Just recently Anna Wintour sat down with “anti-bitchery activist” Suzy Menkes at Central Saint Martins for a heart to heart discussion about what it takes to make it in the fashion business. A lot of real points were raised about today’s manufactured styles that the majority of the celebrities are rocking these days on the red carpet (of course with the exception of one or two). According to the school’s student-run blog, 1 Granary, Wintour also counseled the students to educate themselves about business and to consider working for another designer before starting out on their own.
This is what she had to say about today’s state of fashion on the red carpet. Originality even in the world of fashion is rare. It is all about commercial strikes and what fits in with everything else. According to her, the days of the garret-dwelling reclusive genius are also long gone.
“The red carpet, in the United States, has become too much of a business. It’s a fact that celebrities are paid to wear everything, and to me that sometimes comes across as very manufactured and not individual. I was just recently at the Tony Awards in New York, and, God, they need your help. Let me tell you, it was a disaster … [Celebrities] have all these teams of people telling them what to do, what to wear, how to do their hair, makeup. And they’re so scared of being criticized, whereas, you know, what’s wrong with looking different? How many mermaid fishtail strapless sequin [gowns] can we see?”
She also gave some very good advice to the students who think that a creative presentation is not as effective as a fashion show.
“Please listen to me when I say: an interesting creative presentation is just as effective as a fashion show. I see people who are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for fashion shows, which I simply don’t think is necessary. A presentation gives us all an opportunity to meet you, rather than to go and sit in some dark room somewhere and wait for you to start; then [have] no time to say hello, and rush off to the next one.”
Originality rules! Shout out to those who still believe in it. As far as the red carpet goes who knows what the future holds, but we sure hope that there are more icons who never back out from making a fashion statement.
