Much ado is made about celebrities' outfits on the red carpet; most of the statements made by actresses and actors at such events amount to stultifyingly dull corporate endorsements. One of the most annoying trends is wearing a "vintage" ensemble from a staid, very much of-the-establishment design house, which, while likely to be more appealing than contemporary offerings in many cases, is hardly adventurous. Nor do celebrities (and staff) fully take advantage of opportunities to be original or support actual talent on the fashion scene.
For devoted readers of fashion and gossip blogs, the story of this moment is that Reese Witherspoon mistakenly believed she was wearing a vintage Chanel dress when she accepted the Golden Globe for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk The Line. But alas, her dress was not only three years old, but photographed extensively as worn by Kirsten Dunst first. And to the same event! A tragic faux pas, to be sure. The real shame is that not one, but two actresses in the public eye chose to wear such an uninspired, lifeless gown on separate occasions.
I've long followed avant-garde fashion and have been quite a fan and supporter of emerging talent in all fields, but the recent experience that has made me much more strident in my stance is the exhibition currently on view at the Center for Architecture, "The Fashion of Architecture: CONSTRUCTING the Architecture of Fashion." I'll post my extensive commentary later (it will be a combined post with my thoughts on the sweet but comparatively...pastel "Fashion in Colors" show now on view at the Cooper-Hewitt), but let me just say, I was embarassed when I realized there is a Hussein Chalayan store in Tokyo but not in New York.
In general, a small dose of daring on the red carpet would be... nice. If you should ever see me in such a setting, you'll recognize me by my ultimate fantasy ensemble of Chalayan's Airplane Dress, or perhaps one of Walter's creations "in anticipation of what would be the relics of our time for the future generation." Or maybe a dress constructed by making patterns of soundwaves created by anonymous confessional messages left via a telephone number advertised in the classifieds, conceptualized and coolly executed by one Jasmin Shokrian in Los Angeles.
Coming soon: an exclusive Lux Lotus interview with whiSpiral creator, and forward-thinking textile designer, Elena Corchero.
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