NEW YORK, United States Whatever happened to the street in street style?

As intere
st in street style grows, theres certainly no dearth of images featuring tony edi
tors, buyers and other fashion insiders captured at the worlds major fashion week
s. But theres a pointed lack of inspiration in these pictures. Too often, they re
flect a highly merchandised construct that merely reiterates the seasonal themes
dictated, top-down, from the industry to consumers, at the expense of true pers
onal style. Sometimes, they are even part of a premeditated marketing plan.
When legendary street style photographer Bill Cunningham hunkers down on New Yor
ks 57th Street and Fifth Avenue to document the passing parade, he aims to captur
e real people in their real clothing living their real lives, something closer t
o reportage than public relations. But during fashion week, where an increasing
number of street style images are now captured, so-called street style stars are
often seeded with (if not gifted) pieces from designers in the hopes that they
will be shot in them, earning brands exposure. Indeed, many of these street style
images are now so constructed that it feels like the only thing missing are the
credits in the lower left-hand corner.
Whats more, for those aiming to land themselves on influential street style blogs
, websites like The Cut are now able to pinpoint street style bait items like Vale
ntinos rockstud footwear, Givenchys printed t-shirts, Fendi buggies, and almost an
ything from Cline and provide a formula for how to attract street style photograp
hers.
We once looked to the street for personal style and, indeed, new ways to interpr
et the onslaught of clothing and accessories presented on the catwalks. But is a
nything new being said when a street style star like Anna Dello Russo, editor-at
-large and creative consultant for Vogue Japan, wears a head-to-toe look from Pr
ada or Balmain? Can this really be construed as street style any longer? It cert
ainly has nothing to do with the street and feels anything but personal.
To be frank, what we now call street style has stifled true style. While savvy r
eaders have long known that the editorial content that appears in their favourit
e monthlies was influenced by advertisers, street style was once a space free fr
om these kinds of transactional compromises. No longer.
Whats more, when street style stars actively court the camera dressing to be phot
ographed instead of dressing according to ones own wishes with carefully planned
and executed ensembles, what we get is polish and poise with none of the instinc
tive and idiosyncratic gestures of true personal style. Ultimately, what we are
left with is an awful lot on display, but not much to see.
Perhaps its a romantic idea, but Id argue that true style, at its best, says somet
hing deep and intrinsic about the wearer. In contrast, the new wave of meticulou
sly fabricated stars are all surface. Theres no denying that the surface is prett
y. It may also reflect a strong visual persona. But is it genuine?
For me, the majority of street style images have become as glossy and, ultimatel
y, two-dimensional as the fashion stories found in most fashion magazines.
Paradoxically, as the Internet provides instant access to everything, street sty
le has lost its immediacy and vitality. Were hypnotised by the material goods, bu
t the indefinable characteristics of true style remain underrepresented. When wa
s the last time you saw a street style image featuring someone who looked as tho
ugh they just tossed on something they had hanging in their closet and it came t
ogether in an unexpected or surprising way thats genuine and perhaps changed your
eye a bit?
There was a time when the runways and magazines reflected a world of fantasy, an
d real life was, well, real life. Which didnt mean that you had to dress like a b
ore, but you certainly didnt borrow clothes from a showroom either.
Not long ago it was enough to be stylish and have a shrewd eye and a closet of w
ell-chosen items. While street style used to represent the frontier of self-expr
ession and do-it-yourself spirit. Now it looks as constructed as the runway.
But when the runways and the streets become one and the same, isnt the industry j
ust reflecting its own perfectly manufactured image back to itself? This is a da
ngerous place for fashion to be, as its in this mutual admiration that stagnation
occurs.
Max Berlinger is a writer based in New York.
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ly reflect the views of The Business of Fashion.
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