Design philosophy

[Renwick]

I found a really great definition of deconstructionism in fashion ------- Addressing a genre, a tradition, but so as to expand it, blow it open, spread it out, open its borders to its own hidden selves. A question which will not go away and produces -- not answers -- but new possibilities. Not destructive; rather, the deconstructive reveals the obscured. In a sense, then, the deconstructive is creative, productive. http://www.artandculture.com/cgi-bin....O&id=27

 

[European Interloper]

Gucci has been under fire from the fashion world because it epitomises the Super Brand. Its commercial success has been translated into pure commercialism, which gives Tom Ford no merit for his work. As someone (la?) said, he has found what is at the heart of Gucci and created an image. And unlike what seems to be everyone on this board, I like the new Gucci image. In three seasons, I have found little that I didn't like, and I found some of the ideas expressed on the Gucci catwalk extremely interesting. GQ UK had a poll on all the new catwalk collections. People were asked to vote wether an outfit was more 'catwalk' or more 'everyday'. Gucci was the only house where everything was considered wearable enough to be 'everyday', but still had enough of an 'art' touch to have a considerable 'catwalk' vote. This, for me, explains the feelings that fashion world has towards Gucci. It seems commerical, like Gap or Zara, because it makes things that are wearable in everyday life. It doesn't have a collection that is punctuated with pieces that could only ever belong on the catwalk, which is the case in most brands. However, the poll also said something else: Gucci isn't only wearable, like the aforementioned highstreet brands, but it has a 'fashion' edge to it, an arty touch. This is why I like Gucci, and Tom Ford, so much, a praise their entwined acheivements. The same tactics were employed at YSL, and I find their new collections resolutley desirable.

As for the classification of DG and Versace... Hedonistic really seems to work. It mixes camp with a va va voom sexual energy in every piece it makes, which, like Cavalli's lines, achieve the effect of hedonism.

--European Interloper