I've been travelling...and have had a fabulous time. However...
I personally think that the ubiquity of fashion is the demise of identity. The so-called high fashion shops such as Prada, YSL, Ferragamo, Gucci, Armani etc line the better avenues of cities all over the world. In my mind creating a blandness that spoils local identity. It also engenders disappointment in the visitor to that city...well that's how my daughter and I felt. Then there are the not-so-high fashion shops that also spread their insidious sameness eg: Zara, Mango, H&M etc.
Walking into these shops...actually just passing by them...suspends you from locality. You could be anywhere...even in a kind of suspended world that is not about a unique locale...but about a recognition of sameness...the possibility of conformity to so much more than just style. Obviously the seepage of fashion into, what seems like, the four corners of the world is all about money. Why else would one dilute one's affective 'personality'?
But, it is not all depressing news. In Berlin, Prague and Budapest I saw some fabulous designs, but normally by accident. These boutiques are ones you discover around the corner from the main boulevards and squares. Dressed in one's tourist gear (ie: the same jumper worn for days, running shoes because your other shoes hurt with all the walking, camera around your neck etc) you feel like a goose wherever you are!
But, the insidious spread of certain types of fashion got me thinking about my painting...a small one...called 'Planet $'. It was inspired by the $ value placed on resources...questioning notions of 'value'.
But fashion is also a culprit...and in a sense a victim as well.
Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com
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