For years Takeji Hirakawa's definition "Fashion DJ" worked pretty well. The Japanese fashion critic used this label in 2009 to describe the fact that for decades nothing new was created in fashion. Designers weren't indeed producing anything incredibly innovative, but sampling ideas, style and moods from previous eras and combining them together to produce new collections.
As the years passed, the "fashion DJ" transitioned into the role of professional remixer: Miuccia Prada was the original remixer extraordinaire, spotting a piece in a vintage store in the States or in Paris, then sampling it and putting it back on a runway, without any of us realizing where it came from. Things have become more complex and layered recently, though. Sources of inspirations have multiplied: thirty years ago, maybe, you had only books and museum institutions, now there are hundreds of volumes and documents from digitalized archives and libraries, plus there are social media and other sources that allow you to borrow, sample and remix.
In the most successful cases, the act of remixing is similar to the concept of "Recombinant DNA" technology in biology: this definition indicates a molecule of DNA modified to include genes from multiple sources, either through genetic recombination or through laboratory techniques. The final product of the remix or the recombination is seemingly new: in the best cases it doesn't look like a stitched-up Frankenstein monster, but, as a coherent free-flowing mix of ideas. Yet, when carefully analysed and broken into parts, it reveals the sources, or, technically speaking, the "genetic material".
Rihanna broke the Internet with her half-time performance at the Super Bowl last Sunday. She announced her second pregnancy in a bespoke Loewe boiler suit and moulded breastplate (a version of Loewe's S/S 22 red breastplate, also donned by Björk last year View this photo). The look was completed by a "sleeping bag" coat by Alaïa (inspired by a maxi coat by Norma Kamali for André Leon Talley).
Striking, yes, but certainly remixed: the jumpsuit pointed at workwear, with a Casa de Papel-meets-Squid Games mood for that outlaw twist; the bustier was a combination of a long history of molded corsets that, starting with Lalanne's sculptures for Yves Saint Laurent's Haute Couture A/W 1969 collection, continued with Issey Miyake's breastplate, Thierry Mugler's and Alexander McQueen's corsets, and that, passing through Hussein Chalayan's Autumn/Winter 2009 collection ("Earthbound"), arrived on Tom Ford's S/S 20 runway.
More recent remixes of the original Lalanne's sculptures generated Daniel Roseberry's Schiaparelli's anatomical pieces including a leather super heroine-like six-pack bodice or gold and silver breastplates incorporated into dresses (like the one recently donned by Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni at the Sanremo Music Festival which seemed like an unnecessary remix of Saint Laurent's original design View this photo).
It's funny how we complain about the damages that Artificial Intelligence generated images can do to us and how artists and illustrators may get robbed or their images and creative output, but then we work like Artificial Intelligence text-to-image applications, scraping, stealing, colliding and blending images together to create a new look.
But the music industry hasn't just provided us with the greatest fashion figure, the remixer, it has indeed also inspired powerful groups in their choice of creative directors. Decades ago, majors would pick a band that could grow up and mature, hoping they would produce several albums and many chart-topping hits. Then they started choosing bands that could provide instant hits and uncerimoniously discarded in case this wouldn't happen. The same started happening in fashion: Karl Lagerfeld worked for 4 decades at Chanel, but nowadays it is almost impossible for a fashion designer to last so long at a powerful house. The industry is indeed made of revolving doors, constantly welcoming somebody only to spit them out six months later and let somebody cooler and possibly capable of producing instant sales in.
Yesterday afternoon, for example, Louis Vuitton revealed that Pharrell Williams had been appointed as the new Creative Director of its men's division. Williams is the first director after the untimely death of Virgil Abloh in November 2021, and he is also the second Black American designer to hold this position at the French luxury house.
The announcement was unexpected as there were speculations surrounding other names, including KidSuper founder Colm Dillane, who guest designed Louis Vuitton Men's A/W 23 collection.
Defining him a "visionary" and a "cultural, global icon", the official press release announcing the appointment highlighted Louis Vuitton's status as a "Cultural Maison", almost to remind us that fashion is by now just a part of the mathematical equation producing sales.
"I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton, as our new Men's Creative Director," added Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton's Chairman and CEO, in a press release. "His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter."
Like Virgil Abloh, who had his own label and worked in a variety of fields, DJing, but also producing furniture and industrial design pieces, Pharrell Williams doesn't fit your standard fashion school curriculum.
A producer, songwriter, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, Williams is the recipient of 13 Grammy Awards, and nominated to two Academy Awards, to a Golden Globe and an Emmy. He authored the book A Fish Doesn't Know It's Wet, co-produced the Netflix Original series Brainchild (2018) and worked on a variety of other projects including Amazon's Harlem.
Williams is also founder of several non-profit initiatives and an advocate against racial injustice. Besides, he cofounded with Japanese designer Nigo (the current creative director at Kenzo, which, like Vuitton, is owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) several clothing brands, including the Billionaire Boys Club, ICECREAM, Bee Line and Billionaire Girls Club.
A while back, Williams codesigned a line of eyewear and a jewelry collection for Vuitton; he collaborated with Chanel (he was also a brand ambassador for the French house) designing a sneaker in 2017 and a unisex clothing collection two years later with the late Karl Lagerfeld. His resume also includes collaborations with Nike, Reebok and Timberland.
Williams' curriculum is rich in collaborations and entrepreneurial ventures, but, technically speaking, just like Abloh, he is not a fashion designer. This figure is indeed becoming almost obsolete, while editors and curators surrounded by an impossibly cool aura are favoured. It is perfectly understandable that in the super-fast world of fashion they need hit producers to sell "It" bags, but in this way young designers are being penalised as big conglomerates opt for famous names. Besides, it is also worth noting that certain opportunities granted to men are denied to women: there isn't a single woman considered as a talented polymath à la Williams or Abloh at the helm of a powerful fashion house (Rihanna's luxury label at LVMH wasn't successful and was more or less immediately stopped, while she refocused on Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin and on Savage x Fenty lingerie).
Pharrel Williams' first collection for Louis Vuitton will be revealed this June during the Men's Fashion Week in Paris. While he may not break away from Abloh's time at Vuitton as he admired him, hopefully, he will produce something less derivative than what he did at Tiffany & Co. (another LVMH owned company) where last year he recreated the Mughal Empire glasses (Williams is also expected to develop a jewelry line with them as well), another example of successful sampling, remixing and remodeling.
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