As designers and retailers began to feel the pinch of a receding global economy, questions were raised about its effect on future fashion collections. Has the economy killed avant-garde fashion? To be viable in fashion these days designers have to sell clothes consumers want to buy, and it would seem avant-garde does not fall under that umbrella anymore. Generally speaking, the mood in fashion is somewhat conservative; it’s not a risk-taking moment for most designers. But as most consumers lose themselves to mainstream fashion two Danish designers have recognised the need to reach out and find new dimensions in dress, with a new fashion vision.
Both Vilsbøl de Arce and Barbara I Gongini presented collections in Copenhagen where the approach was more artistic than fashion would normally allow. Restructuring the body with curved, draped and asymmetrical silhouettes blossoming around the body, their designs demand notice. They’re edgy but wearable. We’re part of a generation where fashion represents personal style, something to separate one’s self from everyone else. In this heightened age of self-consciousness the clothes we wear make a statement. Vilsbøl de Arce and Barbara both seem setting the same challenge: if we’re going to consume less, then why not buy better? Besides, didn’t Oscar Wilde say that the true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible?
** All images courtesy of Copenhagen Fashion Week
