Goodness gracious, the collective fashion weeks have been such a snooze fest this round that I'm almost thankful I haven't had the time to pay attention to anyone's runway coverage (though I'm still counting on you, YOHJ JUN VIV...). When it comes down to it, unless you're a fashion god who has their own mythology (and is still adding to it) and has the both the ability and balls to create or re-imagine images/symbols/techniques/etc. that will change the fashion industry as a whole (Lee, here's looking at you, kid), seeing models clad in 'big name' labels going down the runway every six months just seems like a useless exercise that will inevitably produce the same mindless drivel, i.e. unwarranted lengthy narratives that amount to nothing but self-serving hogwash. Then again, I've always hated the big labels that are big just because we're told they are, and reading runway reviews is like reading 'top critic' film reviews - I can form my own opinion, and don't need to know what Mr. Big says about a film I'd never both watching anyway, so it's all just a waste of my time. Time that can be better spent translating Catullus, learning Italian, or reading about literary theory.
Anyway, I do always have time for designers such as Carly Hunter who keep it fresh and don't require us to mine our thesauri and symbol dictionaries to pinpoint just what she's trying to do. I like what I see, and I'd wear it if I could. And, the label is made both locally and ethically. The end.
(Photos via NJAL)
