Does anyone hate fashion?

'Fashion is a despot (dictator, tyrant) whom the wise ridicule and obey' wrote Ambrose Bierce in 1911 in his Devil's Dictionary. Ridicule and obey? Obviously he was on to something. Shoes that hurt too much, trousers that pinch, blouses that scratch, dresses that demand we alter our bodies for their sake, and let's not even get into hair and make-up trends. Fashion can be painful, uncomfortable, way too time-consuming, and of course super expensive. It's appealing today and appalling two seasons later. Anyone who has ever had a passion for fashion knows that it can be dangerous, and , even worse, addictive, because of its promise that if we look chic we will fell great - and who can beat that?'

... and to read the rest of this article, please go out and buy the latest copy (That's issue 7!) of Let Them Eat Cake Magazine - Go and read all about them! There story is a great one, and I believe they are to be saluted!

So whats it all about...

So, researching into the evolution of fashion from inspiration to sales got me a little bit down... and I thought you all should know about it. This is a project based on wit, intelligence and humour for the educated consumer.



After spending some time researching current trends in the hope of inspiration towards trends for 08/09, it struck me how repulsive the entire trends system is… the industry gets to dictate to the entire world what they will wear at any given time. Sickening!



And this is not just with regard to those of us who attempt to follow and keep up with the ever changing ‘fast-fashions’ but everyone who steps onto their local high street.



‘I don’t really like hipster trousers, I don’t think they suit me… but that’s all you can get these days, so that’s what I have to wear.’
– Overheard at a party.

What is even more disgusting about this dictation, I feel, is that it comes from such a small amount of people, and us, the masses, just eat up every morsel of information that they give us…



… because we’re all so insecure, requiring constant reassurance and feel that that’s exactly what that ‘IT’ bag, or new pair of ‘on trend’ shoes are going to do for us. Buying that dress that is featured in this month’s Vogue is going to make us better people, more professional, help us get that guy, get us a pay rise… somehow transform us!? – there are so many more important things in life that we don’t put half as much emphasis on!

Consumers are becoming more intelligent, a lot more savy, and we know when we are being tricked by brands. I think we are going to start seeing through trends, designers and the fashion industry in general – A trend of Anti-Fashion! People will begin to buy into quality and boycott the seasonal trends…


‘If everybody looked the same… We’d get tired of looking at each other…’
[Groove Armada]



So who else agrees with me? Well, SilverScreenPipeDreams certainly does:

‘I recognise that the way we look is important to how people perceive us, but I don’t want to be beholden to a code that dictates what I can and can not wear.’

‘Women are so often told what we can and can’t wear in this world, and we soak it up, we’re so certain that we must be doing something wrong, our hair out of style, the wrong dress, why else wouldn’t we have the life we are shown in the advertisements? We let these depictions of life define our roles for us, telling us we should be sexy and also virginal, and smart and also a great mother and stylish and put together, but also free to be ourselves that it’s no wonder some people drop out of the race altogether, or some like Britney Spears, go insane.’



Vivienne Westwood looks into the future and here’s what’s in her minds eye:

‘If you ask me what I think people should be getting next season… I’ll tell you what I’d like them to buy – nothing. I’d like people to stop buying and buying and buying.’

‘With so much fast fashion available to us, we are not giving ourselves the opportunity to develop good taste.’