NYFW: Fashion is too Trendy

Proenza Schouler and Elizabeth and James. Photos from style.com

I usually cannot tolerate NYFW.

Almost every collection is based on trends (take Elizabeth and James's pinstripe trousers and matching jackets that are excruciatingly on trend- Mango and Zara did pinstripes) or not fashion forward and visionary at all (see Alexander Wang whose coats resemble Acne's Velocite Shearling Jacket that many fashion bloggers coveted this season).  Vanessa Friedman from FT.com explained this phenomenon with her article "Is Fashion too Safe?"

There's a heavy reliance on the past as an influence. The '90s and '70s Annie Hall and menswear-as-womenswear have been influences for the past decade in fashion. Even MM6 Maison Martin Margiela is trying to water down their experimental brand in order to have it be more diffused as a "New York Brand," which is usually characterized as urban and utilitarian. Their collaboration with H&M did not fare that well because most people do not 'get' MM6's couture and experimental pieces or know how to style them. The Isabel Marant x H&M collaboration did better in terms of sales compared to MM6 because the collection contained overpriced grey sweatshirts and leather trousers with laces that anyone without a sense of style or knowledge of fashion can understand.

This all boils down to what is marketable, and unfortunately, couture, unconventional, and avant-garde fashion is not marketable, solely because most people do not understand it. That leaves RTW fashion to be based off past trends and what bloggers deem as 'cool.' There lacks the exclusivity of luxury fashion aspect.