This year, the most fashionable won’t get slammed with a frosty welcome from New York City.
Preparations are underway to kickoff New York Fashion Week, the start of the global runway season. For the first time in a couple of years, frigid temperatures won’t be dictating style in the big apple. Amidst a warming trend, personal artistry will rule, throwing off the past constraints from mother nature.
Since the Internet first became the great equalizer, the winds of change have individualized fashion. The Internet opened the door for inspiration to come from beyond the offices of major fashion publications. It democratized who could contribute ideas and influence, giving access to the everyday “fashionista.” Convention was questioned and conformity from above was rebelled against. It went beyond an all-encompassing, insular phase like punk, or hippie that begins as a brash movement of the young. Bloggers and influencers weren’t trying on different personas to see what stuck, or using a genre of clothing to represent an issue. It was more subtle—tweaking a hem, pairing tennis shoes with a dress, wearing pajama pants out or white after Labor Day. As fashion lovers were able to like and comment, new looks became in vogue, and different trendsetters emerged.
This New York Fashion Week Bergdorf Goodman, one of the top luxury stores in the world, isn’t highlighting trends, designers or icons. Its windows are dressed in celebration of its personal stylists, offering self-help guidance like, “…your clothes help to convey what you are feeling.” And, “Wear what makes you happy.”
Within this context of “You, do you!” style enhances our well-being. In Caught in a Fragile Bubble, we talked about style giving relevance to who we each are in life at any given moment. We get self-expression, creativity and strength if we take it.
But don’t mess with Mother Nature.
Photos: Dawn Bell Solich
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