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Is it possible to achieve the balance between luxury and comfort in fashion?

2022-03-24T23:10:23.161Z


We tend to think that a comfortable outfit is synonymous with ugly and informal, but two fashion experts share their views on comfort in the clothing industry


One of the most recurrent places, and also one of the most questionable, around haute couture and luxury within the fashion ecosystem, suggests that since ancient times,

dressing luxuriously implies an effort

, discomfort or imposture for part of the wearer.

Let's remember those corsets, lavish suits and bizarre makeup that today look a bit out of context.

The evolution of the footwear and clothing industry, always linked to sociocultural discourses, geopolitical contexts and multiple approaches to the body, have somehow integrated comfort and convenience, beyond the size, fit, softness or looseness, as an additional element to the needs of clothing, incorporating the current state of the world from its integration and validation dynamics.

Recent trends such as

ugly shoes

(ugly sneakers),

oversized

(extra large sizes) and recently the needs derived from confinement and the home office, among others, tell us about comfort as an increasingly recurrent and complex presence in the world of Fashion.

Liliana Mejía, creative director of the fashion brand GYKS, sees two aspects to take into account in the field of luxury fashion: “There is a very clear part of the show on the catwalks, which I see with an intention more inclined to sell the brand, there is a lot of play by designers but I think this appeals a lot to the discourse, to talk about how the brand looks and what it is linked to.

But, on the other hand, in stores there are usually clothes for people to feel comfortable wearing.

Even on the catwalks themselves, viewers wear more casual clothes.

And yes, there will be more exotic or striking outfits at that time, but in everyday life, luxury fashion also seeks to be salable and this is adjusted with comfort and adaptability, ”she specifies.

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On the contrary, for Emiliano Villalba, fashion journalist and writer, discomfort in the world of luxury is also one of the imprints that define its essence, both current and future.

“Although the classes that have access to luxury have always had a certain comfort as a goal, it does not exist as we think or is a protagonist in today's fashion.

And one of the recent examples that I rescue is that of Kim Kardashian covered with Balenciaga tape.

If you watch the videos, Kim has a hard time walking, and recently I made that reflection that the suit was not designed for movement but to be static for photography.

“In fashion, there is research on the concept of a half-person, which tells us about how individuals within a society express or enunciate speeches that imply many things, especially in fashion.

In this case we speak of sacrifices and validation.

And one of those sacrifices is the body itself, which either with the example of Kim or Phillip Plein's models at Milan Fashion Week, who tripped in one of the corners of the runway because of the shoes they had , makes us think about how the discourse of comfort is constructed and about who has the right to be comfortable in fashion”, explains Villalba.

The elegance of being at home

As a symptomatic sign of the sociohistorical moment we live in, where vital aspects such as gender roles are openly questioned and reformulated, the world of fashion has also integrated the dynamics of remote work and the

expansion of intimate spaces as propitious scenarios

for the dynamics around clothing.

In this way, brands have also made use of slacks, pajamas, shorts and face masks, but at the same time have tried to reverse the dynamic by incorporating classic elegance into everyday spaces.

“Two years ago, comfort was a trend and, for example, Salvatore Ferragamo launched elements and accessories that referred to staying at home.

This tells us that the relationship between fashion and what happens in society is not something separate;

indicates the position of the world at a given time.

Ferragamo and other brands began to launch eye-catching tops and more discreet pants or bottoms, also because of the position of the screen and the dynamics of the zoom in our homes”, says Emiliano Villalba.

Liliana Mejía tells us that the pandemic opened up the possibility of being comfortable, and that this also found gender neutrality, “so that clothing is more homogeneous and spacious in public.

Due to this, today we also see luxury brand collaborations with others more sporty and or focused on the

streetwear

style , such as Gucci with Adidas or Supreme with Louis Vuitton, mergers and collections that point to the comfort and intention of other markets that like to spend in fashion, but with a more casual use”, explains the creative director of GYKS.

However, facing a future in which gender roles, social, political and health conditions, as well as technological development can integrate comfort into fashion, for both Emiliano Villalba and Liliana Mejía, this

will not be an element paramount in the future

.

The first refers to the historians Valerie Steele and Joanne Entwistle, who reflect on fashion and the relationship of the female body, "how it is transformed through clothing to define gender roles, whether women who attribute themselves as such, and also trans women, who have this way of changing the body to be present within the perception.

And this also tells us about comfort and discomfort.

I believe that there is no total comfort within the fashion industry, because we are always seeking, through the body, to maintain an unfulfilled idealization”.

And Liliana Mejía points out: “The ideal way to look good in clothes is that you feel good in them, but if you are a person who is very obsessed with fashion (the so-called

fashion victims

), comfort can take a backseat, rewarding only the appearance.

I think that fashion will not be a function of comfort but of what is happening socially;

It will not be uncommon to see garments linked even more to technology issues and I do not think that the priority is comfort.

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-03-24

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