Fashion has long held a reputation as a particularly
frosty industry, fraught with The Devil Wears Prada-
style animosity and long-standing designer rivalries.
“It’s a story that goes back at least as far as the dislike
between Chanel and Schiaparelli and the isolation of Cristóbal
Balenciaga,” reflects Vogue’s contributing editor Sarah Mower,
of a tradition maintained by everyone from Karl Lagerfeld
(who famously loathed both Azzedine Alaïa and Yves Saint
Laurent) to Charles James (who vocally resented everyone
from Diana Vreeland to Halston). “For a long time, this veiled
hostility between houses created a fortress mentality,”
continues Mower. “It was just the way things were, and it’s
where fashion got that reputation. In London in the ’80s and
’90s it was no better – in fact, it could be vicious!”
Recently, however, a new energy has swept through fashion.
Designers have become each others’ biggest advocates, with
collaborations de rigueur, and a warmly familial spirit the new
norm. Case in point: if you email Virgil Abloh, you swiftlyreceive a cheery response from his personal assistant, Athi,
who will tell you, “It is such a joy hearing from you, thank
you so warmly for your dear message; we hope that you have
such a splendid rest of the day!” It’s certainly a far cry from
the clipped tones of Miranda Priestly’s receptionist.
“It’s difficult to tell exactly where the shift is, but I choose
to believe it’s there,” reflects Abloh. Having grown up within
community-minded streetwear culture, he has upheld the same
principles within the ivory tower of Louis Vuitton, where he
is artistic director of menswear, as he did circling its walls.
“Ultimately,” he says, “being divided as a fashion community
isn’t alluring to me.” Abloh, who has experienced its
impenetrability first-hand – he was refused entry to shows
during his years as Kanye West’s creative collaborator, and a
barbed commentary still occasionally surrounds his success- is a prime example of the new age of “friendly” designer.
Not only does he know how to command hype better than
almost anyone, but he learned his trade while sleeping on
Kim Jones’s Maida Vale floor; is regularly seen sitting front
row at the shows of friends, such as A-Cold-Wall, Heron
Preston and Alyx; and often proclaims his clan’s successes to
his four-million-strong Instagram following (his stories offer
an introduction to a new wave of international creatives from
filmmakers to young designers).
He’s not the only one using social media to shout out his
peers: Marc Jacobs, a prolific shopper, is regularly seen flaunting
wares from Prada, Celine and Balenciaga (Gucci’s Alessandro
Michele sent him an array of custom-designed boots to wear
for his wedding earlier this year; #gratefulnothateful, posted
Jacobs next to his floral-printed Gucci shopping bags). In
fact, during February’s New York Fashion Week, Jacobs went
so far as to stage the young Japanese designer Tomo >
How fashiongot friendlyFroideur is out, fellowship is in... OliviaSinger meets the designers championing thenew, collective mindset. Illustration byJean-Philippe DelhommeTRENDS09-19-FOB-FriendlyFashion.indd 159 09/07/2019 09:50
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