The “must-have” frenzied 2000s are already looking like a
fuzzy, unbelievable past. Sex, money and power were the
unholy values that drove fashion – constantly heralding what
was new (thousands of brands entered the market, millions
of products launched), bolder (£12,000 jeans covered in
crystals), bigger (floor-length crocodile trench coats, 7in heels)
and more outrageous (one-wear statement gowns).
It seemed you were either in fashion, lapping up the trends
and sporting the new, or you were relegated to the boondocks.
Over the past decade, designers and brands scaled up
production, delivering a minimum of four collections a year,
with monthly drops, see-now-buy-now initiatives and a tidal
wave of collaborations. As a result, billions of pounds’ worth
of clothes piled up in our wardrobes and in landfill, and
businesses groaned under the weight of unsold stock, yet
scaling back was perceived as a failure. And thanks to the
digital revolution and the birth of influencer culture, there
were ever more channels and people to declare “in” and “out”,
and wave the “been there, done that” flag of boredom. “Fashion
was treated like an addiction – the It-bag, the It-shoe – the
new new new,” says Roland Mouret, who has navigated seismic
changes in the business during his 30-year career.
Decelerating at all levels of the business – from producing
excess samples (often, a third of the samples produced in a
collection never see the light of day) to the pyrotechnics of
the show set – is rapidly becoming a virtue and a sign of an
enlightened way forward. The goalposts are moving because
our appreciation of fashion, and what we need and value in
our lives, is in transition.
This slowdown is already under way. Consider the turnover
rate in trends over the past few seasons. The flying suit, the
pleated midiskirt, the heritage-check blazer, trench coat and
tailored trouser suit are all considered evergreens, changing
in colour and proportion over the seasons. In a curious twist
of aesthetics, stylists are now taking inspiration from what
individuals might look like dressed in cult finds from Depop.
In the case of Louis Vuitton, Victoriana blouses and handbags
fashioned after VHS cassettes are appealing to a generation
of analogue-loving slo-mo fans.
“The industry is going through a period of major
disruption,” says Carla Buzasi, managing director of trend
forecasting agency WGSN. “Consumers are far more
conscious about their buying decisions than they ever have
been. Savvy brands have cottoned on to that, evolving their
pieces and collections, rather than ditching one aesthetic and
jumping to a brand-new one each season,” Buzasi says.
“A lot of this is due to environmental concerns, but I’d argue
it’s also an output of the multiple drops fashion lovers have
grown used to, and how fast fashion has learnt to tweak and
refine a look that’s selling well to keep customers coming
back into store,” she continues. “We are forecasting change
in everything from the production methods of fashion – less
water, organic dyes, responsible harvesting of raw materials- right through to the actual items that we buy; products that
can be adapted and updated, and have a positive impact on the
environment, rather than bought afresh each season. The idea
of the investment piece carries a whole new meaning in the
light of living in a more responsibly sustainable way,” she adds.
Tightening collections and saying no to so-so items is one
bold step forward. In the past year, Mouret has reduced excess
(that means material, endless sampling, time and labour) by
an estimated 35 per cent. “I now do one big concept that is
split into different sections across the year through main and
pre-collections. As designers, we were always like rabbits in
the headlights, designing pieces to feed the demand for new,
then dropping them rather than reusing or redeveloping.
Now, I can go back to ideas and make them really relevant.
It’s a good ethic to slow down and to think again. I really
believe it is the values of a brand that attracts customers, not
just the clothes,” says Mouret, who delivered Berber-striped
kaftans and supple trouser suits in his languorous line-up. In
New York, Phillip Lim 3.1 has reduced sampling by 40 per
cent and upped inclusion of sustainable fabrics by the same
percentage, while eco-activist Vivienne Westwood is aiming
for a 50 per cent scale back in waste by autumn 2020. As
businesses scrutinise figures to calculate environmental
footprint, and the cost of unsold stock, fashion has had to
change pace. It’s a juggling act between the desire for novelty
and the longer-reaching demand for gratifying investments.
“We counterbalance newness and trends by the depth of
product that has long-term appeal. The focus is on buying
the perfect product in each category and looking out for
brands that have a conscious aspect, whether that’s using
vintage or deadstock fabrications, or working with artisans
to support their craft. I think that currently the global shift
is people questioning provenance and looking to brands that
approach ‘fashion’ in a slower way,” says Natalie Kingham,
buying director at Matchesfashion.com.
In this shift, iterations or variations count for more than
radical change. Thus, the balloon-sleeved white blouse usurps
the pussy bow, the waistcoat appears as a top-up on the tailored
look, and gently flaring denims sidle back into everyday wear.
“Things have been happening so fast with brands coming up
and down in the space of one season – how do you react to
that speed? There’s so much being pushed in people’s faces.
There will always be an urge for instant gratification but,
increasingly, I think people are taking a step back and talking
about investment, and talking about luxury, quality and that
coat, that jacket, that dress that will last,” says Ida Peterson,
buying director at Browns. The notion of “long-lasting” does
not have to mean beige, black or navy classics. “The
collaboration between Dries Van Noten and Christian Lacroix- a godfather of yesteryear – created some of the most joyful
designs. Bold and flamboyant can also be timeless,” she adds.
The shift is also making way for a new admiration of
materials and techniques. Who knew what “beetling” was
before Burton introduced the ancient technique of beating
linen to create a soft sheen? Fabric mills and textile manufacturers
are pushing deeper into techniques to create a new kind of
wonder. “Looking ahead to 2021, extravagance is being
replaced by something more discreet, with the notion of things
done well, the appreciation of the weight and substance of
fabric on the body coming to the fore. The customer wants
to know about the yarn and the making, and in that way, the
relationship between consumer and industry has deepened,”
says Pascaline Wilhelm, fashion director of Première Vision,
the fabric fair where collection ideas are often first seeded.
The very subject of time and change is the driving concept
behind About Time: Fashion and Duration at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York. The
exhibition, which celebrates the museum’s 150th year, examines
how trends in fashion can move in both linear and cyclical
patterns. Head curator Andrew Bolton and Wendy Yu, curator
in charge, looked to the works of French philosopher Henri
Bergson and his notion of “elastic time”, as well as Virginia
Woolf ’s centuries-spanning novel Orlando. Via a striking
juxtaposition of pieces – an 1880s bustier dress and an
exaggerated curves design from the Comme des Garçons Body
Meets Dress collection (1997) – the show raises issues of
longevity and sustainability, offering plenty of moments
of contemplation, proving perhaps that fashion is not blindly
hurtling into the future. n
THE GRAND
ARCHITECTS
O F 21S T-
CENTURY
FASHION ARE
CALLING FOR
A BREATHER,
A DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVEJASON LLOYD-EVANS, MITCHELL SAMS03-20-WELL-SeasonMoodPiece_1871988.indd 278 09/01/2020 01:49
278