'Forget Fashion Seasons' featured in Ensemble's recent issue, to view the whole magazine, read here.
Another season, another fashion line. Autumn/winter is always the most sought-after fashion season. Fashion influencers to designers are talking about what's new. With Ensemble, I want to change the narrative.
Let's talk about what is old. Taking inspiration from older fashion lines that have stood the test of time. Buying fashion should be an investment. The cost of materials is high, talent is scarce and value is precious... as it should be. One of my favourite fashion lines is by Ralph Lauren 1995 - 1997.
These lines are full of classics that are still fashionable today, nearly 20 years later. I always come back to this era of Ralph Lauren, year in and year out. The aspirational look of the post-modern feminist era in the late 90s reminds me of Sex-and-the-City power women.
We often talk about the classic Chanel jacket with how it blurred the lines between the masculine and feminine fashion. For me, Ralph Lauren's mid to late-90s creations were an exasperation of that blurring. While current trends may have moved on from the 90s fever, I certainly have not.
Unfortunately, we live in an ever-moving culture of novelty. From decade hopping to trend shopping, the fashion consumer culture at large has become very wasteful. Rather than admiring this art form and feeling empowered by making it your own, current culture teaches you to play catch up. It tells you to buy things NOW, or never.
If I have to take away one lesson from this RL fashion is 'long, sleek lines'. Whether that's a long overcoat, knee-high boots, straight-line trousers to high turtle necks, I feel like these choices would last you a lifetime. I can see myself wearing and loving this style in my 20s to my mid-50s, and beyond.
In a world where everyone is chasing 15 minutes of fame, the true value of care and respect for fashion has arguably dissipated. 4 fashion seasons have turned to 52 fashion cycles, the ordinary mid-range fashion brands are selling 10,000+ garments without any regulation on what happens to those materials at the end of their product lifecycle.
Inevitably, when I think about fashion, I get overwhelmed by the impact on the environment. I hate that being a lover of fashion doesn't seem in alignment with being a climate change activist. In order to change this outlook, the first thing I want to do is stop using words like 'trends', 'popular', and 'in fashion', and instead alter the vernacular that respects craftsmanship and the art behind fashion. To use words like 'timeless', 'quality', 'empowering' and 'style'.
One of the key questions I ask myself before any fashion purchase is 'Can I see myself wearing this in 10 years?' If the answer is no, then why waste your money, and resources, and create demand for something you may not even love?
Image source: Pinterest | Ralph Lauren
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