Issue 18: Was This Meant To Be Funny?
HANDBAGS AT DAWN // Once too serious for its own right, it feels like the world of fashion is now obsessed with taking the piss out of itself. But at what price?
Handbags at Dawn (@h4ndbagsatdawn) is (meant to be) a fortnightly newsletter that lands into your inbox every other Thursday.
Once again, the fashion month has come and gone. Ever since I left my full-time position at a magazine, I’ve been trying to immerse myself into the hullabaloo as little as possible, only breaking my fashion fasting to applause my faves. Someone like Simone Rocha or Botter; Chopova Lowena or Laura & Deanna Fanning of Kiko Kostadinov. These designers are consistently find a way to creatively innovate their unique design ideas into clothes that have a story but also a true, wearable value in the real world. They make pieces that are both relatable and aspirational, bridging the gap between creativity and commercial outputs.
Yet, even as I mostly tried to look away in order to prevent a chronic case of FOMO, I couldn’t help but feel repeatedly pulled into the fashion month goings-on without my consent. From daily news updates and feeds of Instagram/Twitter/*insert social media platform* to real-life conversations – this fashion month felt like it was more present in my life than any other one before it. Was it because I was trying to run away from it? Or perhaps it’s just the fact that what’s been going on felt more like a below-average season of Eastenders? DRAMA! HUMOUR! HUMOROUS DRAMA! DRAMATIC HUMOUR! Despite – or maybe exactly because of – several wars, a queen dying, and an economic crisis all going on at once, fashion shows still found their way to the water coolers around the world. And how did they do that? Well apparently, all it takes is a gimmick.
Once upon a time, about seven years ago, I was working on my final MA thesis on a course I excitedly came to study here in London. The polemic of my thesis was as follows – does fashion have a sense of humour? And after analysing a plethora of case studies, several interviews, and a whole bunch of printed matter – the answer I got was: ABSOLUTELY NOT. Permanently focused on control and an evolving-yet-totalitarian sense of beauty, the bubble I suddenly started penetrating suddenly felt completely boring. I thought people have fun in this world? It’s just clothes, shoes and bags, right? We’re not changing the world, so can we just chill?
After seeing this fashion month, it’s safe to say that it only took seven-ish years to turn this whole thing around and make it one big joke. We (and by this I mean people that explore fashion in their work) went from taking ourselves too seriously to taking the piss for piss sake. And it suddenly stopped being funny. After a health crisis that was advertised as “fashion’s big reset”, things haven’t gone back to how they were. Oh no, they’ve gone way bigger, bolder and more dramatic. Giant mud-slides that saw pre-torn clothes being doused in dirt. A massive spectacle with a legendary queer icon and over 100 “sustainable” looks made out of trees that look exactly like they were made out of trees. A line up of twins wearing doubles of the same look. Paris Hilton in a shitty pink dress. Bella Hadid in a spray-painted dress. A Kim K collaboration that was simply a two-sided, self-indulgent promo. The line between satire in old episodes of Ab Fab and our reality today is thinner than ever. I don’t mean to be cynical even though I know I sound like I am, but… this past month reeked of desperation. Which part was serious and where did the joke begin? When you send out another barrage of clothes and accessories, the only way to stand out and get trending on TikTok is to make people think that what you did was impressive. When did ‘impressive’ become the goal? In the words of the late and somewhat problematic André Leon Talley – there is a famine of beauty.
And I’m first to take responsibility for the place we are now. As someone who considers themselves as an aspiring comedian, I was here for it when designers got in on the joke and started acting self-deprecating, realising it was time to lighten the mood. I was the first one to share the humorous videos or the purposelessly tiny purses because OMG HOW CUTE. There’s a point where a funny detail in a silly pigeon clutch from JW Anderson stops being a funny detail and becomes the conversation’s only purpose. Even Carrie is going to be wearing it in the new season of And Just Like That, along with an ankle-monitor-esque Fendi Baguette, as seen in a Baguette-themed show this past September. I MEAN COME ON. A WHOLE SHOW DEDICATED TO THE BAGUETTE? Who the hell is paying for that and why can’t they just gift me a bag already?
And perhaps the pinnacle of this provocative search for attention came at the tail end of the whole spectacle in the form of a really ugly T-shirt with three words written on it. By feeding into the beast, we are all responsible for this exact moment when things went too far and harmless trolling became overt political initiation and doxing. Honestly, this whole situation reminds me of play-fighting with my sister as a kid and having fun, right until the point one of us (me) went too far and actually smacked the other in the face just a bit too hard. And like my mum used to put me on time-out when I made my older sister’s lip bleed, fashion should come out of the news cycle, reflect on its behaviour and focus on making thoughtful decisions. No gimmicks, no bullshit, no statements. No pink Cadillac cards, no tulle gowns with sassy messages. And no, this doesn’t mean we should all do a Miuccia Prada and pretend that body diversity is a silly little trend worth ignoring. I’m not saying it’s time to go back to where fashion was. I don’t want everything to be serious or in grayscale. But maybe, just maybe, brands can be less about presenting a shocking, polarising topic for everyone and instead offer an inspiring, positive story to those few that love them. That said, I will still try to buy my way to that fucking pidgeon bag because fuck, even Carrie has it. Xxx
*PEEK OF THE WEEK*
This week’s peek of the week is indeed someone with a great sense of humour and so much more. Unlike a lot of these brands, DJ, presenter & broadcaster Zooey Gleaves aka Lagoon Femshayma (@lagoon_femshayma) has much more to offer than just jokes. They are a warm human being who always has a friendly smile on their face as well as great taste in music that has made me dance until the early hours on several occasions. For this week’s peek, Zooey allowed us to delve into their Medium Orange Telfar Shopper.
What does the inside of your bag say about you?
Zooey: “The contents of my bag reveal that I’m an asthmatic eclectic girl on the go, with lovely friends and a penchant for homeopathic remedies, mints… and Burberry sunglasses!”