I don’t know her name, so let’s call her Andrea. I saw her
the first time when I was 8. Every morning, while I would yawn at the bus stop,
I’d see her pacing around, waiting for her bus to arrive. She would glance at
her watch occasionally and always wear a big smile on her face. She worked as a
personal assistant for a magazine editor and never missed a day of work. What
was peculiar about Andrea was her stylish yet unusual apparel. She’d come
fashionably dressed every single morning, wearing a tutu one day and a cancan
another. She’d strut around in six-inch heels or maybe higher. She’d carry a
Prada bag on Monday, Louis Vuitton on Tuesday, Marc Jacobs on Wednesday and
I’ll stop now. Her clothes were meant to be worn on the streets of New York, not on a bus taking you to South
Delhi. But what struck a nerve about her was that, no matter how
many people stared, mocked or even pushed her, it didn't worry her. She was
called silly, useless and a number of other unpleasant names but I could never
absorb why. She spoke well, was doing a respectable job and looked glamorous,
then why?
And then it hit me.
 |
| Illustration by Karl Lagerfeld |
It hit me that our society is highly prejudiced and shares
conservative ideologies. It hit me that no matter what we say or do; fashion is
and will always remain ‘evil’ in the eyes of the people. It hit me that this is
now become more than a stereotype or a myth.
Fashion is incorporated as unworthy in our society.
Designers are supposedly frivolous and models are apparently skinny-shits. No
matter their interest. No matter their aptitude. No matter their happiness. Not
a chance, they are simply m a t e r i a l i s t i c.
 |
| Gisele Bundchen |
These people chose to be who they are today, to which they
are completely entitled to. They
like it.
What does anybody else’s detestation have to do with their satisfaction?
Fashion is about art, not glamour. It cannot
be summed up in high heels or leather bags. It isn’t about looking appealing.
And it’s definitely not about feeling more confident. When I see a Nina Ricci
advert in a magazine, I don’t think it makes me gain more self esteem. Or while
watching TV, I don’t look at a Nissan advert and think it’ll make me like the
person driving it. Or reading a certain book will make me any cooler. I do
those things because they intrigue my interest. Period.
 |
| Kate Moss |
According to some, wearing nail polish or mascara or rings
mislead us. How does looking good mislead us? How does the fashion industry,
which is like any other industry, mislead us?
How does beauty mislead us?
When we get certain compliments on our attire, we feel
thoroughly flattered and we should too. So why do the same people then term
looking good as shallow? That is just ample disrespect to the people who
believe in fashion as something much bigger than just a way of earning money,
which is the way many people in other industries function daily. ‘Jobs that pay
the rent’ they call it.
 |
| Illustration by Yves Saint Laurent |
Another thing I come across often is, “What a waste of
money, I could have done so many things in place of it.” Go ahead, do those
‘things’. Knock yourselves out. But why is it a waste of money? If I spend a
fortune on a Monet or IT books, it is perfectly understandable but if I do the
same on a pair of Tom Ford sunglasses, I am a complete idiot and just squeezed
money down the drain. You buy paintings, I buy shoes. Last time I checked,
nobody has died because of wearing pretty shoes. So why the disapproval?
What about Tavi Gevinson? At such a young age of 11, she’s
running a very successful blog with thousands of followers, is known to almost
everyone associated with the fashion industry and has been featured in
innumerable magazines too. And more popularly known, Coco Chanel who is the
role model of millions of women around the globe, entered a patriarchal society
and revamped it with the feminist movement. Clearly, fashion is not for people who don’t
possess any brains.
 |
| Illustration by Alexander McQueen |
So, why this hatred towards fashion? Why eradicate Andrea
and a million others like her who are just fulfilling their dreams and hopes
and wishes? Just because they dream about looking beautiful and not getting into an Ivy League college,they have no substance? They are people too. Real ones.
Cindy Crawford dropped out of Northwestern University to pursue her modelling career. Similarly, Mark Zuckerberg quit Harvard but as per my knowledge, he isn't labelled as frivolous. They did the same thing: follow their dreams and they are both extremely successful people in their fields today. If Crawford had continued studying chemical engineering, she wouldn't have gained success like the present.
 |
| Cindy Crawford |
Marc Jacobs was born to a non-observant Jewish family in New York City. When he was seven, his father died. His mother, who remarried three times, was “mentally ill” and “didn’t really take care of her kids”, according to Jacobs. As a teenager, he went to live with his paternal grandmother on the Upper West Side. He didn't have a lavish childhood but he had a goal. He worked very hard and graduated from the High School of Art and Design and went on to study at Parsons School of Design, of which we are all aware is an excellent school to study at. During his time there, he won Perry Ellis Gold Thimble Award in 1984, and in the same year was also awarded the Chester Weinberg Gold Thimble Award and the Design Student of the Year Award. How awesome is he?
So why the label of materialism? Why the tag of frivolousness? Why?
WHY?
Manvi.x
