The fashion shows in New York City have decamped, the tents have been lowered once again, and the eyes of the industry move to Europe.
What did we see here, what was said by our U.S. designers, and what was accomplished? Of the shows I attended, the heart-stopping best ticket of the week was Jason Wu, the designer of Michelle Obama's inauguration night gown. All elegance and grace. This super young, yet somehow already venerable artist had a lot to say in his show...in fact, I didn't need a seat, so much as I needed a fainting couch...exit after exit was a swoon...simple, succinct, and almost painfully beautiful.
And yet...even while the seduction of the show was underway, I couldn't really evade the nagging feeling...what were we doing there?? And taking the temperature of the room, and of those sitting near me, it was tepid at best, as others may have been wondering the very same thing. Who could blame us fashionistas after all, taking a brief respite from a shaky business and shaken confidence. What has always been the most ceremonious aspect of our business had come to feel suddenly disjointed with reality - - out of touch and irrelevant, maybe even silly.
But is it? Do we not need beauty now more than ever...is art really irrelevant? One of the reasons I felt so passionately about the work I saw pass down the runway was that I sensed that Mr. Wu did not dance with the subject of commercialism. The brilliance of the work was that it was just plain beautiful design. One had the distinct sense that his primary aim was to be true to himself and his vision, not solely the pocketbook or the sensibility of the consumer....and ironically, this artistic work was entirely commercial and wearable.
In a letter written in Oct. 1933 from Ansel Adams to Alfred Steiglitz;
I wish to issue a manifesto - I hereby object to trying to support myself, my photography, my gallery with such a prostration of spirit as the following example indicates.A man who owns $3,000,000 and has a Responsible Position in the Community tells me he likes my pictures and wants a portrait - he tells me he wants me to avoid making his head look like a species of fruit - tells me to show only one ear - tells me to be sure to make him look at the camera - tells me, moreover he understands ART - and I am a big enough jackass to try it, needing the cash - then he didn't like it - then I tell him, for God's sake how can I get him to look at the camera and not show his two ears when he won't turn his eyes sideways - and he says never mind, I don't know my business....and he sails out like a clipper ship on a rip tide (and I hope he flounders on a good muddy oyster-bed) and I am left Alone kicking myself in the pants every time I remember that I tried to make that picture, which was just a collapse of moral stamina. Hell!
The high priest of commercialism bellows from the tower of necessity the call to prayer, and the faithful bend and sprawl and grovel at the ghost of the Almighty $ - rents have to be paid, food bills have to be paid, shoe shines and clean shirts have to be bought.....hereafter, I do only what I want, in the manner I want, and if at the middle of next year I find myself on the municipal relief list it will be with a clean conscience.
So YES, I love Ansel Adam's manifesto - look what visual gifts it brought the world after all! I applaud designers, and any artists who are brave enough to make a statement...in spite of potentially debilitating economic conditions.... Practice your art, and do what you love...it is probably the only sure strategy to avoid that 'municipal relief list'....