{"id":38636,"date":"2021-10-22T16:15:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T05:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=203912"},"modified":"2021-10-22T05:22:39","modified_gmt":"2021-10-22T05:22:39","slug":"anything-goes","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/anything-goes\/","title":{"rendered":"Anything Goes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
From left: Silk Bloom Dress, Platforms, Gucci.<\/strong> Osho Blouse, Trousers, Heels, Collina Strada.<\/strong> Guipure 4G Camisole, Heels, Bag, Givenchy<\/strong>. La Montagne La Chemise Ballu Shirt, Knit Top, Knit Leggings, Heels, Bag, Jacquemus<\/strong>. Variegated Rib Lace-Up Crop Turtleneck, Variegated Rib Lace-Up Skirt, Heels, Herv\u00e9 L\u00e9ger.<\/strong> Overlay Smock Dress, Pumps, Simone Rocha<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ART<\/strong> Kimberlee Kessler<\/span><\/p>\n

It was in the height of the European summer that I first noticed something was going on<\/em> with fashion. My friend texted me a picture of two baseball caps at a vintage store in East London. The first, a fire-emblazoned VETEMENTS number, the second a hot pink camo print creation made by Stephen Jones in the mid-2000s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich one should I get?\u201d she asked. \u201cOr should I just get both!?\u201d<\/p>\n

This friend was once a paragon of minimalist dressing \u2013 her outfits a regular swirl of camel trench coats, crisp white shirts and sturdy black leather loafers. Now, she was haggling Depop sellers for tattoo print Jean Paul Gaultier, pairing neon yellow Adidas basketball shorts with leopard print crop tops, and saving up for Nodaleto\u2019s chunky red platform Mary Janes (price-tag: $1,000+).<\/p>\n

She\u2019s not alone.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, my Instagram feed was filled with disco ball mini dresses from Saks Potts, neon green PVC sandals from Amina Muaddi, and fluffy lavender bucket hats. There was Dua Lipa wearing a cut-out lycra bodysuit, Bella Hadid rocking giant \u2018BELLA\u2019 hoop earrings, and Rihanna in kitschy Hawaiian shirts and cut-off jorts. It was as if the pandemic had opened the proverbial floodgates, and every signifier of \u201cbad taste\u201d from the last decade had exploded in a flurry of clashing prints, kitschy accessories and bizarre color textures.<\/p>\n

It seems like only yesterday we were applauding the muted minimalism of Kendall Jenner in her tailored, logo-free The Row get-ups. So what changed?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think after the pandemic, the idea of dressing in the overly-styled way that we\u2019ve been doing for the last 10 years feels outdated,\u201d says my Gaultier-obsessed friend. \u201cMost of us haven\u2019t worked in an office for 18 months, we\u2019re not wearing heels, we\u2019re not wearing shirting or tailoring. It\u2019s the perfect time to have more fun and experiment with fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"2000s
Clockwise from top left: Hourglass Mirror Keychain, Balenciaga<\/strong>. Graphic Print T-Shirt, Reversed Wide Leg Jeans, Boots, Maison Margiela<\/strong>. Cat in The Hat Beanie, Supreme from Farfetch<\/strong>. Paula\u2019s Ibiza Square Sunglasses, Loewe<\/strong>. Single Bunny Charm Earring, Ambush from Ssense<\/strong>. Rabbit Shoulder Bag, Thom Browne<\/strong>. Furry 80mm Sandals, Balenciaga from Farfetch.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It makes sense. The pandemic may not have been the \u201cgreat equalizer\u201d Hollywood stars promised, but it did temporarily undermine the need for fashion as social performance. Why show off your expensive designer shoes at a moment when so many people are out of work and financially anxious? Besides, nothing showcases the senselessness of spending hundreds of dollars on clothes to show off to people you don\u2019t particularly enjoy the company of like a global health crisis that keeps you isolated from those who truly love you. Locked away in our own little pods, the groupthink of modern fashion evaporated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I love about this new way of dressing is that it\u2019s fun and flirty, and the opposite of what we\u2019ve been previously told is fashionable,\u201d my friend continues. \u201cFor the last ten years, it\u2019s been all about the \u2018Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen\u2019 thing where everything is slouchy and beige. If I\u2019m being honest, I\u2019ve often found that style quite intimidating and inaccessible. When you\u2019re only wearing a pair of tailored trousers and a white T-shirt, it\u2019s suddenly important that it\u2019s the right pair of trousers, or the right<\/em> T-shirt. Now, fashion feels like it\u2019s about wearing whatever the hell you want, whenever you feel like wearing it. It\u2019s extremely liberating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, for millennials like my friend and I, watching Gen Z-ers rediscover the joys of \u2018Noughties\u2019 fashion on TikTok has inspired a newfound nostalgia for Y2K dressing. Low-rise jeans, exposed G-strings, velour tracksuits, and Ugg boots have all made comebacks this year. Hadid is the face of the newly relaunched Miss Sixty, Ugg is partnering with the likes of Molly Goddard and Y-Project, and Juicy Couture is selling out across the internet. Marc Jacobs\u2019 newly-launched diffusion label HEAVEN is an early Noughties fever dream, where he sells vintage prints of Sofia Coppola\u2019s The Virgin Suicides<\/em> alongside baby tees, tartan mini-skirts, and shrunken cardigans.<\/p>\n

\"2000s
Clockwise from top left: Fluffita Flatform Sandals, UGG from Farfetch.<\/strong> Exclusive Marvin M\u2019Toumo Edition Tulle Shell Print Bodysuit, Platforms, Bag, Jean Paul Gaultier from SSense<\/strong>. Double G Flower Ring, Gucci.<\/strong> Hairdryer Bag, Moschino.<\/strong> Nano 1969 Shoulder Bag, Paco Rabanne all from Ssense<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jacobs recently announced a capsule collection with Devon Lee Carlson \u2013 creator of the psychedelic Wildflower phone cases, BFF of Hadid and Miley Cyrus, and bonafide neo-Noughties dream girl. Carlson\u2019s wardrobe staples include vintage Anna Sui and Blumarine, leather newsboy caps, and mini baguette bags. She mixes new-season ready-to-wear pieces from the likes of Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Prada with no-name vintage pieces found in thrift stores and on Etsy. Depop \u2013 now the preferred means of shopping for a generation obsessed with individuality, who find the muted tones of Instagram anathema to genuine style \u2013 is awash with one-off pieces from Stella McCartney-era Chlo\u00e9, Gianni-era Versace, and Tom Ford-era Gucci. Whereas traditional influencer culture relied on the notion that you need to own the precise pieces your favorite influencers wear in order to be stylish, the new guard are encouraging their followers to embrace their own tastes \u2013 the more eclectic, the better.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this ethos that earns 2021\u2019s new style sensibility the moniker \u201cbad taste\u201d. The rarefied world of fashion relies on the notion that there is a \u201cright\u201d way of doing things \u2013 the right brand, the right shoe, the right color \u2013 and that those who deviate do so because they lack the relevant knowledge. It\u2019s an inherently elitist idea, one that is often weaponized against those not born into wealth to demonstrate some supposedly inherent lack of style or character. As Raven Smith put it in his 2020 book Trivial Pursuits<\/em>: \u201ctaste is a made up system of codes deliberately designed to stop people ascending socially.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the industry has regularly pushed back against this idea. In the 80s we saw \u201cbad taste\u201d elevated to dizzying heights: Jean Paul Gaultier made the \u2018cone bra\u2019 haute couture; Karl Lagerfeld took the tasteful string of pearls that characterised the early century Chanel woman and piled them on in kitschy layers; Versace gave us lashings of gold atop garish scarf prints and leopard motifs. It was no coincidence that this trend accompanied the rapid upward mobility of the middle class, accelerated by the roaring success of Reagan-era economic prosperity. The explosion of \u2018new money\u2019 \u2013 best exemplified by Donald and Ivana Trump, who lived in a gilded tower but appeared in ads for Pizza Hut \u2013 was accompanied by fashion that made one\u2019s wealth and status immediately obvious. When the early 90s was rocked by a global recession, the economic uncertainty was accompanied by a disdain for all the trappings of 80s money-worship. Grunge replaced glam-rock, Carolyn Bessette\u2019s discrete Calvin Klein wardrobe became the new uniform of the uber-rich, and Kate Moss and her slip dresses became the height of nonchalant elegance.<\/p>\n

\"2000s
Clockwise from top left: PVC Lupita Glass Heels, Paloma Duran. Versacepolis Dress, Versace.<\/strong> Flocked Diamond Ring, Small Mesh Triangle Tote, Maison Margiela.<\/strong> Marvin M\u2019Tuomo Edition Coquillage Earrings, Jean Paul Gaultier all from Ssense.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Everything changed again with the advent of the internet. Or, at least, with the primitive stages of the digital news cycle. The turn of the millennium ushered in the democratization of information and the quick dissemination of tabloid fodder. In 1999, conversative bloggers had helped break the Lewinsky scandal. By 2004, Perez Hilton and TMZ had launched, most of their early reporting centred around a 21-year-old Paris Hilton. There\u2019s no question Hilton was mistreated by the new digital tabloids, but she also expertly courted them, using the whims of the new fashion climate to do so. In the burgeoning 24\/7 news cycle, relevance hinged on newness, so Hilton created a rule for herself, one she still adheres to to this day: she never wears the same thing twice. With a magpie-like sartorial sensibility she gravitated towards items that were pink, rhinestone embellished, lined with marabou, or skin-baring (often all at once), guaranteeing her continued media relevance. Hilton presented a unique spectacle: as the daughter of an esteemed American family she held the prestige of \u2018old money\u2019 and yet she dressed like the archetypal \u2018new money\u2019 bimbo. While Ivanka Trump named her children \u2018Theodore\u2019 and \u2018Arabella\u2019 and took to wearing soft blouses and pencil skirts, Hilton wore $40 Von Dutch hats and T-shirts that read \u201cI <3 SHOES AND BAGS AND BOYS\u201d.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to the inevitable moot point in all discussions of taste \u2013 class. \u201cIt\u2019s almost impossible to talk about \u2018bad taste\u2019 without talking about class,\u201d says Ione Gamble, editor of the cult zine Polyester<\/em>, which was founded on the ethos \u2018Have faith in your own bad taste\u2019. \u201cPart of the reason I launched Polyester<\/em> was because I saw a real hierarchy in fashion at the time. If you liked Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons \u2013 brands that embraced that minimalist aesthetic \u2013 it instantly gave you intellectual points that you didn\u2019t get if you were interested in brands like Miu Miu, Meadham Kirchhoff and Luella, which I just found ridiculous. I loved the idea of creating something that celebrated \u201cbad taste\u201d, which, to me, is just about embracing what you like unashamedly, and ignoring what anyone else tells you to like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gamble cites the legendary film director John Waters, and his muse, the actor, singer, and drag queen Divine, as ongoing inspiration for Polyester<\/em>. Waters is the famous poster child for bad taste as high art \u2013 his films Pink Flamingos<\/em>, Female Trouble<\/em>, and Cry-Baby<\/em> pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable to show on screen, and went on to become cult cinematic classics.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn Waters and Divine were kind of scrappy,\u201d says Gamble. \u201cThey weren\u2019t rich kids, and it took a long time for his art to be recognized because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"2000s
Clockwise from centre: Monogram Denim Jacket, Monogram Jeans, Sneakers, Gloves, Vetements.<\/strong> Mini Denim \u2018The Tote Bag\u2019, Marc Jacobs. Leather V Logo Bracelet, Valentino all from Ssense.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In this sense, the return of \u201cbad taste\u201d should be a democratizing force on fashion. And it is affecting fashion. Far from a simple Instagram trend, \u201cso-bad-it\u2019s-good\u201d style has already found itself in the collections of our generation\u2019s most esteemed designers. For JW Anderson\u2019s Resort 2022 collection, Jonathan Anderson showed navy tracksuits covered in strawberry prints and lavender longjohns, worn with knee-high socks and neon poolsides. For Fall\/Winter 2021, Miu Miu sent models into the Dolomites mountain where Miuccia Prada had \u201cskied in her bikini\u201d as a teenager (is there anything chicer?) to show a collection complete with pink knitted snoods, thigh-high furry boots, bubble-hemmed dresses, quilted leotards and heeled clogs. At Balenciaga, Demna Gvaslia\u2019s forays into bad taste fashion include hotel slippers fashioned into heels, camo print fleece gilets, and a high-end version of *those* <\/em>toe shoes. These collections are a hodgepodge of disparate parts that somehow, in spite of themselves, work perfectly together. This is perhaps as close as one can come to defining \u201cbad taste\u201d properly: the touch of wrongness that turns out to be inexplicably right. After all, Waters did say that \u201cto understand bad taste one must have very good taste.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opportunity to have fun with fashion again is particularly tempting after almost two years where bursts of fun have been few and far between. Granted, fashion does tend to come in 20-year cycles and we were due a Noughties Renaissance.<\/p>\n

But this current style moment feels more profound than that. The pandemic has shaken the foundations of what many of us thought to be universal truths. Our sense of stability, security, and certainty has altered, impacted not only by the health crisis, but by the myriad of other reckonings our society faced during its year spent indoors. After this shared experience, our relationship with fashion was bound to change.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore the pandemic, I was already getting quite fed up with the \u2018Instagram aesthetic\u2019 \u2013 it felt as if everyone was dressing the exact same way, and it felt like the opposite of style because it was so homogenous,\u201d my friend tells me. \u201cNow I look at people like Bella Hadid and Dua Lipa, and the way they throw clothes together feels so original and organic. It\u2019s like they\u2019re wearing what makes them feel happy instead of what they think will please the algorithm. It\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve been really inspired by fashion in ages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gamble agrees. \u201cSeeing people on the internet who are able to confidently be themselves, who don\u2019t care about other people\u2019s perceptions about whether or not they\u2019re \u2018fashionable\u2019, has always been hugely inspiring to me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Besides, as the old saying goes (originated by Diana Vreeland, and immortalized by Byranboy on Twitter): \u201cWe all need a splash of bad taste\u2026 no taste is what I\u2019m against.\u201d<\/p>\n

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