A Mid Fashion-Month Discussion With GLITCH
Fashion definitely has a face. Yet, the identity of that face perpetually chops and changes. Evolving from campaign, to season, to project, this conundrum leaves industry professionals – from PR experts to marketers – in a relentless pursuit to define who truly represents high fashion, and who drives its sales.
Lately, the foundations of the runway are being relayed: models are expanding out of their couture lines and evolving into personalities and influencers, and conversely, actors and performers are converging into the runway realm. This dynamic interplay between thinly segmented professions, in a world where everyone can become someone with the aid of a social media profile, there is debate and inquisition about the essence of fashion’s ever-changing face.
Across the SS24 shows so far, spectators have seen the iconoclastic visage of fashion disrupted. Casting directors seemed to be more experimental, redefining the flesh of fashion with atypical faces. From actress Gwendoline Christie closing Margiela’s Parisian underground, to Vogue beauty editor Tish Weinstok being the finale for Conner Ives, and Barbie’s very own Hari Nef opening Dilara Findikoglu, these versatile castings beg the question of who really is the face of fashion in 2024.
Model’s Monetizing Their Coutured Images
Conventionally, the bodies that sell clothes are known for their slight measurements and precise images – but little regard is often given to the face, or the name, behind these marching dolls. Models are but mannequins in action; at best, bare canvases for the textile expressions of designers turned puppeteers.
Albeit in our modern society, where everyone is hungry for meaning and purpose – the role of the model has become imbued with greater societal influence and cultural weight. The bodies beneath the clothes have a story, a character, a name, and most crucially, an instagram account ready to monetize.
There are a host of modern influencers who have skipped down this sequential roadmap, and after signing with an agency in their youth, have been quite quickly thrust into notoriety. Pivotal career swaps include those of Cara Delevigne who found fame on the silver screen, Alexa Chung who has captured the hearts of British television, or Karlie Kloss who radically reorganized her trajectory through coding. Below that, is a whole other strata of ex-runway models who have severed ties with the fashion circuit, but retained an undefinable influence, and a very profitable status of “online personality”.
Actor Cameos On The Runway
As childhood model’s retract from the runway, we are simultaneously seeing acclaimed faces littered into the lineup of casted ensembles. For those in the industry themselves, it rallies a conversation of perspective, and of criss crossing career paths. Why is there a certain allure and magnetism around the coveted title of “actor/model”. But behind the glamour of such a title is the all-important effect on the audience and the show. For those in the front row, or scrolling at home, the result is a series of memorable celebrity cameos on the runway that hold significant pop culture merit.
So how impactful is this synergy between wearer, watcher, and product. Does seeing your favourite actors and names on the runway influence your response to the clothing, and the relationship you develop with the artwork?
The Maison Margiela Message
The Maison Margiela Haute Couture show in January artistically confronted this very stranged dynamic between artist, art work and muse.
Playing with the richly textured relationships that are strung into fashion performance, John Galliano aimed to “paint a picture of the practices and occurrences that shape the character reflected within our dress”. Backed by the underground beats of Parisian culture, Margiela dolls with porcelain painted faces, lead by the youthful muse of Leon Dame, were molded with corsetry and padding. Galliano seemed to be making an expressive statement about the model’s who paraded his clothes – they were painted and sculpted to be exactly in step with the environment he had created. These were Margiela dolls ready to sell the Margiela dream, and at a more base level, the Margiela product. Upon being cast in his creation, they relinquished an individuality, and became part of the story, the campaign, and the selling stunt.
But it was Gwendoline Christie, the English Actress from Game of Thrones and Star Wars, who closed the runway, and whose face became the lasting impression of Margiela SS24. A face fixed in the dream worlds and mythical fantasies of our TV screens, does the Christie image sing solidly to the non-conformic essence of Galliano?
Why was her profile written into this Margiela scene, and what does it lead to a deeper connection and reaction from the spectators? It would certainly seem that Christie’s acting career, focused in the whimsical tales of fictional narrative, has thickened the aura of magic, surrealism and intrigue that the public associates with her. As such, she seems like a great leading lady to invigorate the Margiela story.
The Maison Margiela Message
The Maison Margiela Haute Couture show in January artistically confronted this very stranged dynamic between artist, art work and muse.
Playing with the richly textured relationships that are strung into fashion performance, John Galliano aimed to “paint a picture of the practices and occurrences that shape the character reflected within our dress”. Backed by the underground beats of Parisian culture, Margiela dolls with porcelain painted faces, led by the youthful muse of Leon Dame, were moulded with corsetry and padding. Galliano seemed to be making an expressive statement about the models who paraded his clothes – they were painted and sculpted to be exactly in step with the environment he had created. These were Margiela dolls ready to sell the Margiela dream, and at a more base level, the Margiela product. Upon being cast in his creation, they relinquished an individuality, and became part of the story, the campaign, and the selling stunt.
But it was Gwendoline Christie, the English Actress from Game of Thrones and Star Wars, who closed the runway, and whose face became the lasting impression of Margiela SS24. A face fixed in the dream worlds and mythical fantasies of our TV screens, does the Christie image sing solidly to the non-conformist essence of Galliano?
Why was her profile written into this Margiela scene, and what does it lead to a deeper connection and reaction from the spectators? It would certainly seem that Christie’s acting career, focused on the whimsical tales of fictional narrative, has thickened the aura of magic, surrealism, and intrigue that the public associates with her. As such, she seems like a great leading lady to invigorate the Margiela story.
Written by Hebe Street from GLITCH Magazine
