I'm hesitant to add factual/concrete affirmations to this post so apologies for the plentiful use of 'Perhaps', 'Maybe' and 'I feel'.
As this blog has chugged away in the past four years, I feel some pivotal things have been changing up in the high street which I've been trying to make sense of it all without being able to work out a longview trajectory. By high street, I'm including international stores in the fold… well… Forever 21, Sportsgirl and Target really…
Without wishing to imbue importance from a fashion perspective, on a period of time that ten years from now may just be an insignificant blimp in the scheme of things, the latter part of this decade and probably hereforth, there's been a wild burst of activity on the high street to mid-street, everything done to continually up their game. Designer collaborations, stores as exhibitions spaces, different approaches to campaigns, new creative directors, rebranding, rejigs, refits – renewal in various senses of the word – all well-documented and well-pressed. Perhaps these things were happening before this decade and I just never picked up a copy of Draper's Record to grasp it all. Perhaps not.
Actually this ties in with the wild bend of a theory that has been gestating in my head – that a shift has occurred in the past ten years so that on the whole and in amongst the general population, fashion-consciousness has grown in importance – this feels like something that could be laughed off entirely as complete rubbish. I have to ascertain whether this is just my very specific environment and situation that makes me come up with this theory. Does it feel this way because the internet has made things all the more pertinent and important through various avenues – i.e. has the cocoon of the blog (to use a phrase of a commenter on my Skinny and Strappy post) elevated the importance of fashion in my eyes, and in my mind, enforcing it upon the general public in a cloud of self-delusion.
Hmm… alright, to scale it back a bit, and just speaking from living in London as a city – does the theory apply there? Totting up the aforementioned ways that budget, high street, mid-street and beyond that strata of retail have been trying to one up on each other over the past five years, their reactions seem to cater to a more fashion 'savvy' customer. A knowledgeable and more aware customer. This of course needs to be investigated from other angles to see whether the theory is supported by say, fashion's infiltration and development into mainstream media. I guess I only have a teensy weensy bit part of something vaguely concrete here. The problem I seem to always stumble onto when trying to piece together a proper theory for a zeitgeist is proof… which can't be acquired by one hour doses of blogging a day. Another post, another unfinished bit of fluff…
I had half a point that was supposed to lead in nicely into another development in the "Upping of the High Street/Mid Street Game". British high street to mid-level Reiss, last week unveiled their A/W 10-11 campaign that has taken a vastly different approach from previously non-descript ones. They've enlisted the help of Jamie Morgan, via the connecting link of Pop magazine to direct a film 'Elements' (trailer of which is below) for their campaign which is striking to say the least. In short; black and white smokey atmosphere, a slow mo Natasa Vojnovic, a visceral looking horse and dog that is of course symbolically placed in the film just all doesn't sum up to equate err… Reiss, the go-to place for 'professional' people's attire – i.e. people with PROPER jobs who sit on the Tube reading a mixture of Metro, a Dan Brown book and a thick wad of paper that looks VERY VERY IMPORTANT. You may know of Morgan's work from his beautiful portraits of Tavi in Pop magazine but further back and more significantly, he was one of the founders of the 'Buffalo' collective that shaped the visuals of The Face. "Not another fashion short…" may be what comes to mind but add Morgan to the mix and it becomes an intriguing prospect… especially when you consider the source. You know, important working people with wads of important paper and all that…
this exact concept has been rattling around in my mind too. but i’m 18, so how am i supposed to recognise the nuances of a collectively growing fashion-consciousness?
i think the increased pace of the impact of high end designs has played a part in this too, people don’t just wait around for the high street to bring out collections months later, which are vaguely influenced by the season’s trends – they actively seek out major trends as soon as the collections are shown, with magazines and websites instantly highlighting key pieces. Plus the fact that these key pieces won’t just be used for inspiration, they’ll almost be replicated on the high street – surely that hasn’t been happening for long?
not sure how much sense this comment makes because frankly, i just woke up. love this post though. x
oh shoot, i knew that didn’t really make sense. not “I’m 18” as in I’m stupid, I’m 18 as in my fashion awareness has only lasted about 7 years in terms of watching the ways that high street and high end interact. baha x
it’s so true! we’ve got so much more fashion conscious- and we do it on a budget now too!
Interesting article and an amazing campaign for Reiss. I get what you are saying, and as someone who’s been in the industry, from various angles, for almost 20 years I can tell you that this is part of the cycle of fashion life- the most exciting bit of it!
http://www.blinklondon.com/
Hmm I do agree that “fashion” seems to be on more people’s internal radars at the moment, and the highstreet stores have noticed this and taken the bull by the horns so to speak. I am surprised it has taken Reiss so long actually. It seems like it is the result of increased internet access, advertising, the profusion of cheap celeb/fash mags, and myriad TV shows about fashion/styling/reality TV crap. Somehow all these media have led to a collective fad for fashion-related news, but I am not sure if things will stay this way or not. It’s very possible that eventually people will reject the current obsession with fashion, the highstreet will go back to producing “standard” clothes and the higher-level designers will continue to make pieces for a rich elite and a few fashionworld enthusiasts. Or maybe not – maybe this is leading somewhere completely new…
xx
Duck
I’d say your theory doesn’t stretch much further than the boundaries of the London boroughs in fairness. While H&M, Zara & Topshop may have expanded around the UK and All Saints abroad, aesthetically I’ve noticed zero shift. ASOS & Oki-ni have been the prominent figures to watch, i remember seeing an oki-ni collaboration with brands like Evisu and Fake London Genius some 7/8 years ago, now they’re introducing the likes of Forgotton Future and Boris Bidjan Saberi to the world. ASOS push the boundaries with their collaborations but I fear for the designers and the exclusivity/quality of their work, too many compromises won’t help them succeed. Mary Katrantzou and Christopher Kane for Topshop the high profiles ones maybe? It’s great for the girls getting their hands on their designs/influences, but where are the commercial brains behind designers operations? Faster by Mark Fast and his publicity stunt with the ‘plus size’ model has been golden for his brand, I’ve never seen so much free publicity to coincide with a diffusion launch. I think there has certainly been perhaps a more openness with womens to explore other cultural influences on the high-street, as of yet with menswear? It still falls so far behind on the high-street, polo tops, jeans and a hoodie with maybe the buttons relocated? spare me. How All Saints can justify ¬£80 for a Chinese mass-manufactured polo top when they don’t even wholesale their lines is beyond me. Then they have the audacity to boast about their financial success and growth? Retail robbery.
Oh and while on the subject of All Saints, I mailed them some 4 weeks ago demanding a response to a query I had regarding a couple things. Not heard a single peep out of them, considering I’ve spent close to a grand over the years on their basics it’s not particularly pleasant to be treated with such contempt. If this is what the future of retail is to be, then I want out. Notjustalabel are inspiring with what happens there and Stefan deserves a gold medal, the internet fusing relations between designer and client is both intimate and reassuring…small boutiques breaking a leg to support and nurture a retail avenue for designers is great to see. I just don’t get how this post can be about emerging attitudes and new behaviours when the high-street seeks to generalise everything and everyone with their mass produced, over priced garbage. But then I also shed a tear for the specialist grocery shops shutting doors… cheers Asda, assholes.
It’s a nice thought. I hope so.
I remember about 10 years ago, probably a bit more, when Topshop started upping its game, the cliche on everybody’s lips was “it’s a lot easier to get nice clothes on the high street”. But what we used to mean was “it’s a lot easier to get a rip off of Chloe aviators in Topshop”. How lucky we thought we were! But now I do see an improvement, and I’m tempted to use the phrase again, this time referring to the more exciting riches of Asos: Valery Demure collaborations, Natascha Stolle sheer trousers for ¬£35.
But I wonder if it’s accessible online retailers (Asos, yes, but also Etsy stores, Future Classics, Opening Ceremony) that are making good design accessible, much more than the highstreet. It’s easier to draw a straight line from blogs like this to those sort of retailers – the high street feels like it’s trotting along behind you right now. Sometimes it’s trotting prettily but it’s following nonetheless.
Not sure how to square this with Reiss. I went in recently in search of the aforementioned “professional attire” for a job interview. Even within the context of trying to make myself pass as a proper girl, it was surprisingly vile. I was surprised. I didn’t think I was anti-Reiss. It’s not somewhere I get excited about or check regularly, but I got a royal blue knife-pleat skirt in there a couple of years ago that I like, and I liked the grey jersey jumpsuit last season. But this…it was just horrible cokey Wag clothes to best be accessorised with plastic “wedding hair”. I scuttled into Cos and got myself an austere architecty black dress in a crunchy fabric.
I agree with you, mostly- what I’ve seen happening in fashion over the last 6-7 years is that the high street is starting to ally itself with (and present itself as a substitute for) high fashion in a way that wasn’t done on such a wide scale before (sure, there was stuff like Designers at Debenhams for yonks but people really started sitting up and paying attention only after Lagerfeld, McCartney, et al began tying up with high street chains and editorials began using clothes from Topshop etc). But even if it is a UK-based trend, it’s not insignificant- though the popup shops tend to stick to the major fashion centres only, maybe they just assume consumers elsewhere aren’t as aware or interested? Mistaken assumption, I must say, in these times.
And yeah, people do pay much more attention to ‘fashion’ news these days. I remember reading a profile of Carine Roitfeld back in 2005 and thinking that it was the first time anyone’d ever paid attention to the people behind the scenes of a fashion magazine in this way (and to someone who wasn’t Anna Wintour)- now, editor profiles, interviews etc, are so common and easily found. It’s partly because the mainstream media encourages it too, I mean there’s obviously going to be an uptick in interest in fashion sites if the Guardian or the New Yorker run pieces on them.
Argh…I just realised I’ve not really formulated a good enough post to warrant comments that are as good as these ones… I told you guys it was half-baked and once again, the mind poo has been published! Need to rethink this before I can come back and construct something more substantial…
I think the first reason why more people are dressing more fashionable, are more interested in fashion and the like, is because retail stores with actual fashion sense (alike the fashions seen on the runway I mean) are more common. It’s because more kinds of fashion are available for more kinds of people through this. Fashion has become cheaper. It’s a dry and dull thought/answer but I personally think it’s because of this, the democratisation of fashion and all that.
But yes, the zeitgeist may have something to do with it. It’s quite interesting to see this happening.
Also re your comment here, I think your supposedly ‘half-baked’ posts are good in their own right. It opens up discussion a lot more etc. I like it!
There has been a shift. My memories of Forever 21 while I was in high school are not fond ones. The clothes were crap, felt like crap, and did not have any sort of link with higher end fashion. They’ve come a LONG way since the 90’s and I’d like to think that it’s because fashion awareness (and a moderate disposable income) has increased among the masses…
Good old British high St – my bread and butter when it comes to styling work, can’t knock it and you know what I don’t read sodding Dan Brown. Although I confess to the first two…now where are my very important papers hmmm.
I agree with your theory. I remeber when I first started shopping at forever 21 in 6th grade
(3 yrs ago), the clothing would fall apart before you coould even wear it more than once! People would be like “How is it that this store is so inexpencive?” Well duh your paying for paper thin crap! But in the past year they have raised their prices in order to try and produce better products (partially succeeding). I think stores are understand that people are now noticing how things are made and that cheap clothing wont cut it in the years to come. I know I would rather pay more money for a better product then spend a little and get a worthless peice of junk. I also think that the sudden intrest in fashion is not an epiphany of some sort but more the fact that for the first time ever the general public call fully have a inside view on the fashion industry which was previously hidden and exclusive. This is all thanks to the internet and the rapid growth of technology of course!
I think the reason that high in designers and stores have started doing collaberations is because people pay ore attention to fashion now a day and they realize that in order to build a big brand they have to involve the general public and not just the upper class.
As for the video: I think this is a great way of marketing, the video is confusing in a since that it makes the viewer want to go to their website and figure out what it is for. The future of marketing and advertising is endless and it is time for people to start exploring it!
Great post, made me think!
I am new, check me out. Dont let me being 14 fool you!
http://www.TheLevelHeadedChild.blogspot.com
the second picture is so pretty! this black and white and this body in movement
http://leblogdemasha.blogspot.com/
Perhaps you feel a lot of maybe(s)
Great comments on here. Yes, you’re right. In the last ten years fashion has become fashionable. I hate to say it but celebrities have added to the interest and so everyone (brand-wise) has upped their game. There’s more choice so brands have to offer better design and services to the consumer to stand out.
Now about the video. I like Jamie Morgan and I quite like some of the recently revamped Reiss since that bloke from Stella McCartney came along. But I’m not feeling this, I don’t know what it’s trying to say. It’s certainly getting plenty of press though…
i’m also 18, so maybe my eyes are too young to discern a measurable change, but from what i hear (and see in embarrassing photos of my parents and their friends haha) i would have to agree with this well-made hypothesis. i think the fact that good looking clothes are at a more reasonable price (rendering shoppers more willing to take the plunge in exploring a chic but perhaps fleeting trend) and the fact that kids like myself grew up looking at designers’ collections online and appreciating them literally instantly after they are presented to the public, has made our generation more knowledgable about the direction of fashion. this of course is all subjective, because what is fashion really except a look that has been presented to the consumer as hip, which we then eagerly and unquestioningly gobble up? something that you, and the blogosphere, i think is constantly trying to challenge by introducing independent designers such as reiss, which let’s be honest has a pretty badass campaign commercial (seriously, the horse and the rain, how can you go wrong?) props suzy, well made point
Isn’t it funny that after a lifetime as brunettes, constantly shoved into red and pink from girlhood on, that we should find these colors are no longer always our friends once our hair is no longer black or brown?
I, too, am a recovering brunette, currently about 50% gray. I only feel good in red if it’s a very clear shade or pink if it’s very icy.
I don’t wear any version of these shades nearly half so much as I once was urged to do and can finally indulge my love of white, turquoise, and black without apology.