GOLD SCHOOL

The fast fashion set has seen some remarkable aesthetic changes in the past couple years as designers have established a distance between their recent collections and the maximalist, retrogressive themes of seasons prior. Versace's H&M moment in 2011 presented one of the most sartorially exciting collaborations for consumers looking to brand themselves with the ostentatious kitsch of luxury for the masses. An obsession with appropriating saturated versions of other cultures' symbolic markers emerged and manifested in tropical, Polynesian prints, Greco-Roman motifs, and Japanese cherry blossoms. Excess, flamboyance, and even the subtle insinuation of entitlement to translate world cultures into playful commodities became chic in mainstream fashion circles. But by 2013, the trend tables have turned to favor austerity, futurism, and an idea of a globalized world where cultural themes cannot be appropriated because they simply do not exist. Instead of ironic baroque print bomber jackets, the fast fashion set is now scrambling to be seen in sterile silver and white or minimalist active wear. Function has finally trumped form -- perhaps not because it deserves to, but because commerce demands that new aesthetics develop and conquer in order to stimulate a subsequent trend that people feel obligated to buy into. 

Well. Not me, not today. I'm gonna back track and continue to wear the flashy clothes that I have because I honestly can't afford to trade my rococo for Raf Simmons. Yes, it's cool to enter a new phase of fashion in which innovation is rewarded and efficiency is held to a higher standard than appearance alone. But it's not cool to feel "pressured" to buy membership into that movement. And it's not cool to feel excluded and ashamed because what you're wearing is representative of a conflicting (maximalist) paradigm. 

I called this look "Gold School" because, besides the obvious metallic reference, my look is commemorative of a luxury hip hop theme that probably won't be considered "novel" or "innovative" anytime soon. Old school, new perspective, same aesthetic allegiances.



FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
Embellished snapback - OASAP
Gold and amber necklace - DAILY LOOK
Crop top - American Apparel
Transparent waist skater skirt - MUSTARD CARTEL
Modern sandal heels - DAILY LOOK

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva