CREATIVE DIRECTION WITHIN TODAY'S FASHION WORLD
Written by Ajibola Alli
We seem to be in a period in which the creative direction and creativity in itself is lacking in fashion. Looks, feel, and are executed in the same mundane ways with the garments and models being the only splash of colour on the runways. It feels as though designers are pulling back on their creativity. There is no expression. There is no risk. As someone that was deeply inspired by fashion and decided to make a career out of it, it is very unsettling to view these runway shows and feel very little. These are designers that in the past, would evoke a sense of urgency in you to create your own body of work just from one show or even one garment. The fashion industry is at a crossroads and there are many necessary questions that need to be answered in order for us to develop as a society.
Brands such as Gucci feed into this narrative as their most recent womenswear and menswear collections look very similar. This could be seen as intentional activation however, when paired with the fact that the garments also looked the same, it becomes somewhat tiresome. The outfits look simple and subdued, which should not be the case seeing as fashion is entering a new era.
Prada’s menswear collection began on the right track with the contrasting setting of nature and office spaces. The floor was made of glass with a nature setting underfoot, office chairs riddled the floors with viewers encapsulated within four white walls. There was a real opportunity for creativity to take hold with such a setting as this, disappointingly, upon viewing the garments, it was clear to see there was nothing special about them, at all. The generation of hype and rollout all to view the carbon-copy clothes feels like listening to a highly anticipated album by your favourite artists, and they produce the same style with no developed experimentalism.
Fashion, fundamentally, is an art. Therefore it should be treated like art in its creation, development and especially activation. The activation of the garments we see is what differentiates designers from artists. And all designers should be artists.
The Dior Mens 2024-2025 Collection was nothing short of spectacular. Kim Jones in an attempt to honour his late uncle and extraordinary photographer, Colin Jones, published a photobook with his photos. A good amount of them are of Rudolf Nureyev, the ballet dancer who this show is directly inspired by with his “offstage and onstage” looks. Offstage being very much free and expressive whilst on stage was conformity. To realise this Kim Jones coupled his menswear collection with his couture collection. Dior is not one to deliver news or experiences silently - it brought about the thought of which garments were assumed as onstage and which were offstage. This concept was amazing to see in action with Prokofiev’s ball scene music for Romeo and Juliet playing, especially when paired with the unbelievable rotating set that radiated intertwined but hierarchical energies.
KIDSUPER with their collection “String Theory”. Colm Dilane being a fashion outsider - not having a traditional fashion background - works very well in his favour. He uses it so much to his advantage which in turn creates more coverage for him and the brand. Dillane is the definition of an artist. With the collection String Theory, and KIDSUPER as a brand, Dillane continues to explore the multiple avenues of creating huge artworks. In this case some strings within the collection are finished, some not. Some life-size and others small with the most prolific being the look in which as a model walks down the runway, the string unravels to reveal the rest of the masterfully crafted garment. It was here that I realised that kidsuper is not just a streetwear brand but a brand that creates wearable artwork. The execution of this was captivating and as someone that is trying to connect fashion with other means of creation, it was very refreshing to witness.
There is without a doubt no one within the fashion industry and wider community that has not seen or heard of The 2024 Maison Margiela Artisanal Show. From beginning to end, it felt as though I was watching a performance of immeasurable standards. The transition from film to runway was shocking. The set in which the wet weather fit perfectly with the theme, the rigid walks of the models to activate the garments. The unrealistic body standards shown via the corsets used matched with the stoic glass faces that exuded doll-like expressions. And the clothes, although looked to be restrained in styling, it gave the audience a better view of the details of each garment. Their muddy looking colour gave the impression of old artefacts that have yet to be restored. This show definitely inspired many people including myself to take more risks within our creation. The sky is not the limit.
The three brands and designers mentioned should be the standard to which other designers should hold themselves to. Above all in a world where fashion graduates’ work are looking so much better than what the professionals who have been in this industry for decades are putting out. In order to create this level of activation and development, I believe certain elements within the fashion industry need to be stripped back. One such being having two seasons permanently instead of four, this would not generate the near to 200 garments being pumped out by designers who are, in some brands, not even fully a part of the creative process for most of their garments. Once this stripping back has taken place, designers will have more time to create, collaborate and execute, this in turn allows for a better selection of which clothes are displayed to the public.
