High
fashion, fashion magazines and ordinary people
Couture
fashion shows display such extravagance that many women seemingly
question what place it has in their everyday lives. Flicking through
the pages of a fashion magazine they wonder what relation the images
bear to the clothes in their wardrobe. Top model Giesle looks only
slightly less than perfect in Dolce & Gabbana but when you are
half her height and three times her weight, you can hardly look
to supermodels for style direction.
It leaves one to question what high fashion can possibly represent
to ordinary members of the public.
Has
fashion created a fantasy that is too far beyond our reach? Alternatively,
do we just fail to understand it or the role of style magazines?
It is commonplace that many men and women are intimidated by high
fashion, judged to be a luxury relished only by the rich and famous.
Many people believe fashion is overrated and the industry is 'shallow'
and overexposed. They feel unable to relate therefore they have
rejected it altogether.
However,
others seem in-sync with fashion and understand perfectly what magazines
are trying to achieve. Those in the know, are aware that people
buy the £1,500 outfits or the £35 perfume. They understand
that the £50,000 dresses are on-offs, lent out by designers
solely for the purpose of seeing it worn in order to generate interest
and publicity for their designs.
High
fashion magazines seem to get the bulk of the blame but surely when
you pick up a copy of vogue, one expects a certain class. After
all, you cannot book a table at a gourmet restaurant and order fish
and chips (unless you are at the Ivy).
By reading the magazine, you are projecting your enjoyment of fashion
and you are indicating your interest. Fashion magazines create an
image, a volume that sells clothes and provides information. If
you see an outfit you like and call the stockists listed at he back
then surely the magazine has done its job.
According to Plum Sykes, US Vogue contributor and socialite, "reading
vogue is like going to see a movie, don't believe any of it".
Fashion
is a fickle business and like any other it aims to generate revenue.
The industry promotes fantasy and glamour and rightly because we
wouldn't want it any other way.
Esohe
Ebohon
