short attention spans and trends of today. Jeremy Scott has seen what translates from the runway, to the streets, to the blogs and across the internet and he's running with it.
Bambi
Ex Vogue editor and editor in chief of the CR Fashion Book Carine Roitfeld in Bambi Givenchy runway look.
Spongebob Squarepants
Blogger Chiara Ferragani of the Blonde Salad wearing Spongebob Sqaure Pants Moschino runway look.
McDonalds
Streets Style super star and fashion victim Anna Dello Russo wearing McDonalds Moschino runway look.
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Barbie
Helena Bordon style blogger of The Coveteur wearing Barbie Moschino runway look.
Ursula
Ursula from Disney's Little Mermaid on the Bobby Abley runway
Looney Tunes
Moschino A/W15 runway, thugged out Looney Tunes
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