We use the word ‘trendy’ when we do not know what to say about fashion. Experts on the subject talk about trends. My aunt talks about them, too. Every time we meet, she asks me with a smile, ‘So, what’s trendy now, my dear?’ Recently, while rummaging through thrift stores, I witnessed a situation when an old lady lifted a hanger with a shirt, examining it carefully, while another woman snapped, ‘Don’t take it, it’s not trendy anymore.’ The first woman put the shirt back because she could not allow herself not to be non-trendy. In turn, when I visit my grandma, every week she tells me that this or that is in fashion, that it is good to have some pattern in your closet, and we should get rid of the other one. Why get rid of it when you can just give it to someone, I think, but grandma carries on. She forgets that I am a little into the topic, that perhaps I already know that animal patterns are hot and that the 70s are coming back in style. I do not mention it because I see that she is doing great in the role of a fashion expert. Finally, she reproves herself and asks, ‘So, how are things in fashion? What do people wear these days?’ Everything, grandma, people wear absolutely everything.
As simple as that – absolutely everything is in fashion today. Of course, one can list ‘the hottest trends of this autumn season’ – panther, zebra, snake, crocodile, check, vivid colours, prints, fringes, artificial furs, coats, oversize down jackets, and the figure of the 80s. Yes, these are the absolute ‘must-haves’, but the truth is that we live in a time when it is hard to say what is not trendy anymore. Suffice to have a look at the youth in big cities and what the young generation wears. They get their clothes from everywhere: their grandma, mum, dad, brother, sister, thrift stores, and piles of fabrics in the box to be thrown out. The fashion for being non-trendy, dressed in opposition to what we can find in clothing chains, made it impossible to be non-trendy nowadays. The stranger, the better. The uglier, the more interesting. The more off, the more stylish. And so on. Trends overlap and their boundaries get fuzzy. Vintage goes with futurism, and ugliness with pearls, diamonds, and the most beautiful spices.
Much credit for this is due to such figures as Gosha Rubchinskiy or Demna Gvasalia, who is responsible for the revolution signed with the labels of Balenciaga and Vetements. The new aesthetics and style introduced by Gvasalia gave the green light to all those who could not find their place in the world of fashion. Outsiders suddenly became the greatest icons of style, copied on the catwalk and in seasonal collections. All of a sudden, what was strange, passé, alternative and considered ugly by some became a part of the fashion mainstream. Dressing in opposition to the current trends paradoxically became the biggest trend of recent years. The more you try to be non-trendy, the more you are in the centre of attention of those who love fashion above all else.
A perfect example is also the aesthetics of Gucci behind which stands Alessandro Michele. The era of his reign in Gucci is the time of pulling everything out of your closet and building a new, eclectic, peculiar but absurdly fascinating style. Michele is another fashion revolutionist to whom we owe a big trend for everything that has ever been in our closet. If you do not believe me, have a look at the 2020 spring/summer collection, where nothing is accidental and, on the other hand, everything seems to be one big accident. The phenomenon of Michelle is that this ‘accident’ has really worked for several years. Why? Perhaps it is because more and more people do not like when someone tells them to wear panther, check, and artificial crocodile leather when they do not want to. Perhaps it is because a lot has been done in the field of fashion, if not everything, and it is silly to say that the hit of this autumn is check, while it is the hit of every autumn. And perhaps it is because we finally reached the absurdity when maximalism and minimalism go hand in hand in the same season. It is easy to get confused so it is better to stick to the non-trendy. In the end, you will be the biggest icon of style in the crowd anyway.
