Has the fashion world moved from the runway to the street? Photo Credit: Flickr
My friend was once at a gallery opening in New York when, someone she described as ‘old, and kinda creepy’ came up to her with a camera and asked to take her picture. She was slightly startled but went along with it because, for reasons unknown to her, her friend was gushing. She was gushing because the ‘old and kinda creepy’ man was, in fact, Bill Cunningham, legendary fashion photographer and something of a style icon himself. When she related this tale to me I nodded sagely, making a vague attempt to hide my jealousy.
“You were street-styled” I told her.
The blank look I received was probably well deserved. ‘Street-styled’ wasn’t even a verb a few years ago. Now, it has become so ubiquitous in the fashion world that, should a stranger come up and take your picture, you’ll probably squeal with delight and hope against hope that you’ll see yourself on The Sartorialist. Scott Schulman (aka The Sartorialist) took to the streets to document real style in action and unwittingly opened a Pandora’s box of parading fashionistas all desperate for their moment.
The New York Times articulated this in the wake of New York Fashion week. We’ve just seen a legion of designers throw their best ideas for this season hurtling down the catwalk. Alexander Wang produced a futuristic urban uniform, Proenza Schouler created a heady mix of color and image and Marc Jacobs’ was a striped affair in which every model appeared to have forgotten to put trousers on. But, it seemed the real fashion was going on outside: “the twice-yearly outdoor style show that competes, and indeed sometimes eclipses, the action on the runways. In front of Milk Studios, on the piers along the Hudson, and at other locations where shows were staged, scores of fashion hopefuls, mostly female, mostly young, preened for the cameras, apparently vying for their 15 seconds of fame on Instagram, Tumblr or one of the dozens of fashion blogs proliferating on the Web.”
Amidst this saturation of style bloggers with camera and iPhones at the ready; poised to tweet at breakneck speed and Instagram every step you make, each day is a runway moment. Any self -respecting style maven wouldn’t dare leave the house unless they were certain to be wearing something bloggable. Who cares about fashion week, where style is shepherded down a runway only twice a year when you can see the best of it walking past you in real life?
Indeed, The Washington Post noted, “It doesn’t matter if you get a ticket to a show — a much greater prize is being photographed by one of the hundreds of ‘street style’ photographers who descend upon Lincoln Center.” After all: “If you go to Fashion Week and no one takes your picture, were you ever really there?”
One of those guilty of both perpetrating and participating in this is Leandra Medine, of the hugely popular fashion blog The Man Repeller. With the fashion world’s all-seeing eye fixed, it would appear, permanently on street style, it has had a somewhat negative effect on the purity of its spirit. She issued a valuable insight into its future: “Street style isn’t street-centric anymore, it’s a string of calculated outfitting chronicles that every so often register somewhat contrived.” She also admitted. “I’m guilty of it too. There are certainly moments that I put something on and either veto or acknowledge its power to instigate a photo-snap … And when I find myself wearing snap-appropriate garb, there is an undeniable rush about standing amid a bike lane by Pier 59, clutching my purse and coyly smiling at an army of click-click-clicks, calling my name and telling me to look over.”
So has street style become the new frontier of the fashion world, and has the runway become obsolete? With fashion becoming so instantaneously accessible, most brands have gone to lengths to stay relevant in this ever-changing style arena. Burberry were smart cookies when they decided to stream all their shows online. Now a string of designers are following suit. Many items can even be purchased the moment they are strutting down the catwalk – just an iPad touch away. An awareness of the power shift – from catwalk to sidewalk – is surely next. What could be more lucrative for a brand than to be endorsed by one of the many street-style legends and their legions of online fans? Business Insider observed that all designers have to do in this changing marketplace is “lend a blogger or friend some clothing to wear. Once that person is photographed, the designer gets free recognition from top style experts.”
After all, if an ‘old and kinda creepy’ guy approaches someone wearing your creation then, in this fashion age, you know you’ve made it.
