Fashion Week is entertaining for many reasons, the main one being how seriously so many people take the ridiculous spectacle.
Currently, Fashion Week is going on in Milan, London, New York...all the world's most fashionable cities. Those of us not chic enough to take part must content ourselves with flashy photos delivered to us by the DailyMail.
I don't understand Fashion Week, and maybe that's because I don't know enough about it. The way I always see it represented, though, is by uncommon-looking models wearing absurd outfits, with celebrities and designers in front rows watching them try to strut their stuff without tripping or laughing.
How did this all begin? Did some eccentric designer finally go off his rocker and create a collection so mind-bogglingly bizarre that the audience mistook it for modern art, and reacted in the pretentious, "I get it" way expected of them?
I personally think it's all a big joke. Model-of-the-moment Cara Delevingne took to the catwalk in a get-up that would make an Eskimo feel self-conscious. Such silliness must account for her persistently cheeky smirk.
Mick Jagger's daughter modeled a child's sized patent leather jacket that sprouted a tail that sprouted orchids out of her shoulder to high praise. Then there's fashion legend Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel. The look for which he is famous is Puritan preacher meets undertaker meets biker gang meets old maid. And he's considered a genius. A mad genius maybe. Emphasis on the mad. It's genius the way he's managed to make insanity in vogue.
Perhaps everyone in the fashion world suspects it's a joke, but lives in fear of being the first to let his guard down. They go along with it. Case in point (fast forward to 3:40):
These over-the-top clown clothes are neither functional, flattering, nor aesthetically pleasing. It's no wonder Anna Wintour and Lagerfeld wear dark glasses to runway events.
Some styles hit the mark, but that's mostly because they surprise us with, "Oh! that isn't not that weird. I could actually wear that."
My point of all this is, what's the point? Why does Fashion Week exist? It's not inventive, innovative, or artistic. We haven't come up with new ways of wearing clothes in about 500 years. At least car shows showcase futuristic models that do neat things, even if they do tend to be on the garish side. And dog and flower shows are a competition for good breeding. All Fashion Week implies is that we'll all look like freaks in the future.
I don't hate Fashion Week, and I definitely don't hate fashion. I just think Fashion Week is a silly farce, and I want the fashionistas of the world to know I'm in on the joke.
