These texts – originally published in SHOW NOTES (2020) – are the deconstructed diary entries of a frenzied writer attending fashion shows in London, Milan and Paris. Revised and rebooted from reports written over a period of three years, these reflections on clothes, stage sets and the language of PR insist on the authority of the word in an age possessed by the image. Recontextualised here, they are a reminder of the murky rhapsody of fashion – an industry that revels in the power of its iconography whilst distracting us from its truths.
***
what a boon
for red, read blood
a sense of dread, perhaps
even self-loathing
knowing shoulders
engineered to twist
around the torso
a graphic wave jumper skew,
a white plastic mac well worn
the eradication of
work/life balance
forever running to the
studio, walking to the gym
hints of light grey, orange
& blue on the canvas
signature plastic
tag in baby blue
yet more merch
***
what to wear in the wilderness
the invitation arrives in a long thick box
sandwiched between two thick pieces of white foam: a mini-Italian futurist bust
the avant-garde desire to elevate the transgressive
dirt as a counterpoint to glitter
sometimes unsettling, the last in extreme elegance
deep in the concrete crypt
turned inside out
models glide across the upper walkway of towering scaffolding
the full height & width
the epic symmetry
in the harsh summer sunlight, models elevated & ethereal
a sort of uniform, a symbol of evolution
silk duchesse, cut large
fitted high to the torso, crushing to the floor
the same look
lacquered 12 ounce denim in industrial black, blue & green
the look blunt, rich in texture
light sheer wool gazar washed & sun dried
plastic tarp lurex tape woven on a metal warp
a stiff plastic textile, future proof
an agonisingly hot day in Paris
***
what a boon
for red, read blood
a sense of dread, perhaps even self-loathing
knowing shoulders
engineered to twist around the torso
a graphic wave jumper skew, a white plastic mac well worn
the eradication of work/life balance
forever running to the studio, walking to the gym
hints of light grey, orange & blue on the canvas
signature plastic tag in baby blue
yet more merch
***
a go-to uniform, an acting out against the norm
an idiosyncratic riff on utility wear
crossing over, walking fast & then slow
a shower of tiny leaves bleached out
the US military’s night camo
an aesthetic comeback for summer
poems by refugees on the walls of the Palazzo Pitti
bold typographic art
a sculptor who works with language
to recode the familiar
how the wearer attaches stories to clothes
open to interpretation
you choose!
***
light
deconstructed
breezy beach town
soft terrycloth
fat corduroy
lush velour
easy
pyjama style
sun-bleached blues
pinks
wreathes of corals
a short sleeved shirt appliquéd with seahorses
wood
//
