{"id":4661,"date":"2024-04-23T09:55:14","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T07:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.lineapelle-fair.it\/?p=4661"},"modified":"2024-04-24T17:04:50","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T15:04:50","slug":"faded-aesthetics-unrecognisable-products-where-does-fashion-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.lineapelle-fair.it\/en\/trend-en\/faded-aesthetics-unrecognisable-products-where-does-fashion-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Faded aesthetics, unrecognisable products: where does fashion go?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recent death of the last great maximalist designer, Roberto Cavalli, leads one to reflect on where fashion is going. If the style is used to allow a customer to identify with a brand, today, the aesthetic boundaries between brands are disappearing. Let us try to understand to what extent<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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If we were reading the exit polls of the most important electoral round of the year, the results would hand an overwhelming majority <\/strong>to the party of the middle ways<\/strong>, in coalition with the party of the quiet luxury<\/strong>. They would mark an (almost total) defeat for the party of maximalism <\/strong>and for those small parties that are still too young or with too vague programmes. But we are not talking about politics. We are talking about where fashion is going <\/strong>and an all-predictable defeat <\/strong>for the supporters of excess and theatrics, especially if we think that in recent years, brands have flattened out on the path of the ordinary<\/strong>, following the post-Covid sentiment, now aggravated by the geopolitical situation.<\/p>\n

Where fashion goes<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It has to be said that not many designers now represent this current. A few days ago, the last great maximalist, Roberto Cavalli<\/strong>, king of animal prints, passed away. A few daredevils <\/strong>remain in circulation led by John Galliano <\/strong>(who also combines citations) and Demna Gvasalia<\/strong>, creative director of Balenciaga<\/a>, who still manages to tell us stories. We are still faced with the alternation between two major parties – maximalism vs custom <\/strong>– but if before style allowed a customer to recognise himself in a brand, today the aesthetic boundaries between brands are disappearing. An aesthetic normalisation that has <\/strong>been, and still is, the golden goose of luxury, committed to the search for common products to intercept ‘the median consumer<\/strong>‘.<\/p>\n

‘The median consumer<\/strong>‘<\/h3>\n

“The median consumer” changes from time to time, but would never dream of buying <\/strong>a pink leather Jackie reinterpreted by Alessandro Michele during his creative direction at Gucci. Certainly, there is a group of designers <\/strong>who have used maximalism as a distinguishing feature. From Demna himself, together with Rick Owens<\/strong>, to Daniel Roseberry <\/strong>for Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, who may <\/strong>not be an extremist, but who has managed to build her own recognisable aesthetic<\/strong>, attentive to the demands of society, and who today places her two brands on the first step of the most loved (and best selling) brands.<\/p>\n

Aesthetic Security<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It costs money to buy a safe good <\/strong>– such as a Herm\u00e8s handbag – and it is fair to assume that one chooses products that convey a reassuring image. In other words, the difference between a product (ordinary and beautifully made) by Phoebe Philo <\/strong>and one (extraordinary and beautifully made) by Loewe <\/strong>is the degree of aesthetic security <\/strong>the brands manage to convey. The main mistake, however, is to think that maximalism in fashion is synonymous with kitsch and coarseness<\/strong> when, in fact, it amounts to the ability to create stories <\/strong>in which we mere mortals are the protagonists. Above all, this search for common products keeps out a segment of potential consumers who have already become influential and who no longer reflect themselves in the traditional system: Gen Z.<\/p>\n

Not feeling recognised<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Gen Z today doesn’t have the buying power of the ‘average consumer’ but still buys and doesn’t feel recognised<\/strong>\u00a0by any brand. A segment of young people who were\u00a0born on<\/strong> social<\/strong>\u00a0media and\u00a0grew up on<\/strong>\u00a0social media need to find\u00a0disruptive products<\/strong>. For example, Alessandro Michele’s social appreciation has remained high thanks to those young people who hope to see a stylistic evolution also at\u00a0Valentino<\/strong>, of which Michele has recently become creative director. The brands that have chosen to join the party of the middle ground continue to have a hard core of customers, but this model may be one step away from jamming. One only has to look at the turnovers to realise that, in addition to a ‘safe’ product,\u00a0momentum is still needed<\/strong>. Or at least a jump.<\/p>\n

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