Fashion Week can feel like its own exclusive little world of glam and luxury. But the Fashion Week audience extends curated guest lists and borders of fashion capitals – Fashion Week has global reverberations. In the end, fashion, like any art, is not only about what we see, but about the feelings it creates, and these feelings aren’t exclusive to the people attending. The creative ideas shown will not stay there. They will eventually find their way into people’s wardrobes.
Models, wearing months of hard work, step onto the runway and present the shapes, fabrics and colors that will dominate the next season. They are new, exciting, and most of all, suddenly desirable. But where exactly does this desire come from? And is that truly how we feel?
From Runway to Wardrobe
Most runway pieces are probably not what we would want in our own wardrobe, as they are not practical for everyday life. And they don’t need to be, as the runway is not a storefront. It doesn’t sell us clothes. It sells us a vision. It shows us how coolness or elegance looks from now on. This can make it feel like what was cool and elegant before is now outdated and replaced. And who wants to feel outdated? That’s what the clothing companies think as well, so they take the vision and the clothes that currently embody it and transform them into trend pieces suitable for the masses. These pieces will then be available at the nearest store not long after and flood our social media feeds in no time. And like with every trend, after seeing it for a long time all over our feed or in real life, we feel the need to fit in and keep up. That is because of the mere-exposure effect, which causes a more positive attitude towards something we repeatedly see and therefore get familiar with. And the translation from runway to High Street moves FAST. You see it, you like it, you want it, you got it. Within weeks the new trend pieces are for sale. The fashion industry really makes it easy for us; there isn’t even time to question our desire before the novelty wears off.
The changing relationship to what we already own
The constant cycle of newness can create the perception that the clothes we already own aren’t up to date anymore. But that’s all it is – a perception. And one we don’t need to believe. Our wardrobe consists of clothes we decided to buy because we liked their fit, color, or material and felt like it matched our style and we want to express ourselves with our clothes.
Of course, the amazing thing about fashion is that it is always evolving and reinventing itself. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a part of it by adapting our style and reinventing ourselves as well in the process. Let’s just keep in mind that we don’t actually need to. Our clothes don’t suddenly become outdated just because there is something new. They hold meaning that is more valuable than the ever-changing social one. So, conscious consumption is key, not just in terms of sustainability, but especially for our own wardrobe. Trend pieces may catch our attention, but do they match our character?
Inspiration and what we make of it
What eventually climaxes into consumption or even overconsumption has started out as a feeling or an inspiration. But we don’t need to give in to the endless supply and constantly translate our inspiration into consumption. Inspiration and consumption in fashion are so tightly intertwined, but we could also turn our inspiration into creativity or even into nothing but appreciation.
The #KnowYourFashionWeek Campaign took a look behind the scenes and spotlighted the systems behind the stage. All the hard work, the industry’s collaboration and commitment to the event is definitely something that deserves appreciation. With this knowledge, we have the power to become a more conscious audience that understands the system behind Fashion Week and chooses whether to let it reach our wardrobes. We can take a step back, turn our focus to the art and admire the creative vision and craftsmanship on display.
Trends go fast from runway to store, and we go fast from watching to consuming. The fashion industry wants to awaken our desire to buy new clothes, but we are the audience first. And we decide whether we want to become consumers. We can pause and choose to let feelings and inspiration be all we gain from Fashion Week.
