Fashion: Tale of Two Runway Shows.

It's often said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But what about fashion relevance and ultimately the commercial success of a collection? As you're probably aware, this past Milan Fashion Week marked the return of designer Jil Sander to her eponymous fashion brand after the departure of Raf Simons. The verdict: Polite applause or a "break-out-the-champagne" moment? It all seems to come down to who you read.

The WSJ's Christina Binkley loved it (a "break-out-the-champagne" moment) while The Daily Beast's Robin Givhan did not ("neither stunning nor disappointing"). Interestingly, their perspectives each seem to hinge on whether they were fans of Sander's predecessor and what he did with the brand during his tenure.

On this point, Robin Givhan wrote:

"And here, one cannot help but mention her immediate predecessor, Raf Simons, who made the brand into his own while retaining the fundamental essence of what Sander started. Where Sander was distant and unemotional, Simons brought a warmth and emotion to the brand."

Whereas Christina Binkley had this to say:

"This is a departure from the last two seasons of the Jil Sander brand, where Simons seemed to be using the runway as an open audition for the then-unfilled job at Christian Dior."

In addition, Givhan raised the issue of diversity (or lack thereof):

"He [Raf Simons] also made the brand seem more vibrant by moving away from a homogenous group of models, which Sander relentlessly favored, so that his runway shows did not look like a march of the cyborgs. (…) Sander, for her highly anticipated return to the runway, did what she most always has done and booked no brown-skinned models or Asian ones—a decision that, after the industry’s recent soul-searching on the subject of diversity—seemed especially out of touch."

I remain fascinated by what informs a professional fashion review. For instance, what exactly sets the review of a professional journalist like Binkley or Givhan apart from that of a fashion blogger? One of the most frequent criticisms of fashion bloggers is that their take on fashion is superficial and rarely amounts to anything more than the expression of a personal opinion. While I don't mean to suggest that either Binkley's or Givhan's review is superficial (although Binkley's comes close) or that fashion critics need to agree on a collection, it would be difficult to suggest that their respective reviews of the Jil Sander S/S 2013 collection was not informed at least in part by their own personal opinions not just about the actual clothing but also about the brand's previous creative director.

Personally, I don't adhere to the belief that bloggers will eventually supplant journalists and critics. There is ample room in the industry for both professional journalists and bloggers to coexist. Having said this, I would love to see the pros step up their game and offer more than descriptive accounts and opinion. Less cheerleading and more bone fides critique would be the best way to set themselves apart from bloggers.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Comments

[Helene]

Dear Petya & John Agee Paris:

Thank you both for your comments.

To address your point Petya, I didn't mean to suggest that blogs are not challenging the established fashion order. The very fact that they've managed to force their way into the industry speaks to that. I do think however that fashion bloggers initially had the potential to do much more than just join the fray. I would argue that they had the opportunity to change the discourse on fashion and expand it considerably. That opportunity has been largely squandered partly by a lack of professionalism but also by a lack of transparency. Whether justified or not, many bloggers are now viewed with the same scepticism that consumers once reserved for mainstream fashion. What a waste.

I think John Agee Paris' comment about the low barrier to entry with its pros and cons is bang on. The danger however with everyone simply coalescing around the orbits that reinforce their own view of the world is that it undermines the ability to have a productive discussion or debate of ideas with anyone residing outside that orbit. It's not unlike the Fox News effect in US politics with the right getting their "news" from a propaganda source. It makes productive debate impossible when each side is arguing from a separate set of "facts".

Sadly, I have no solutions either. I'm simply grateful to have smart, well-informed readers who understand what I'm trying to do and keep me on my toes. It's what keeps me banging out posts at all hours of the night.

xo

Hélène

[John Agee Paris]

With regards to petva's observations, I think fashion bloggers are indeed challenging fashion critics. But, except in very few circumstances (Hélène here at "The Luxe Chronicles" notably being one of them), I see very little evidence that they are "elevating the conversation". In fact, I thinks it's quite the opposite. (This should in no way be construed at some passionate defense of fashion journalists/critics, many of whom rarely tell it like it is). A computer and a point of view do not a critic make.

The observation of this designer is that the general tenor of the fashion and style "industries" has become more trivial, facile, and even almost juvenile. Look at any fashion show backstage interview from another time (people like Bill Blass and YSL, for example), and contrast it with some of the current crop of designers. There's no comparison. Something "adult" seems to be missing now. This has naturally carried over into almost all aspects of the business, which brings me back to bloggers.

The wonderful thing about our time is that anyone can get online and "present" themselves to the world. The worst thing about our time is that anyone can get online and "present" themselves to the world. Fashion blogging is here to stay. I think the trick is for like-minded people in this business to coalesce around certain "orbits", if you will. Which is why like coalescing here!

I realize I haven't solved the dilemmas of the Fashion Universe, but as always, I do enjoy participating in this lovely forum you've created here, Hélène. Cheers, John

[petya]

I think that fashion bloggers ARE challenging fashion critics. (Good) bloggers do educate readers about brands, trends, etc. We have seen the pictures, we have read the basics (the coming and going of designers, the conversations about diversity, the history of particular design houses)... But I think all of the above should be welcomed by the fashion critic who now has an opportunity to elevate the conversation even higher.

Did you see the piece in The Guardian about book bloggers supposedly killing professional literary criticism and, therefore, harming literature?!