When you are in love with someone you don’t
seem to see his/her dark side. Everything is perfect. Life is beautiful and the
world looks like the nicest place. Random things become special. You even make
up excuses when your “love” does something wrong. Everything is bright. That’s how I feel about
fashion and I’ve got to admit: I’ve got it from the shoes. Not just any shoes,
the red shoes!
Yes,
I’m in love with fashion (don’t laugh, there is still room in my heart for
people…) so it’s easy for me to talk about its bright side. Fashion is style,
charm, original patterns, variety of colors, simplicity, elegance, courage… I
relate fashion to a fearless and daring attitude and that’s what I love about
it. Clothes can express how you feel, who you are and who do you want to be.
You can choose to have a unique personal style adapting the trends to your
personality and type of body. You can choose to be different, to stand out or
to be subtle. Although Miuccia Prada doesn’t consider fashion a form of art, I
disagree. For me, clothes are wearable art pieces. I think a Dali’s painting is
as creative as an Alexander McQueen dress. But street-style pieces can be
artistic as well we just have to give them our personal touch.
But
as in everything in life there is always a Mr. Hyde, a side of it no one wants
to expose, a dark side that tries to control and to surpass the bright one –
the appearances. For me it’s hard to write about fashion’s Mr. Hyde. I know he
is there but I don’t want to talk to him. Maybe if we fight him quietly he will
surrender… It’s inevitable to talk about it, isn’t it? Ok, I confess there are
a couple of negative issues related to fashion but they are mostly related to
its industry and not to its essence. It’s a competitive business world, that’s
true. I would say, extremely competitive. There is also a search for constantly
youth (that is changing in the past few years with preeminence being given to
older models) and the need for the perfect body that can provoke problems such
as anorexia, bad nutrition and depression. These are serious issues and solutions
are being created to fight them. But it’s not easy to get rid of the little devil
that lives inside of you. You probably have to learn how to live with him and
to control him to minimize its impact.
Despite
all the negative things that are related to the fashion industry (anorexia,
drugs, futility, etc.) as a lover I don’t think that these issues have much to
do with the essence of fashion as I see it. But I must refer Vogue’s Health
Initiative that intends to fight anorexia and promote a healthy lifestyle.
Magazines worldwide have committed to never work with models that have an
unhealthy weight. That’s a great measure. Of course there will always be
problems in this industry but I guess that’s inevitable. We just have to keep
ourselves away from them. Besides, as I have already said I’m more interested
in fashion in a creative perspective, in a form of expression. So, for me, my
biggest problem concerning fashion (right now) is to look different from anyone.
That is not that easy because I buy most of my clothes in the same stores as
any other girl of my school. Fashion is accessible for everyone due to the Internet
and street-style stores and that can be good but also bad. If we all dress the
same, no one’s outfit will seem special and that’s not the point. Some say
fashion is losing its magical side. I’m crazy about the past but I don’t agree.
Today’s fashion is gorgeous. Reinvention is the key-word.
Fashion
makes me feel like a creator every day. I know that we are not always in the
mood to pick and wear a great outfit. Sometimes (if not every day) we just want
to wear jeans, sneakers and a sweat shirt (sure, I would complement this outfit
with a cute bag and maybe some earrings, but that’s me). But that’s fashion too,
because it expresses how you are feeling in the moment. It’s all about feeling
comfortable, at ease with the clothes you are wearing. I respect other people’s
style. I don’t think no one’s style is better but it should be considered the
best one for the person who wears it. Clothes give us confidence to succeed and
I like to play with this key of confidence. Fashion has given me the power to
overcome situations that made me nervous and some clothes remind me of good
memories. That’s why I’m always a bit reluctant in donating old clothes because
I feel like they were part of me. It’s
not easy to let go things. Well, the shoes just gave me an advice; we should
focus on the positive side of things. Let’s hold on to the present and wear who
we are.
The
Red Shoes
