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Almost a year on from this landmark collection and I can safely say that it is one of the most defining fashion shows of my life. Not because there were theatrics, or because it was over the top, or because it was artistic or extravagant. The excitement in the Dries Van Noten FW collection didn't come from flashing lights or smoke machines or live animals (I'm looking at you, Dan Single), but rather from the fact that everything sent out onto that catwalk was perfectly realised in a way that incredibly, potently, very tangibly real. I have worn a variation on every one of these outfits over the past year. I am still inspired by that clash of prints (tartan and leopard print and khaki oh my!), by the sweatshirt as a shirt (I must be Bonds' best customer), by the sleeveless trench coat. I still have dreams about waking up and finding this collection in my closet - every last piece - and running around Sydney as a delightful Dries girl, all tousled hair, Karen Walker sunglasses and easy, nonchalant elegance. These are clothes before they are fashion, but because they were fabulous clothes, they became fashion. These were cool before they were a trend, but because they were styled in such a fantastic way (tuck your hair into your coat! carry your big bag as a clutch! try a double layered sweatshirt combo in putty coloured neutrals!) they became trendy.
Different designers, models, magazines, photographers, stylists... they all cater to different crowds and work a different image. That's why I am constantly bewildered by people who claim to be "disappointed" by Vogue America's commercialism - they have the biggest circulation of the world and speak to a variety of different women across their diverse country (and the world) with equal conviction. How can they be avant-garde like Vogue Italia or Vogue Paris? Designers like Dries Van Noten don't have to be conceptual. Not because they can't, but because they don't want to. There is nothing to be ashamed of in designing in a way that is commercial - in that it will sell. The reason for this is simple. Things are commercial for a reason. This collection will sell - or pheraps, more accurately, HAS sold - for a reason. Because it is bloody good.
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