Changing Clothes

Maybe I’ve been missing out on the fashion world, but this was unusual. (NSFW)

What is pain, in the context of fashion?
What is fashion, in the context of world history?

Tall, elegant women parade around in gauzy clothing. Their faces are drawn and vicious-looking, as if they were outraged at what has been done to them–not the clothing, but something else. Some of them glide. Some of them, because of the weight of their shoes, clump. There’s no happiness, no joy in what they do.

In the background, a rhythmic soundtrack throws in references to riots, wars, Hitler. A clock turns in the background.

Toward the end of the clip, the clothes begin to transform as the models stand in the spotlight. “This is how fashion has changed. This is how little fashion has changed.”

Did the designer, Hussein Chayalan, celebrate fashion or denounce it? The end of the show features a woman in an illuminated hat and a few pieces of guaze. The guaze retreats into the hat, revealing–a nude woman. Perfect. Unappealing. As “naked” as a mannikin.

If clothing didn’t exist, would we all be like that?

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