(See what we did there? Like the love child of ‘Got milk’ and ‘You’ve been tangoed’)
Laura Reynolds looks at the hype surrounding the collaboration.
Just a week to go until the man in red arrives...
If you are a man and you like fashion shows, it has to be said that you are in a distinct minority. For the normal heterosexual, red-blooded male there is nothing worse than a never-ending line of skinny, expressionless women with impractical and sometimes down-right daft garments hanging off their slight frames. Even the lingerie bit isn't that good.
So it's more than likely that the arrival of London Fashion Week has been met by a wall of utter male indifference. If you accidentally stumbled across it as you browsed your girlfriend’s copy of Grazia, you would dismiss it without delay: "No one in their right mind would ever buy that." "That would never keep you warm." "She's not even that hot."
The problem is that us men approach fashion shows in the wrong way. For us fashion shows are no different from shopping: we look for stuff we like (practicality first, price second, fashion third) and then maybe buy it. We think we should be looking to buy clothes that are on the catwalk. This is a crucial mistake. Contrary to what you might think, women also think that the clothes that models wear are often impractical and indeed daft.
But the difference is that women aren’t necessarily looking to buy clothes that are on the catwalk. They are instead looking at what the clothes represent for the future of fashion. Instead of practicalities and cosiness, they see shapes, styles, colours and cuts. The outrageous outfits that are modelled at London Fashion Week are not supposed to be real clothes but instead signals for what will be hot in the coming year. Women fully accept that the clothes they will eventually wear will be watered down and sensible versions of what they saw on the catwalk. That’s how it works.
Still confused? Just think of fashion shows as motor shows. The crazy wardrobes are just the fashion version of concept cars: they probably won’t go into mass production but they are a statement about where a certain manufacturer (or designer) is heading. The crazier the clothes, the clearer the statement.
I understand that getting men to accept fashion shows as more than just a waste of time is an uphill struggle but maybe, just maybe, I’ve changed your perspective.
No? Oh well, I tried.
Yup, I get it! I saw the headline and was about to raise the similarity with concept cars, but you already did it!
@ "The outrageous outfits that are modelled at London Fashion Week are not supposed to be real clothes.."
The vast majority of what is shown at the London, New York and Madrid fashion weeks is RTW. All Vivienne Westwood red label, for example, will be disributed between her stores. The more "outrageous" stuff can be purchased in places like Dover Street market.
I understand what you're saying, but please, comparing clothes to concept cars, just don't.
Ouch! Well yeah obviously some of the more outrageous ones will be to wear or collected as couture and there is a lot of stuff that is to go to the shops, but the article is obviously talking about the stereotypical catwalk show from the week which is featured briefly on the news or whatever. And remember it is aimed at the stereotypical man...
nick, i loved it, how very brave of you to venture into such typically non-male territory.
Someone's obviously a pretentious Vivienne Westwood lover. Have you seen her? Or maybe you're sporting a similar orange hair/gold lycra cat suit too and think it looks 'cool'. I loved the article! Especially as its for the stereotypical man.
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