Or can we bring it back to life?
The most iconic city. The concrete jungle. The city that never sleeps. New York City. This is where fashion lives. This is where fashion roams freely. This is where fashion seemed to be born and where it may die (but hopefully not). NYC is filled with diverse people with diverse styles. Everyone has their own way of dressing which allows them to express who they are. Fashion is a creative outlet to so many people. It is universal and it's something that is shared all around the globe.
Fashion is vital in the world we live in.
The coming irrelevancy of fashion is starting to be more and more noticeable. The shift in the industry has been slowly expected as there have been shifts in society as a whole. Brands, designers, companies, and labels have fallen victim to the crime of fashion's death. Companies, one of the most well-known ones being Barney's New York, have filed for bankruptcy due to multiple reasons, one being a decrease in customers. Barney's wasn't the first: there was, in 2019 alone, Forever 21, Diesel, Roberto Cavalli, and Charlotte Russe, to name a few. And recently, designer Zac Posen was forced to shut down his brand because he did not have enough money to support it. All of this is a huge sign that the industry is changing.
Fashion is slowly crumbling, and it is slowly being clouded out; soon, it will become irrelevant as signaled by bankruptcies, the death of high fashion, and the influence of pop culture.
Filing for bankruptcies have become not so uncommon. As you walk by Forever 21 or Barney's New York, all you will hear are crickets (or nothing at all because the store ceases to exist). Have you noticed more open parking spaces at the mall? Or the shorter lines (or lack of) when you're ready to purchase? Sometimes you even feel awkward walking into the store because you know you'll be in the only one in there. The major fall in retail sale, but major increase in online shopping, has had a large effect on many stores. In the case of Barney's New York, many people were purchasing straight from the brand online instead of going through Barney's. Along with the slow decrease of in-store customers, they faced high rent prices. Many people in the industry have tried to be proactive and help to save the company, but after a short period of time, there could be nothing effectively done, so it was decided that Barney's would shut down all their stores. Closed, out of business—just simply gone. This shook up the fashion world and made people realize how much the industry is actually struggling. A few influencers, including Danielle Bernstein, creator of We Wore What and one of the most well-known fashion bloggers, spread the awareness of the bankruptcy and the overlying issue of it—trying to save the life of fashion—to their followers (at least she tried). Like these influencers, people should be more proactive if they care to keep the fashion industry afloat. If you really believe in something shouldn't you fight to keep it relevant? It's inevitable that the fashion industry is slowing to a stop and it's the duty of all fashion fanatics to be aware and strategize, coming together, to come up with a solution that will keep the engine running—even longer than before. That's the only way to save the fashion world from disappearing.
Although clothes themselves, will never vanish, the art form of fashion is slowly being erased. High fashion has been put up on a podium and praised in the past, but now most people are just walking right past it. The few who stay to admire the beauty and revel in the art that is crafted so meticulously, are the ones who are pushing to keep the walls of the industry standing, but that may not be enough.
Zac Posen, an American fashion designer, has had to shut down his line. Posen is a respected and a well-liked designer who was not able to keep is label “House of Z” afloat in the sale process. Many might ask "Who's Zac Posen?" and that in itself is a sign that the fashion industry is moving into the shadows. Along with Posen, maybe more well known as a Project Runway judge, Marc Jacobs is barely hanging on. This label is dangling from its fragrance and beauty line more than their clothing, which is another testament to the state of the industry. Most recently, Alexa Chung, created by none other than Ms. Alexa Chung herself, has been shut down due to the losses they've been making. The decision to close a brand is not an easy one to make, and for an ICON like Alexa Chung it'll be sad to see it go. Not many people are going to want to splurge on a lot of expensive clothing or accessories all the time of course, but the occasional investment is sometimes necessary.
A world void of high fashion is a world empty of a kind of art.
Many people are being strayed away from high fashion by current influencers—mostly YouTubers—who understand their audience and promote many dupes that look similar to the original but are half the price. Watching videos titled "Balling on a Budget" or "Looks for Less" people are guided towards companies that sell pieces that look exactly like the designer but for a lot less (I admit I am sometimes that person too). It's not a bad thing that people are becoming more conscious of their money but investing in a piece of clothing that you know will last you years and will constantly wear is important too. It's all about finding the balance--like anything in life. The lack of this is a factor in pushing high fashion faster to its death.
Influence by pop culture has had a hand at glorifying high-end designers and making audiences want more expensive clothing pieces. Fashion was highly idolized in the past. People dreamed of having the newest tweed dress from Chanel or the iconic Fendi Baguette Bag. One of the most popular shows focused around fashion was Sex and the City. Every episode the audience would be mesmerized by how much Carrie Bradshaw was mesmerized by clothes. Watching her grow her collection of Manolo Blahniks made people go out and buy them too. By 2000, Neiman Marcus alone, sold 30,000 Manolo's a year just from the influence of Bradshaw.
Who in our generation has watched the complete series of Carrie Bradshaw's life? Who knows what Manolo Blahniks are? Not very many people. It’s not that it is vital to know all things fashion, but it is vital to acknowledge that the industry is some peoples' lives. It can be easily assumed that employment in the fashion industry is slowly falling by looking at past statistics and millions of people are losing their jobs (more now than ever because of the pandemic—but that’s a whole other story). By allowing fashion to be pushed into darkness, it is also causing peoples' dreams, passions, and ways of life to be thrown out the window. Like anything this country fights for, people should come together to fight to help keep fashion alive—even if they think it isn’t that important; do it for the people losing their jobs or for the weakening economy. Fashion isn't just fixed within fashion; it goes hand in hand with the events going around the country—even the world.
Fashion is (or was) alive all around the globe—it’s a universal language. People who are fluent in it are constantly holding on to their love of it and are doing their best to pass that love along to people they meet. Fashion isn't blinded by the spotlight; it shares the stage with other issues going on in the world. Fashion can be reflective of the economy. Fashion is related to politics. Fashion has a relationship with science. It isn't something superficial; it's something genuine. Yes, it has had a bad reputation in the past: killing animals, making people think they must look a certain way, being too exclusive. However, it's 2022 and people in fashion understand and believe that all of this must be changed—and it is being changed. Many brands and labels have made an effort to produce sustainable clothing, to advertise to people of all different body types, skin colors, religions, etc, and have been widening the doors to the fashion world. The industry of fashion has and is still developing to be all-inclusive, so let's resurrect it from the dead.
XOXO, JKIM
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