In the middle of all the hoo ha about The London Fashion Week in September last year Vanessa Friedmen wrote in the Financial Times (weekend edition Sept 20th 2003 ppW1-2)a piece called “Towards a Definition of Fashion” She hung the article on a distinction between clothing and fashion. While given credence to the notion that fashion was in John Galliano’s terms ‘an expression of self’, she was much more concerned with a typology of designers. There were “originators” who were concerned with meaning, technical development and ‘the body’..... fashion or rather clothes as ‘art’. There were “editors” who took the originators ideas and turned them into something wearable, or at least worthy of a place in the wardrobe. Finally there were stylists, the ‘drives of trends and the the creators of looks.
The links below show examples of the work of one of each type as named in the article.
Friedmann hinted at two other points One was the change in the retailing of clothing, once dominated by the buyers chains and department stores linked into the sort of system which the typology presupposes. Now of course department stores have turned themselves into markets made up of ‘editors’ boutiques. The second was that originators produced also wearable designs. This suggested that their freedom to turn fashion into art was constrained by their sponsorship and commercial considerations.
Finally the end user expressing herself ( ‘fashion’ is sexist ), her emotions or joining an in group. Of course the consumer can just buy clothes, present and image, or even revolt become ‘unfashionable’ resisting all ‘make overs’
Originator
Hussein ChalayanEditor
Nicole FarhiSylist
Marc Jacobs
Peter's Notes and Commonplaces
