Costume jewelry has been a part of our fashion culture for the past 300 years, and infamous collector Barbara Berger has hers on display at New York’s Museum of Art & Design, her venue of choice. Daughter of an American diamond merchant, you could say jewels run in her blood. However, her passions were the more affordable cubic zirconias and semi-precious gems found in the vintage Hollywood style statement pieces.
This recession is creating two movements with today’s generation. Many were told by our parents to study hard, get a degree, and we’d find a job. We believed if you do what you love, money will come.
Not that this advice is not true, they just forgot to tell you the other half. You’re going to have think on your own and fight for it. There is no handbook. College does not equal a career. As a result, many are angry feeling duped and unprepared for today’s market.
So I’ve been watching the dramatic increase of women in the workplace and entrepreneurship in response to the recession. Women are 50% more likely to start a business according to Forbes.
“On Sunday, I’ll be presenting my first collection at Lincoln Center, the pinnacle of creativity where artists from all over the world show off the spectacular work they do. Thinking back to when I was a little girl growing up in Romania designing dresses for my dolls, it’s so surreal to think that I am now one of those artists!” Lorena Sarbu writes in her blog.
This year the Occupy Wall Street movement got the attention of the world and last year it was the Tea Party. However, this post-modernism has long been culminating before the recession. People have been disenchanted with the ideals of capitalism waxing and waning since the 1870s.
“Do you think we’re going the right direction?” My journalist companion Emily Suarez glares at me in disbelief like she did Lindsey Lohan when the woman drunkenly freaked out at our Editor-In-Chief for taking a photo of her.
“Relax! I see the tower soaring above the trees in front of us.” My first time covering Paris Fashion week and I conveniently had the chance to visit the Eiffel Tower and see the Argentine Designers show in one shot. That is, if we make it to the show in time. We arrive underneath La Tour, locate the check-in area, and are relieved to find that we are not too late.
We shoot to the entrance and are directed around the 150-so people in queue through a sectioned off opening. Then we are regrouped with the tourists to be funneled into the single elevator. Some members of an American tour group notice our special access and audibly comment, “Hey, they’re jumping the line.” Yep! We have business.
While we make our way to the lift, a guy from the same group actually attempts to let us pass explaining that the rest of the tour was still behind. However, another sir, a senior citizen with a Texan accent, was appalled.
“No, we’ve waited here an hour and half. They gotta wait just like everybody else!”
“We have some place to be,” Emily responded. Again looks she shot Lohan come to mind.
“Well so do we!” The man retorted and started trembling. He reached into his pocket, shook out some prescription pills, and jammed them down his throat. Damn.
The next elevator finally arrives and fortunately we make it to the show without getting mauled by our compatriots.
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The show consisted of Argentine brands Claudio Cosano, Cardon, Di Domenico, Gabriel Lage, Iaia Cano, Jorge Ibanez, and Laurencio Adot. The starkest contrast between the Argentine Designers from the previous Paris Fashion Week exhibitions can be summarized by the unabashed presence of the straight male’s perspective. This was true in both the designs and presentation. Not to say an architectural bondage-inspired dresses isn’t hot, but the Argentines give sex in a way the average man understands. Yes, this includes the t-shirt and khaki clad Americans by the elevator. The dresses don’t necessarily show excessive skin, but they hug the body and emphasize the hourglass shape. A gown that features the shoulders, is fitted from the bust to either the butt or knee, and flares below to the ground is a typical silhouette.
Instead of the models looking like pissed-off alien zombies, they have curves, a healthy glow, and some even smile. They flirt with their eyes and bodies rather than acting like a coat hanger. One model in a kimono style chiffon yellow tunic seduces the audience with an Arabian catwalk. The hairstyles are either pulled back in nuptial updos or simply down. The makeup essentially is mainstream “club girl”: foundation, blushed apples, and smoky eyes. Again, there’s nothing too weird, just pretty for our dude.
As much as there are undertones of judgment in my voice, the type of sexuality these dresses bring is not only what the average man wants but what the average women wants. By having models that demonstrate how confident and happy they feel in the gown, they sell the product. Besides, after show after show of Parisian, avant garde, minimal designs, watching one that is womanly, embellished, and accessible is refreshing. The show isn’t so serious. The music makes you want to dance.
Nonetheless, the attention to detail and construction is no joke. Various uses of painstaking beading, embroidered lace, and artfully placed ruffles that accentuated the female figure made each dress special. These details must have taken weeks and a few seamstresses’ eyesight to execute. Impressively, an Argentine fashionista actually complained that the dresses showcased didn’t do the country justice explaining that their designs are often even more meticulous with corseted construction and further embellishment.
Finally, whether the woman is coming or going, the way the chiffons, fringe, and ruffles move with the body is mesmerizing [see video]. An example of this is a suggestively nude colored gown of Gabriel Lage that’s covered in delicate lines of sequence. It has a neckline chiffon ruffle that drapes itself over the left arm and silver satin fringe decorating the bottom that flutters with every twist of the hip. Another is a black and white dress by Claudio Cosano whose energy has the audience begging the model to walk the runway twice. The body of the dress is made of black taffeta with a side slit that nearly exposes the hip. The feature that requires the encore is the hypnotic black and white wide striped train that begins gathered above the rear and flares to the floor where it drags two feet.
Ironically, as disproportionate the anger from the American tourist was, it reveals the tension and misunderstanding between Fashion and everyday people. Albeit, gowns and formal wear is a limited market, maybe the Parisians and Americans could take note of the Argentine marketing approach, leave some of the elitism, and consider the lay people.
I attended Seoul’s 10 Soul, which featured ten of Korea’s best talent and eastern-styled hors d’oeuvres served in all courses from appetizer to dessert paired with refills of bubbly. As a cultural observer on a tight budget I found this highly appealing. Overall, one of the starkest differences I noticed between Paris Fashion Week and New York’s was the abundance of complimentary food and wine. Anyways, back to the fashion.
The Tranoï tradeshow is famous for combining creativity and business in Paris’ prestigious locations. This women’s Spring/Summer 2012 season with 160 contemporary designers at Palais de la Bourse, 250 edgy & avant garde designers at Carrousel du Louvre, and 45 high end & cocktail dress designers at Espace Montaigne is no different.
