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In The Theory of The Leisure Class Thorstein Veblen says that the vulgarization of life is a by-product of modern industrialism- consumerism. Fashion is not exempt from this critique:
“It is felt by all persons of refined taste that a spiritual contamination is inseparable from certain offices that are conventionally required of servants. Vulgar surroundings, mean (that is to say, inexpensive) habitations, and vulgarly productive occupations are unhesitatingly condemned and avoided. They are incompatible with life on a satisfactory spiritual plane- with “high thinking”. Many a gentlemen of the old school has been provoked to remark regretfully upon the underbred manners and bearing of even the better classes in the modern industrial communities; and the decay of the ceremonial code- or as it is otherwise called, the vulgarization of life- among the industrial classes proper. The decay which the code has suffered at the hands of a busy people testifies to the fact that decorum is a product and an exponent of leisure-class life and thrives in full measure only under regime status”.
Not many of us are exempt from vulgar productive occupations Mr. Veblen, including today’s fashion designers; but Mint Designs, which is famous for engineering “inside-out” jacquards printed with quirky patterns like cartoonish characters or charming phrases showed a collection which introduced coats adorned with flocked patterns, which turned out to be the titles of past collections such as Happy Mistake. This was innovative at least and if you have to be productive and demean yourself you should at least do something creative!
Tokyo Fashion Week Fall 2013 offers a unique fashion alternative to the overly trivialized, commercialized Western fashion week; which place emphasis on wears ability as opposed to that dreaded anti-capitalist word non-productive pecuniary creativity.
Tokyo Fashion Week proves you don’t have to follow the fashion herd in order to be successful. The Japanese set the trends that every one else follows years later. The recent trend of origami type textiles, and jacquards, in womenswear at Paris Fashion Week proves that the source of inspiration today is still Japan. What Yamamoto, and Comme des Garcons did for 80’s fashion which is so influential today, is being duplicated now at Tokyo Fashion Week. Look at see what you will be wearing in 5 to 10 years. Paper mache hats anyone?
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