Fashion and Utopia-Ann-Sofie Back - Essay Example

Fashion and Utopia – Ann-Sofie Back There was a time in the sixties when the term fashion was associated with the aristocratic This was a conventional idea and the reference comes with respect to French fashion industry because during the sixties fashion pertained mostly to the French society. Fashion in Paris or the haute couture has exploited the aura it has created in terms of fashion business. Fashion essentially dominates the rule of the market and overrules the economic rationale, thereby moving in line with the seasons. In the topical times or the “now time”1, the concept of fashion in Paris is no longer popular and this has essentially given rise to a genre of anti-fashion, which refers to the beginning of something new. The relationship between the “fashion-creator and imitator” is undergoing change and instead of the common people on the street following the designs of haute couture, the pattern is almost the reverse, fashion flows from the street to the “salons of haute couture”2 where the adoption and imitation take place. The public follows the fashion trend, which flows, from the characteristics defined by their sub-cultures. The avant-garde essence of fashion comes form the notion of “fashion beyond fashion”3 which creates fashion out of non-fashionable components. From 1980s onwards the period of fashion creators are coming to an end and the designers favor something, which lie outside the traditional fashion trends. This also implies that fashion no more creates or enhance the divide between economic classes or age groups and genders. In fact, “nothing could be more out of date than to clothe oneself as “woman”, as “man” or as “lady”4. This avant-garde fashion is innovative and anti-idealistic in nature, which looks forward to give new shape to beauty and perfection. The modern avant-garde derives the basics from the old one especially in terms of going against the classical definition of fashion, popularized as haute couture. Several designers have come up to demonstrate the essence of avant-garde fashion and Ann-Sofie Back is one of the popular ones whose creation has also brought about a utopia. Ann-Sofie Back, a participant of the New Generation of designers5, grew up in Sweden and took her lessons in fashion at the Backman’s College of Design in Stockholm and Central Saint Martins in 19986. She worked with Joe Casely Hayford prior to her first launch of individual collections in 2001. Her works went to the galleries of ICA and V&A as well as the Palais de Tokyo for exhibition7. Her approach to fashion and creativity comes from the attempt at globalization of the ideals of fashion. She has been a shy person who claims that her parents were tasteless when in came to dressing and she worked hard to fund her obsession with fashion8. Fashion, as presented by Ann-Sofie Back depicts a way of intellectualizing the desires of individuals and the society in visual terms. The beginning of a new fashion trend requires rejection of the old. This also may entail adoption of the elements, which once appeared ugly in the old time. The avant-garde fashion encompasses the presentation of the conventionally ugly elements such that they exceed the weakness of the “body and its shame”. Ann-Sophie Back’s work is akin to those of the designers from Belgium and Britain with the only difference lying in the shaping up of “beauty, glamour and femininity” at the core of her creations. She creates designs, which are driven by ideas and also something that pertains to the very individual. Her work also reflects some components from her personal experience where she grew up with her obsession for fashion during the eighties in the suburban areas of Stockholm, which was far removed from the classy designs of Sweden. Instead of exploring the authenticity she focuses on the “irony and artificiality of fashion”9 where she mixes up the common identities. She experiments with transvestite fashion or cross-dressing (when one individual belong to a particular gender dresses like the opposite one). In her Spring/Summer collection of 2004 she used the elements which help the cross-dressers look more like an woman such as a blonde wig, fishnet stockings and heavy make up which is referred as the “woman mask”10. Such a mask gives the impression of being more like a woman compared to real woman. She has often used low cost fabric and also put them in contrast with colors, which oppose the ideals of good taste. Such fabrics include leather or velour. She explores the feminine constructs to the extreme by experimenting in creating her accessories. For instance she uses shoes from artificial hair or wigs. Explaining the inclination towards transvestite she comments “the different "signs" that make up a woman—like blonde hair, fishnet tights, makeup, and so on—are more important than actually "being" a woman or properly looking like one”11 She therefore combines the blonde tresses and high heels which are symbols representing the feminine. In one of her creations she has used the wedding ring to decorate a bridal gown along with the box used for packing the ring. However despite the intellectualization of fashion in Back’s work, she does not totally give up on the artistic touch as well as a product, which is commercial or saleable. In a particular interview with Francesca Granata she was asked about the idea of hiding one’s true identity instead of presenting the real self through the use of fashion. To this she responds saying that it was important to mould the fashion sense in ways of dressing such that they are acceptable to the others instead of merely presenting oneself the way he or she is. She had to help in grooming her parent form the age of seven since they were unconscious of how the people in the surroundings would react to the dresses. Hence according to her fashion, lies and shame are connected. Hence nothing could to left to chance or risk and every care had to be taken to camouflage the actual or the flaws. She also talks about the concept of failed glamour reflected in her work where the idea is to make an attempt to look good and yet cause a partial or complete failure. For instance, a dress was designed where a small belt appears in the front such that the impression it gives is that of a slim waistline which is actually not the case. The impression is that of a bag worn outside and covering the real dress inside it. She has a special bent towards leather and velour or sequins but she remarks that in recent times she has to go for expensive fabrics which had a cheap appearance owing to the fact that her buyers did not like the fabrics she had used before. She has often designs her jewelries along with some parts of the packaging. For instance in one of the bridal gowns she used the wedding ring along with the box. Also, she designed earrings with some parts of the packages intact. This would apparently seem to go with the nineties fashion where packaging and class was more important in the show of fashion elements. However she explains this a little differently. She tries to explain the real psychology, which works behind consumerism and fashion. People see the price tags and packaging in the way the products are displayed at the shops and showrooms. Therefore the presentation is more significant than the object itself. This concept is projected in her fashion creations – “with fashion you are selling an escape, a dream, an aspiration, rather than clothes”12. Her work seems to be well received in terms of its intrinsic value rather than commercial worth or salability. Owing to the appeal to gender, class, identity and other social issues, these works of creation have found its way to museums and art galleries and welcomed more in the arena of avant-garde stream of creativity13. In the last few years Back has been trying to focus more on the commercial world instead of merely the art field. She recently finds it interesting to accept the tastes and preferences of her buyers and incorporate them in her work. However being a slow designer as she admits, she had taken longer time than other designers to come outside the art and scientific approach of designs and look at the business side. The concept of performative fashion is the main drive behind her work. She is more concerned with being misunderstood or lack of classifying an individual into a specific type. She creates the dream out of the fact that she strives to mislead the human eye away from the actual. For instance, she prefers not to dress like a designer such that she is not discovered. In her fashion shows she tries the reverse of the convention by taking out the models who go out on the stage clapping with the designer. Humor also plays a significant role in her works. With respect to the arrangement on the stage she cracks a joke saying that it comes from a fear that none might applaud at the end of the show14. Even in her projects a sweater with a couple of neck holes and sunglasses with more than two or no lenses. She explains this element of humor saying that coming form Swedish origin she grew up in an ambience where fashion was hardly taken seriously. In fact, it was supposed to be an imposition of men on women. She claims to have dressed weirdly according to her age at nine years but her mother never objected to the same. As she grew up she felt the need to incorporate beauty just for the sake of it and therefore attempts to deconstruct the impression of Sweden where even an office is initialized with a glossy touch or flashy furniture. Back’s collections are inspired by casual approach to dressing instead of the run-of-the-mill designer. Her Topshop collection 2010 represents the Gothic designs with the nonchalant attitudes reflected in the grey and black slashed T-shirts and dresses adorned essentially with works of beads15. Her Autumn/Winter 2010-2011 collection presented at London reflects the essence about putting up the appearance of what one is actually not. She realizes that her fans want to identify themselves with the photographs of girls on Page 3 and try to imitate their looks. She derived this information form some of the television reality show contestants and other related people. The pieces designed for the show derived its source from the concept of Second Life or the virtual world where every individual creates an avatar of himself or herself instead of presenting the real self. This is a kind of utopia one tries to create around oneself and the designer here tries to represent that. Shadowy colors were used using mainly shades of lavender, blue, grey keeping parity with the computer screens, which lack the show of vivid spectrum. Materials used were georgette and Swedes. These fabrics were cut into batwing shapes to form skirts and dresses forming the shape of cobwebs. The denim was given a tough look while woolen leggings and dresses torn at places also added to the same. She used designs of muscles on the tops, which blended with the denims or engraved on chiffon jackets in order to give the impression of overstated body forms. The second Life citizens often pick such shapes to create their “alter egos”. This goes with the fact that most youngsters refer to keep the photo of a handsome male star flaunting attractive muscles on their profile created on different social sites. The designer captures the psychology that plays behind such actions. The collection also included disheveled trousers, long skirts and dresses which put on a hint or the otherworldly impression16. Her experiments with concepts also extend to incorporating the themes of plastic surgery and impressions of American horror movies. She styled her collections for Autumn/Winter 2009 in London with the models in milky-eyed lenses, white skin and the zombie like expression brought about through make up and clothes. They walked down the ramp amidst a soundtrack, which complements this sense of horror. When the theme in the previous season was plastic surgery, the models were found to be adorned in “pin-tucked dresses and stapled trousers, decorated with Elastoplasts and drawn-on incision marks, their vertiginous heels wrapped in clingfilm.” She rather looks forward to enjoy the show and bring on a sense of humor in her designs. Although she designs mainly on the foundation of feminine wears, she claims to be designing only for the strong women who dare to flaunt a sense of humor in their clothing. Remarkable designs on the clothes incorporate “body-conscious cuts and revealing slashing,.. lingerie detailing…T-shirt with bra cups attached to the exterior was a best-seller”17. So when Ann-Sophie Back designs one might expect the unexpected. She has recently shifted her foundation to Stockholm and worked with brands like Acne and Cheap Monday. Acne has done a phenomenal job in redesigning the scenario of Scandinavian designs and well reputed for street styling. Although her designs are imaginative in nature, yet the clothes were realistic and meant to be worn. Her dressings have a tendency to be theatrical or dramatic in nature along with the arrangement of the shows. They also have a utilitarian touch as in the multi-strapped tops made out of nylon. According to her she enjoys the ordinary and has “nothing to do with the poor white trash or irony” and she claims that she is “fed up” as she looks at her surroundings where she finds that even one has to go to the bathroom with a designer towel18. The very significance of her designs lies in the fact that she attempts to transform the day-to-day ways of living along with redefinition of social values. Ann-Sofie Back’s work therefore highlights several features, which distinguishes and makes her remarkable as an artist at work. She always makes it a point to incorporate the intellectual impact on her works. A note of utopian presentation is evident in her works as she aims towards an idealistic society without any barriers of class, gender or profession.19 This is evident in the designs where she attempts to confuse the identity of a person and these speak volumes about the ideals she holds. Her designs where she embeds some humorous elements show the essence of reviving the humor back in people’s life, which has been too rushed in recent times. Again, practical ways of presentation with the impression of themes like consumerism (package is put up along with the jewelries), and plastic surgery also involve some kind of awareness building and popularization of the transvestite shows that she aims towards erasing all the identity barriers in terms of gender and other social parameters. A utopia is also created when she represents the avatar image every youngster embraces in his or her virtual world. Here she leads the viewer and encourages to dream and fancy one self as something which he or she is not. She also highlights this in her interview saying that people try to be something different from what they are through the use of fashion. She thus creates this idealistic vision along with the touch of fantasy, which helps one escape from the stark reality. Works Cited “Ann-Sofie Back for Topshop SS2010”, Miss, 2010, December 9, 2010 < http://www.missomnimedia.com/2010/01/ann-sofie-back-for-topshop-ss2010/> Evans, Caroline, Fashion at the Edge, London: Yale University Press, 2007 Jackson, Tim and David Shaw, The Fashion Handbook, London: Routledge, 1989 “Ann-Sofie Back”, London Fashion Week, 2010 Spring/Summer, December 9, 2010 Granata, Francesca, “Subverting Assumptions of Female Beauty: An Interview with Ann- Sofie Back”, Fashion Week, (2007) 11. 4, 391-402 Bonami, Francesco, Dreams and conflicts: the dictatorship of the viewer: La Biennale di Venezia : 50th international art exhibition, Volume 50, New York: Marsilo, 2003 Sowray, Bibby, “Ann-Sofie Back: Show Report”, Vogue, 2010, December 9, 2010 International Textiles, issues 800-804, International Textiles, 1999 Kemperink, M.G. and Willemien H.S. Roenhorst, Visualizing Utopia, Peeters Publishers, 2007 Vinken, Barbara, Fashion Zeitgeist, London: Berg Publishers, 2005 Walker, Harriet, “Tailor of the unexpected: Ann-Sofie Back”, The Independent, February 15, 2010, December 9 2010 Read More