Anti-fashion, anti-modelling: the future belongs to the discerning consumer

A year ago Lidewij Edelkoort, a trend forecaster, published a ten page manifesto in which she declared that the fashion industry was more or less finished. The fashion industry still works in a 20th century mode, says Edelkoort. There are problems with fashion education, which is rather superficial, with marketing, with the display and the presentation of fashion. There is repetition, lack of true creativity, and lack of real support for emerging new talent.
Edelkoort's most scathing remarks were about contemporary fashion journalism, which she deemed to be of a ridiculously low standard, suffocated by the rise of sponsored blogging, by definition of dubious quality. In her assessment, the only type of fashion that has been successful and shows real promise is menswear.
The good news amidst all this negativity is that couture will be back, just as a new sustainable agenda becomes mandatory for we cannot keep on feeding the monstrous greed of global capitalism, buying clothes that are cheaper than a sandwich. Harsh though it may sound, Edelkoort's assessment, here barely summarised, definitely resonates. I am interested in her critique of presentation.
I agree that Fashion Weeks are boring and most models are treated as no more than clothes horses. Not long ago, the anti-agency was set up to represent models that are different in look from the mainstream - many sporting tattoos, and no longer selected on the basis of height but only on their personality.

Getting ready for a runway show. Model: Alex B.
 Similarly, with regard to age, even though we are quite deluged with classic models, in an attempt to respond to the demand of the high street, age is being 'beautified' and classic models have worryingly begun to resemble each other, thus subtly going against the valorisation of age, by definition diverse, expected by a growing cohort of older consumers. Even when meant to be celebratory, the attention given to some of the more successful older models is ambiguously underpinned by a logic of 'othering' which is unhelpful.
 The whole modelling industry needs an overhaul, being closely allied to marketing. In the words of Edelkoort "without doubt the perversion of marketing ultimately has helped kill the fashion industries."

An interview with Edelkoort, en français

The future belongs to the consumer, but a discerning one. As she says,"the consumers of today and tomorrow are going to choose for themselves, creating and designing their own wardrobes...they will share clothes amongst each other since ownership doesn't mean a thing anymore. They will rent clothes, lend clothes, transform clothes and find clothes on the streets."

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