So I recently went to see (and was totally blown away by) the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty exhibit at the Met here in New York. Loved it. I had no idea I would be so moved by it and by his work, which was truly an art.

But what I don't understand is how the fashion world works. On display were many years' worth of his collections--and of them all, I'd say less than a handful were dresses that an actual woman could really wear. That is, if you weren't Lady Gaga or someone who could get away with it, you wouldn't wear his dresses to, say, the office or a cocktail party.

So how does it work? Do people like McQueen work as influencers, working in a rarefied air that the average people don't experience? And then other mainstream designers see the patterns, colors, textures, etc. that people like McQueen have worked with in the new year and then take those trends and modify them for the public to wear?

As a gay man of a certain age, I'm rather embarrassed to be asking these questions because I probably should know by now. But I don't. And since we have several fashion experts here--I could have just orgnoted this to Genesia or Johnart, but I thought it would be more fun to make it public--I thought I'd throw it out.

Genesia

Efan said:

So I recently went to see (and was totally blown away by) the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty exhibit at the Met here in New York. Loved it. I had no idea I would be so moved by it and by his work, which was truly an art.

But what I don't understand is how the fashion world works. On display were many years' worth of his collections--and of them all, I'd say less than a handful were dresses that an actual woman could really wear. That is, if you weren't Lady Gaga or someone who could get away with it, you wouldn't wear his dresses to, say, the office or a cocktail party.

So how does it work? Do people like McQueen work as influencers, working in a rarefied air that the average people don't experience? And then other mainstream designers see the patterns, colors, textures, etc. that people like McQueen have worked with in the new year and then take those trends and modify them for the public to wear?

As a gay man of a certain age, I'm rather embarrassed to be asking these questions because I probably should know by now. But I don't. And since we have several fashion experts here--I could have just orgnoted this to Genesia or Johnart, but I thought it would be more fun to make it public--I thought I'd throw it out.

Exactly. The best way to think of people like McQueen (I think) is as artists working with the human form as their canvas. McQueen, in particular, really moved into this realm with his use of things other than fabric as artistic media. He didn't really design clothing - he created art that was intended to be displayed on a human being.

Then again, you have designers like Oscar de la Renta, who actually intend their works to be worn. They use fabric as their medium - often designing the fabrics, themselves (prints, beadwork) and the garments created from them.

Genesia said:

Efan said:

So I recently went to see (and was totally blown away by) the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty exhibit at the Met here in New York. Loved it. I had no idea I would be so moved by it and by his work, which was truly an art.

But what I don't understand is how the fashion world works. On display were many years' worth of his collections--and of them all, I'd say less than a handful were dresses that an actual woman could really wear. That is, if you weren't Lady Gaga or someone who could get away with it, you wouldn't wear his dresses to, say, the office or a cocktail party.

So how does it work? Do people like McQueen work as influencers, working in a rarefied air that the average people don't experience? And then other mainstream designers see the patterns, colors, textures, etc. that people like McQueen have worked with in the new year and then take those trends and modify them for the public to wear?

As a gay man of a certain age, I'm rather embarrassed to be asking these questions because I probably should know by now. But I don't. And since we have several fashion experts here--I could have just orgnoted this to Genesia or Johnart, but I thought it would be more fun to make it public--I thought I'd throw it out.

Exactly. The best way to think of people like McQueen (I think) is as artists working with the human form as their canvas. McQueen, in particular, really moved into this realm with his use of things other than fabric as artistic media. He didn't really design clothing - he created art that was intended to be displayed on a human being.

Then again, you have designers like Oscar de la Renta, who actually intend their works to be worn. They use fabric as their medium - often designing the fabrics, themselves (prints, beadwork) and the garments created from them.

^^all of that^^

In couture a handful of women actually buy (or can afford to) the work. They are often buying the pieces as one would a painting or sculpture. They might wear it once or twice and then archive it.
And then of course (for biz purposes) there are all the accessory lines, cosmetics and fragrances. Many fashion designers even put their name on home collections (fabrics, furnishings, dishes, you name it).

[Edited 8/15/11 10:05am]

johnart said:

Genesia said:

Exactly. The best way to think of people like McQueen (I think) is as artists working with the human form as their canvas. McQueen, in particular, really moved into this realm with his use of things other than fabric as artistic media. He didn't really design clothing - he created art that was intended to be displayed on a human being.

Then again, you have designers like Oscar de la Renta, who actually intend their works to be worn. They use fabric as their medium - often designing the fabrics, themselves (prints, beadwork) and the garments created from them.

^^all of that^^

In couture a handful of women actually buy (or can afford to) the work. They are often buying the pieces as one would a painting or sculpture. They might wear it once or twice and then archive it.
And then of course (for biz purposes) there are all the accessory lines, cosmetics and fragrances. Many fashion designers even put their name on home collections (fabrics, furnishings, dishes, you name it).

Sadly, a lot of them pay the bills by selling their name. Valentino, Gaultier and any number of other designers no longer own their names.

Genesia said:

johnart said:

^^all of that^^

In couture a handful of women actually buy (or can afford to) the work. They are often buying the pieces as one would a painting or sculpture. They might wear it once or twice and then archive it.
And then of course (for biz purposes) there are all the accessory lines, cosmetics and fragrances. Many fashion designers even put their name on home collections (fabrics, furnishings, dishes, you name it).

Sadly, a lot of them pay the bills by selling their name. Valentino, Gaultier and any number of other designers no longer own their names.

Yup. I was gonna suggest he watch the Valentino film.

johnart said:

Genesia said:

Sadly, a lot of them pay the bills by selling their name. Valentino, Gaultier and any number of other designers no longer own their names.

Yup. I was gonna suggest he watch the Valentino film.

Everyone should watch the Valentino film.

Also...YSL: 5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris

[Edited 8/15/11 10:29am]

Well, now I have to post the trailer...

Although I'm easing my way into book editing, I've spent some better part of 17 years working as a stylist and freelance fashion editorial editor. I've worked with clients from K-Mart to Versace (before he died) and that little lady on Bravo named Zoe. Efan, you essentially have it spot on- with correct addendums from Genesia and johnart . I want to add more, but frankly, I just spent the day trying to edit down hundreds of bags from the fall collections to translate into something that makes sense for the mainstream woman on a budget . My eyes are bloodshot, I want wine, and in this moment I hate anything having to do with fashion

but yeah, you guys already pinned it.

p.s. never look at high fashion editorial and take it as a literal dictation for what you're supposed to wear. editorial is essentially a jerk off excercise for fashion industry peers, and only serves as a calling card for them to snag catalog and advertising campaign suitors, I mean,err.. clients. At best, most fashion editors only hope that you take a piece of what you see from an outfit in their spreads as inspiration (like a single belt, a shoe, or a shirt from the photo), and then turn that sh** on its ear by rocking it your own way.

I need vino now...

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months." Oscar Wilde.

I saw the McQueen exhibit with my boyfriend this summer and (although I kept my mouth shut. He's a big fan, you see) I kept thinking that I'd seen these types of costumes or couture before. And then it hit me: Queen Amidala's wardrobe and pretty much everything in science fiction movies.

[Edited 8/15/11 12:25pm]

[Edited 8/15/11 12:26pm]

Most of the wackier stuff that designers come up with, actually isn't meant to be worn, it's meant more to be like a work of art, similar to a painting or something. The models basically trot down the runway with it on and you're supposed to go, "Ooh, ahh!" or "WTF?" or some combination, and then it's the more mainstream, ready-to-wear stuff that actually goes into the stores and gets worn.

johnart said:

Genesia said:

Sadly, a lot of them pay the bills by selling their name. Valentino, Gaultier and any number of other designers no longer own their names.

Yup. I was gonna suggest he watch the Valentino film.

Thanks, you two! I appreciate the info.

Ottensen said:

Although I'm easing my way into book editing, I've spent some better part of 17 years working as a stylist and freelance fashion editorial editor. I've worked with clients from K-Mart to Versace (before he died) and that little lady on Bravo named Zoe. Efan, you essentially have it spot on- with correct addendums from Genesia and johnart . I want to add more, but frankly, I just spent the day trying to edit down hundreds of bags from the fall collections to translate into something that makes sense for the mainstream woman on a budget . My eyes are bloodshot, I want wine, and in this moment I hate anything having to do with fashion

but yeah, you guys already pinned it.

p.s. never look at high fashion editorial and take it as a literal dictation for what you're supposed to wear. editorial is essentially a jerk off excercise for fashion industry peers, and only serves as a calling card for them to snag catalog and advertising campaign suitors, I mean,err.. clients. At best, most fashion editors only hope that you take a piece of what you see from an outfit in their spreads as inspiration (like a single belt, a shoe, or a shirt from the photo), and then turn that sh** on its ear by rocking it your own way.

I need vino now...

You have often struck me as the kind of person I would very much enjoy having some vino with.