“L’art pour L’art” cried the French asserting their philosophy that the intrinsic worth of art, and only “true” art, is detached from any informative ethical or practical function. Enter couture. Fashion made to quench the visual thirst of the beauty starved (Andre Leon Tally we’re talking to you) and yet ironically there are those who insist on transporting the extreme looks of the catwalk to the jagged gum-covered city sidewalk. This is what Vogue associate accessories editor Jorden Bickham was attempting when Glamour magazine called her out in their “Do’s and Don’t’s” section (unfortunately a recipient of the latter) wearing a multi-colored Marni coat that just didn’t quite look right on the grey streets of Manhattan.
Andre Leon Tally we’re talking to you
There’s a reason the looks don’t translate. Anybody who’s ever been on the other side of a fashion shoot can tell you about the vast amounts of pinning, tucking, and cinching that is involved—and that’s with a size zero model and Photoshop to boot. Sure that Viktor & Rolf cutout gown will look great on you. So long as you don’t mind a couple industrial sized metal clamps hanging off your back to make it fit perfectly.
When Anna Dello Russo wears outrageous runway fashion, no one bats an eyelash.
Still there are those that manage to pull it off. When Anna Dello Russo or Ada Kokosar show up in their latest Mary Katranzou ensemble, no one bats an eyelash. It’s true they have their own styles and always look polished in their own right, but could it be their status in the fashion industry rather than their intuitive style that pulls off their looks for them? Or perhaps eccentric personalities and copious amounts of confidence is the secret to total couture ascendancy.
So basically all you need to do is become a cross breed of Anna Wintour and Lady Gaga and you can wear any Schiaparelli piece you’d like. Whatever the secret formula is I’ll be impressed when someone pulls off The Blond’s Tweety Bird fiasco… or anything from the Thom Browne spring show for that matter (Taylor Tomasi, you don’t count).
