As seen in the last two posts, quite a few dilemmas currently pervade the fashion industry, but not many commentators have highlighted that fashion may be simply changing because society is changing (think about it: the miniskirt was a direct product of the swinging '60s, a decade of social and political turmoil, but the miniskirt didn't produce the complex issues that characterised the '60s).
You could argue that, at the moment, it is not our garments and accessories that are going through extremely radical mutations (quite a lot of pieces in contemporary collections show indeed direct links and connections with specific decades or with elements from historical costumes, while even the most high-tech materials/techniques in some of the current designs could be considered as natural developments of techniques that started quite a few years/decades ago), but the structure of fashion per se, reflecting the turbulent times society is going through.
Fashion was radically changing in 1968 as well, the year that passed to history as revolutionary, since it was marked by protests and rebellions all over the world. In France, May 1968 was punctuated by demonstrations, massive general strikes and the occupation of universities and factories; protests extended during the Summer, slowing down the work in the Haute Couture ateliers that were preparing collections to be showcased on 22nd July. A debate ensued, with some designers claiming High Fashion was becoming extremely expensive and suggesting that lowering prices by opting for less eleborate designs and becoming less exclusive and therefore more addordable was the key to renew the industry.
Italian magazine L'Europeo reported that Pierre Cardin was among the designers favourable to kill the Haute Couture formula and replace it with ready-to-wear, highlighting he didn't mind but actually enjoyed selling less expensive designs to big Italian department stores. Balmain instead stated that Parisian fashion couldn't have converted to ready-to-wear and that famous actresses and celebrities from those times such as Sofia Loren would have kept on being their first and foremost clients, "otherwise why should Paris exist on the fashion market?" he wondered on the pages of L'Europeo in July 1968.
Things developed since then and, while Haute Couture still exists and even went through a Renaissance, ready-to-wear in the end prevailed, fast fashion in the meantime arrived on the scene, while many historical fashion houses were acquired by luxury conglomerates. Yet, if the industry went through several crises throughout the decades, wouldn't it be possible to read the future of fashion from its past? Do you think you may have the answer? Join the debate with the #FashionBraveNewWorld on Twitter.
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