Wednesday, May 6, 2009

An open letter to the fashion industry: why so serious?


Dear Fashion World,

As much as I love and respect you and the industry, sometimes I feel that I just need to take a step back at look at you from an outsider's point of view.

And really, when I think about it, those of us who devote our lives to fashion have the tendency to justify the ridiculousness of your industry.

Case in point: Madonna's Louis Vuitton number at the Met Ball. Brilliant fashion statement, or just plain awful? You went for the former, when really, we all know she looked like a fool.

Fortunately, many satirical fashion sites have emerged, awakening us from the absurdness of your world.

Fashion Roast poked fun at some of the most famed fashion bloggers, including Rumi Neely of Fashion Toast, and the trends these bloggers followed (they once made a DIY: BLEACHED DENIM post, where they used "Paint" to draw on white splotches in order to "bleach" a denim jacket.) "WE R LIKE TOTALLY IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL MEMBERS OF THE FASHION COMMUNITY LOL," read their profile. Unforunately, the blog has now been removed. I guess the bloggers got offended.

Karl Lagerfeld's Guide to Life is written by a fake Karl, who captures the essence of the famed designer, but in a hilarious and outrageous way. One of his most recent posts is a scolding towards his Twitter followers. He claims that although he has 1577 followers, not that many people follow the actual blog: "The real reason so little of you 1577 cannot read this blog is because you cannot read! You people cannot read any more than one-hundred-and-forty characters at a time! Your short little attention spans can only grasp these little messages of 140 letters, hm?" Contributers include a faux Anna Wintour and Yves Saint Laurent.


Look at this F*cking Hipster posts photos of those who still religiously follow the hipster fad, and provides their own commentary. You can find several of these "hipsters" wearing thick-framed glasses, very low-cut v-necks, and of course, the signature skinny jean.


But perhaps one of the most brilliant of these sites is WWWWD, a parody of Women's Wear Daily that debuted during New York Fashion Week. Deemed "The Onion" of the fashion world, Worldwide Womenswear Digest brilliantly pokes fun at the best of the best in the fashion industry. The creators recently came out with their second issue, a Met-ball special, which includes a review of André Leon Talley's capes.

So dear industry, please understand that my love affair with these satirical sites means I am turning my back on you. I simply just needed some entertainment to keep me happy. After all, fashion is supposed to be fun, right?

With love,
The Chic Spot.

No comments: