When fashion takes sides
New York Fashion Week
New York is filled with light at Fashion Week against the dark times after Trump's triumph
Estel VilasecaNew York - More informationThe 'front row' of New York Fashion WeekFashion week is filled with white bandanas against Trump"Our voice is the only thing that will protect us," claimed the t-shirt worn by Jeremy Scott's public relations on Friday night, when his Fashion Week show was held in New York. The designer, who dedicated his collection for next winter to the cult of celebrities, did not want to miss the opportunity to play politics. This small manifesto was a clear act of protest against Trump's arrival in power, which has left the fashion industry in a state of shock: “It is something that affects us in everything we do. And I want to use my voice to speak out against the government. I am not at all happy with the way they are acting. Because they are not the majority. It was not the majority vote and it is not what the majority feels, ”explained a serious Scott after the presentation. And again America and some of her most iconic characters walked on the catwalk. They did it in its most kitsch version, the way Scott likes it: the sixties, the boudoir, the charm of old Hollywood glamour, but in a casual and everyday way.
Scott interpreted the famous Aloha suit, which Elvis Presley first wore in 1973, in different colors. He also cited the white dress that Marilyn Monroe popularized in the Billy Wilder movie Temptation Lives Upstairs and the gold from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Michael Jackson was not missing, stamped on a jacket. Nor the Technicolor and velvety image of Jesus, in clothing and footwear. For Scott, the collection attempts to reflect how people who are famous are held "in such high esteem." “And also to Jesus. And then I thought: This is why we have this lead animator. That he is now president… ”. It was not the first political note of Fashion Week. That same day in the morning, Raf Simons played the pertinent song This is not America (1985), by David Bowie and Pat Metheny, in his debut.
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NYFW falters: Lacoste is also leaving
A few hours after her parade, Lacoste announced that, after 13 years parading at New York Fashion Week, she is returning to Paris. “Going back to her origins”, points out the press release. The return home is linked to the celebration of the brand's 85th birthday and the intention to "make the most of her legacy by highlighting the true nature of her DNA: relaxed French elegance."
After this announcement there are already three brands that are taken off the calendar of the American catwalk. Rodarte and Proenza Schouler also announced just a couple of weeks ago that the next spring-summer 2018 season will show in Paris. Custo Dalmau complained the day before his parade that at the same time of his presentation there were five more parades: "You think, why are you going to parade on a catwalk where you have to share media and communication with five more who will have the same problem? I think it is getting out of hand, it makes no sense.”
The next day in the morning, Felipe Oliveira Baptista, creative director of Lacoste for seven years, made his own reflection on the present. “I think we are in a very dark moment. But we must try to look beyond what we live and see, because if not, sometimes it is difficult to move forward, ”he said behind the scenes. Looking to the future, Baptista takes the crocodile into space to reimagine the astronaut suit. René Lacoste's foray into aeronautics with his company Air Equipement allowed Baptista, the son of a pilot, to offer a new and refreshing perspective on the firm. A visit to Moscow's Museum of the Cosmos and his memories of Kurt Cobain's grunge aesthetic during the nineties added more nuances to this new interpretation of the French classic. Once again and without leaving behind the retro touch that characterizes him, the Portuguese creative director manages to advance the codes of functional fashion. Innovating is not easy “when it seems that everything has been invented”, but for him, the way lies in combining materials, colors and silhouettes in an original way. And so leather and cotton are juxtaposed with nylon and faux fur; iridescent and cosmic tones —lilac, orange, mustard— collide with more neutral ones; and sartorial cuts dialogue with sports aesthetics in a very well resolved collection that does not forget practicality.
Victoria Beckham, who presented her parade this Sunday at the Cunard Building and continued to explore the new rules of femininity, also did not avoid reality: "Of course, so many things are happening in the world, that I think we have to find a way to be optimistic, we have to be positive. And I try to offer my clients, women, very beautiful garments.” Combining tailored jackets with a masculine accent, light skirts and dresses and platforms that give strength, she thinks of a woman who is smart, chic, strong and comfortable with her body. On one flap, she added a note of color and delicacy, a mimosa, a celebration of the feminine: "We have to celebrate women and give them power."
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