SmArts

September 19-25, 2016

Message in Design

By Molly Rector

The second week of September is a very important week for the fashion industry: it’s when New York Fashion Week takes place. And for the past 15 years, as Matt Schneier pointed out in the New York Times, it has also included the anniversary of one of the most painful moments in American history. Schneier pointed out, in his article, the ways in which major players in the fashion industry have worked to honor the memory of those who lost their lives in the events of September 11, 2001 – for example, donating money to the memorial museum, shifting the schedule so that no shows take place at 9 a.m., and holding minutes of silence (in later shows) before models begin to walk the runway.

Of course, solemnity isn’t the only feeling at a fashion show, but it’s interesting to note, as Vanessa Friedman pointed out in another article on the New York Times, the ways in which designers engage conceptually with historical and political moments. Many of the designers who showed their work on September 11 had political messages, including messages of hope and optimism, literally stitched into their designs – prompting Friedman to write “this season, words are the new black” (my new favorite quotation).

One of the things that makes the fashion industry so fascinating is that even though design is an artistic pursuit, it is inextricably bound to business because of the consummability of clothing. It is a huge industry that contains a whole hierarchy of success and wealth. Events like New York Fashion Week give lesser-known designers the opportunity to work in the same space as those who have been majorly successful in the industry, and as such there is always an element of persuasion (the fundamental art of the sale) in fashion shows. That persuasion becomes complicated (and all the more fascinating) in shows that attempt a political message.

Of course, as I’m fond of saying, fashion always has rhetorical meaning, and often it is more subtle than we imagine. One designer (Hood By Air) Friedman points out as questioning the status quo, for example, sells basic polo shirts (from their Fall collection – not debuted at NYFW) embroidered with the words “American Psycho” in a simple font for $300 online. Another, Prabal Gurung – whose t-shirt embroidered with a quote from Susan B. Anthony debuted at NYFW – sells clothing through Neiman Marcus with prices starting at $500.

The shows these designers put on are meant, to some extent, to critique American consumerism and challenge our ideas of what is socially acceptable. And they do – clothing and fashion designers have a major impact on what we perceive as “normal.” So even though it seems ironic that these designers are critiquing a consumerism they are undeniably a part of, I don’t think this diminishes the impact of the messages they put forth. In fact, it seems to me a fitting tribute for designers to err political (and complicated) on the anniversary of a day when freedom of speech was so deeply challenged.

Molly Rector is a staff writer for the Daily Record. Contact her at molly@dailydata.com.