There is a line of dialogue between a fashion-world insider and an outsider. The insider says that fashion is not as different as it looks like the outside world makes it look, while the outsider says that fashion has not changed much for the last thirty years and people in the fashion industry do not understand the big changes that have been made in the last few years.
The outsider views the fashion industry as a kind of monotonous routine, repeating a few basic fashions or concepts in a few cities every season. He does not understand that there are many more innovations and trends that are being developed every year. He sees fashion from the standpoint of what is on the runway rather than understanding the importance of the designer.
Indeed, it is difficult to see how you can maintain a glamorous year in fashion without proper time, money and resources. Every year you see a new , new accessories, new techniques and most of all new fabrics, materials and colors. On the other hand, we find the fashion industry as over saturated with superficial advertising and everything that have a big logo in it.
What is in trend at this moment and what will be next are two entirely different questions. It would be very wrong to only discuss the coming year. We should make an effort to understand what the present moment and what will be next. The outsider’s view tends to consider trends and fads to be too subjective.
What matters is that a certain pattern or concept is in vogue at the moment because you can see it being used in the latest runway shows, magazines and websites. The outsider view is that trends are subjective and there is no such thing as a good trend.
Fashion is just one part of our lives, as it should be. But this does not mean that trends are not important, rather it means that trends have become uncontrollable and too much dominated by advertising agencies. When an advertising agency tries to take a lead over a fashion brand, it can destroy the essence of fashion, which is about uniqueness.
I know that the fashion industry in the United States is dominated by the huge fashion houses, but I believe that this is an exception, not the rule. Most of the fashion houses are now owned by the wealthy elite.
