The Fashion BusinessSo how might the meaning of the style be assessed? The various attitudes
that are reflected in minimalist designs discussed – the controlled, confident
elitism of Armani and Sander, the avant garde modernity of Chanel and
McCardell, the intellectual introspection of the Japanese designers, the edgy
urban cool of Prada and Lang, and finally the decadence sparked within the
recent trend in pared–down–dressing presents an interesting complex of
meanings. What do all these strands imply about the contemporary minimalist?
Minimalism may strip down garments to their basic form, provide an escape
from clutter and confusion, but is the resulting ambiguity of pervasive
simplicity fulfilling in itself?
In Calvin Klein’s advertisement campaign of autumn/winter 1998/99, the
mood was not languid and confident as in the earlier Gucci campaign. The
models appeared tense, the outside world of grass and trees seemed distant
and cut off from them, as they sat in a claustrophobically Spartan interior.
Amy Spindler of the New York Times described these Steven Meisel images
in terms of alienation, saying, ‘they are images depicting the height of
isolation, figures in close proximity but their eyes never meeting’. For her
minimalist designs had become a distancing device, the blankness of the
clothes’ surface hiding the wearer’s identity from prying eyes. The pervasive-
ness of these basic garments turned them into conformist anonymity rather
than allowing the space for introspection. Indeed for her there was anxiety
rather than tranquillity in the scene. She went on, ‘What if nothing was
happening, and we finally had time to sit and think, but our minds were as
minimalistic as the room, as blank as our faces, and as empty as our eyes?’^18
So is the escape into minimalism of the last years of the twentieth century
a mask for our anxiety? Perhaps, but this style also provides a space that
can generate new ideas, new definitions, that are harder to create in more
defining fashions. Marc Jacobs’s designs for Louis Vuitton of autumn/winter
1998/99 demonstrated the easy-to-wear forms that minimalism generates,
and the gentle lines they create around the body, flowing softly around the
figure, rather than restricting or idealizing it. These clothes also marked a
shift in attitude towards prestige brands, and at the end of the decade a
number of more progressive designers were recruited by luxury brands to
revive their profiles, most notably, Martin Margiela at Hérmès. His first
collection for them in 1998, consisted of deceptively simple reversible short-
sleeved sweaters, worn with soft suede gauntlet gloves, and gentle long skirts.
Rather than the challenging designs that he is known for, the look created
was simple and luxurious. But, as Sarah Mower wrote, ‘What more mordant
- Spindler, A. M. 24.3.1998. ‘Tracing the Look of Alienation’,New York Times.