Fashion 101: The Basics

Samantha Shorey / Columnist / The USD Vista

I often hear the following phrase from the fashionably-unfriendly regarding couture runway shows: “Ew. Who would ever actually wear that?”

Well, probably not you. Or anyone, for that matter. You see, the thing is the garments you see walking down runways from New York to Milan aren’t meant to be worn to your 8 a.m. class, or even to the Met. Wearing many of the haute couture pieces that are featured in fashion shows would be about as practical as bringing a Monet in for show-and-tell in your second grade art class.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Fashion is supposed to be wearable art. If it’s impractical what’s the point? But, it is important to realize the most key word in that statement (and a theme so far in this little column): art. Just like there are grand masters of art that inspire all painters and sculptors, and eventually inspire our everyday life, the pieces that prowl the catwalk inspire our closets. The over-critical fashion novice misses a critical piece of the puzzle: the connection between haute couture and ready to wear.

Each season fashion houses showcase their newest looks in fashion weeks across the globe. But, odds are you will never see any of these beauties hanging on the rack in Nordstrom. In a runway show a designer picks around 20 looks to showcase: each a combination of one of a kind pieces. A good designer is able to tie each of these looks together with an over all consistent theme; featuring a mood, an outlook, a message. This message is then translated by the designer to a second collection, ready-to-wear deemed for department stores near you.

When Marc Jacobs went grunge (again!) in 2006 he wasn’t saying dress like the nutty-bum in front of the Jack and The Box on Mission Blvd. He was making a statement about the reemergence of counterculture as a predominant force in our society due to similar national climate to the first grunge era. The mid 00s decade mirrored the mid 90s tremendously: a Bush in the White House, a general recession, and as a result a further stratification of the classes. So when someone says that model looks homeless! Consider maybe it’s because, due to current economic conditions, more people are homeless. I realize the connection between fashion and the incredible poverty problem in the United States is a bit of an inferential leap, but it is something to consider. Fashion is an art: and art imitates life.

But what does this mean? It means that, while the supermodel is head to toe clad in plaid, the average soccer mom is seeing more plaid blouses at the Gap. So the next time someone asks who would ever wear that? Maybe a better answer is, you, in a few seasons.”