ANTI_FASHION a manifesto for the next decade by Lidewij Edelkoort EDUCATION Fashion institutes, academies and universities all aver the world keep training thelr students to become catwalk designers, highly individual stars and divas, to be discovered by luxury brands, ‘These institutions seem to be oblivious to the new world we live in, a world created for and from interaction, dealing with an economy of exchange and a strong sense of extended family, where working and laying together has become ‘more important than individual Gain. As a result the fashion world is atill working in 20th century mode, celebrating the individual, elevating st-people, developing the exception..in a society hungry for consensus and altruism, A world where ‘individualism is long over ‘This places fashion outside of society and by de facto makes it old-fashioned. While all other ‘isciplines such as dance, art and design have acknowledged ‘the need in their students to cooperate and form groups, teams and couples, it seems that only fashion is left behind, Furthermore fashion schools are responding to the current need and greed of the luxury marketbyforcingtheirstudents to design not just clothes but also accessories, jewellery, underwear and a logo. They are trained to become little Kar!'s and must realizea film ormake TREND UNION photos, layout a catalogue and create the musie for thelr runway show, Since time is short the design process 1s compressed and therefore the young creative elite make clothes and no longer fashion, they no longer have time to oonsider a conceptual approach which might transform the silhouette, nor the time to transcend dominant trends. Students are groomed to be up and running within the luxury industry without further due. The brands need star designers Uke football needs star players. Star designers that no longer know how to create what was ‘once galled fashion.MATERIALISATION Fashion schools are under pres- and Marie-Claire write about the Therefore they are often unable sure with most of our govern- important comeback of print- to surprise and stimulate the ments taking away the bulk of ed garments, while these coats, creative minds of clothes de- ‘their finances and therefore dresses and pants were actually signers, Thus we are facing the they have to adoptacommercial realized in jacquard, which hap- possibility of a world with just ‘model. In the process, the first pensto bean intricate woven. denim, nylon and Jerseys for the to be sacrificed are knitting and Ladies! Doyour homework! _rest of ourlives, A world without ‘weaving ateliers. As aresult the ‘The European fibre, yarn and Italian finishes, French silks, students are no longer instruct- textile industries are on the Belgian linens, English olassios, fed in textile creation and basle verge of collapse, bravely strug: Irish tweeds, Japanese syn- Knowledge about cloth. There- ling, combatting to survive. thetics and Spanish surfaces. forethey speakofchambray-like Without them the knowledge of ‘Therefore the House of Chanel cottonsandmoirélikesilkssinee spinning, weaving, finishing and is buying up their suppliers to ‘they have no clue what the con- printing willbelost. Brandshave maintain quality and creativity, structions are all about. Some decided to hunt for price over concerned about the disappear- students even order their col- quality and purchase evermore ance of their fabric makers and ours.and fabrics on-line, further textiles from low cost destina- artisans. Possibly other brands promoting a two dimensional tions. The emerging economies should follow. If some higher or- ‘world without the sensuality of are doing a great job in catching ganization of the fashion trade ‘texture, weight and drape. This up, yettheirmille donotyet pos: does not halt this hemorrhaging ‘ignorance of textiles is also ram- goss the talent and skills needed process, we will see the demise Pantamongstournalistsand re- to preview new trends and de- ofthe creative textile industries, cently we have seen prestigious sign inspiration guided by cul- and with it the death of fashion ‘magazines such as Vogue, Ele tural change. as we know it MANUFACTURING ‘The manufacturing of clothes has gone through a rapid and sordid restructuring process, which has ‘eon production leave the western world to profit from and exploit low income countries. Leaving the capitalist western world behind with significant unemployment flgures, On the hunt for cheaper deals, ‘volume companies but also some luxury brands have trusted the making of thelr wares to underpaid ‘workers living in dire conditions, The collapse of a manufacturer's building in Bangladesh, killing hun- dreds of people, made these conditions front-page news. With the arrival of ever-cheaper high street chains this problem will only getbigger while merchandise is becoming indecent in price. These brands copy Hedi Slimane and Christopher Bailey, doing a pretty good job, and getting away with murder. ‘Now that many garments are offered cheaper than a sandwich we all know and feel that someting is profoundly and devastatingly wrong, How can @ product that needs to be sown, grown, harvested, combed, spun, lnitted, cut and stitched, finished, printed, labeled, packaged and transported cost @ couple of euros? Consumers are of course seduced by these prices and don’s boycott these companies, as they should. The people press instrusts them that they ean only wear a fashion style once... the hand-me-down dress and Sunday-best outfit seem Iong forgotten. But worst is the symbolism of it all. Prices imply these clothes are to be thrown away, discarded like a condom before being loved and sa- ‘voured, teaching young consumers that fashion has no value, The culture of fashion is thus destreyed.DESIGNERS Great names in fashion history have managed to shange behaviour, modify posture and rewrite the ‘way women move and live and flirt by chaning the ‘stihoustte and inventing a yet unknown allure, Paul Poiret, Madeleine Vionnet, Cristobal Balenciaga, Claire MeGardell , Coo Chanel, Pierre Cardin, André Courneges, Yves Saint Laurent, Claude Montana, Thierry Mugler, Rel Kawakcubo, Romeo Giglt and -Azzodine Alsia sll managod to ereate a revolutionsry vision ofanother outlandish female beauty. Those days {fashion would be designed ty couturiers, creators and stylists, each with their own domain and hanévaiting, ‘ignified for the super-rich, eccentric for the avant- ‘garde, wearable for the masces, Nowadays we only fem to have designers and therefore the term 1s covering alot of ground and creating some confusion. at me try to dissect. ‘The great designers of our age are born in the eighties ‘and brought up arith the oulture of vintage, a sense ‘of oas and nostalgta for the easier, exciting decades. ‘Therefore vintage is continuously haunting the catwalks of today. Prom time to time we shift periods ‘and the references go to the 60s and 70s, only to €o ‘bacicagain to the 205, 406, 80s and fast forward to the 908, We owe this revivalism initially to Baint Laurent ‘who launched his provovative 1940s collection in 2971 and has been upeyoling existing garments levor sinoe the azeation of his Rive Gaucho label that sntroduoed the basic garments from the Paris student protests to the business of fashion. ‘A historic step to take influences from the street. ‘To place the leather jacket and the caban within ‘the realm of fashion. ‘The latest kid generations of Googling designers rely on found vintage detailing ‘and are capabile of haphazsrdly blending all periods ‘amongst themselves, creating amusing hybrids inthe ‘process. Setting the creation of olothes free for the future without the constraints of knowledge. ‘The desiener gentusee of today are able to ereste a ‘complote plowure with feature-length fms, apps and ‘ads, shop interiors, cosmetics, shoes and bags as well ‘as jewellery, books, soups and hotals. They are market savvy and reign supreme over the fashion world, Deloved and admired even by thelr peers. Their time ‘frame only allows them to design clots. Iumcury designers are requested ty the brand's ‘marketing to focus(on product and nesdto give most of ‘their creative enengy to bagsand shoes and are rather resigned concerning the creation of clothes; therefore ‘their amall collections of garments can be seen as fan elegant and at times intelligent. communication ‘backidrop forthe accessories. ‘The textile fashion designers ofour timeframe invent fand create amaving plovures based on rekindled Jacquards, remodelled folklore and restored fabric ‘ragmonts from the past. They give sense to colour ‘and deliver a sensuous vision to the garments of the ‘day. They manage to keep in touch with the fading ‘culture of fusion as it onoe was. However a new league of women designers claim practical wasdsebe forthe working, dancing, travelling mother of several children, and therefore design “olothos that work as hard as we do", as the famous ‘Suzy Menkes quipped briliantly. French designers hhave taken a separate position and following in the footsteps of Agnds b, and APC create unobstructed clothes for people with innate style, They are going, ‘through what oan be seen as a silent revolution, ‘building shops in all the major shopping oities in the ‘world, creating a buza without making noise. Isabel ‘Miarant oan be seen as the ringleader ofthis growing elite, yet many other brands have followed and are gathering together in London, maxing South Molton ‘Brest look like a Parisian quartier ‘The most stylish women of the world such as Inds e Ia Pressange and Jil Sander are invited to design ‘capsule collections of wearable clothes for a Japanese ‘megsbrand, dressing the new intellectual poor elite ‘m our urban environments, All these categories of ‘designers are working on clothes and are no longer concerned or interested in change for chango's sake, ‘unanimously deolaring newness a thing of the past. ‘With this lack of conceptual innovation the world is ting the idea of fashion.