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Is this maybe really good? Or is it bad? Or is so awful it's delightful, to use Stevie's turn of phrase? I mean, obviously the knit is fine, I really like the the colours and the mish-mash pattern. And the polo shirt and loose baggy track pants are nothing new. That muted red is kind of lovely, isn't it? And all together, it's ok, right? And the sunglasses are eco-friendly, which is nice for the environment. You see I can convince myself up to a point and then I just get to the shoes and suddenly I'm stumped for an argument. I should hate them. I have made strong, vocal arguments against sliders, especially in 90s teen flicks such as 10 Things I Hate About You where alleged figures of female desire like Joey (note the use of the word alleged) wear them in a decidedly un-ironic fashion and it completely stumps me. Are they acceptable footwear now? They're comfortable, yes. But aren't they just for wearing in the shower at the gym? I think I hate them but then I keep looking at them and I start to question my initial reaction. I mean, the question I normally ask is would Ashley Olsen wear them? And I have to say, I think she might. I love how the two designers who showed sliders as a legitimate shoe choice this season were Christopher Kane and Stella McCartney, two designers on the opposite ends of the spectrum to the other. Stella Mac with her wearable clothes and yummy mummy posse and vegan leather bags, Kane the blue-eyed boy with his almost-vulgar-but-not-quite frocks and his rags to riches story and his awesome relationship with mentor Donatella Versace.
The shoes make me think of something Sarah Mower said recently. "I know for certain when something's good when I get a physical reaction to it - like goose bumps, a shout of laughter, even feeling a bit nauseous at the newness in front of you. I know it sounds weird but that 'sick' reaction is what I had when I came across Christopher Kane at Central Saint Martins in 2005. He was doing something so borderline vulgar with his neon-bandage collection, but I could see he was frighteningly talented."
There's something in that, I think. So often we can fall into a rut, especially with sources of stylistic inspiration. It's not good for us to consume the same images over and over again - that's why I follow Hawai Five O screencap tumblrs along with the usual fashion ones - we need diversity in order to stimulate our brains. And who knows when something from some non-fashion place might inspire us, hello Hawain prints, Stella? You shouldn't just surround yourself with things that you love. I like that Sarah Mower has a very physical approach to fashion. It's the kind of thing you hear most often from art critics. You know it's good art when it moves you somehow, whether to tears or laughter or awe - or equally as important, disgust, shock and even nausea. I understand what she said about Christopher Kane. It's the same way I always feel about his collections. He constantly takes the staid staples of fashion - plaid, florals, knitwear - and twists them about upon themselves, subverting them with sexual ferocity and belly-button rings. I like him a lot as a designer. Not to wear, but to be moved by.
These shoes are one of those "moving" moments. Kane had some on his runway, too, and they were less utilitarian - less Stella, natch - with their bling and their beads and their satin. Kane has said that he's sick of seeing a towering heel with a mini, and would much prefer one of his comfortable, chunky sliders instead. It must have been one of those horrifying moments for the Mowers and the Wintours and the Alts of this world, a look that could turn the most hardened fashion gal to nausea. But that's what good, no, great design does, right? It moves us in the face of, to use Mower's phrase, newness. I love that this look is as fresh and new on Kane's runway as it is on McCartney's. It's plucked fresh from a Natalie Imbruglia video clip, but still, there is an undeniable newness to it. There's been nothing like them in fashion - high fashion, that is - in the past 5 years. And they feel kind of right for now. That initial gut reaction of "what the??" moves seamlessly into a a head-cocked, lip-biting kind of thought process where it becomes evident that this is just the logical progression of the whole clog debacle of 2010. With a big, wacky knit and a loose pair of trousers they might just be right. The touch of wrongness, of tackiness, of the ugly to perfect an outfit - like midi skirts, like anklets, like shoulder pads. So awful they're delightful, you know.
I'm not saying I'd wear them. But they do move me.
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