Fashion: reality or fantasy?

I just read the November 4th transcript to the NPR discussion with Cindi Lieve, the editor in chief of Glamour, and Robin Givhan, the Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion critic for The Washington Post. The conversation was titled "Should fashion reflect fantasy or reality?" with the emphasis on the newly energized debate of thin versus curvy runway models. The implication by both commentators seemed to be that fashion is currently projecting fantasy with the influx of very thin models, as opposed to mimicking the reality that most women are heavier than runway models.

I am not at all bothered by the idea of plus-size models walking alongside Daria Werbowy and Chanel Iman, but what I find so deeply perplexing is this notion that the integrity of fashion as a mirror for reality is somehow being compromised by the onslaught of thin models, and, even more baffling, that realism could be restored to fashion by showcasing heavier models. Both fashion experts seem to suggest that fashion could somehow be "real" if it were Lizzie Miller, the model in Glamour's now infamous September issue, wearing a $60,000 Chanel gown instead of the very thin Magdalena Frackowiak. Somehow, if it is a plus-size model sporting a $20,000 bag, suddenly realism has been restored and all is right with the world again. To this, I have to wonder, what has ever been "real" about high fashion??

Sure, it is real in the sense that it exists. I'm not denying the existence of Karl Lagerfeld or Alexander Wang here. Yet, with the constant use of the word "real," indicating curvy models, in describing the antidote to fashion's problems, it seems that critics are suggesting that the problem with fashion is not that it is out of touch with reality because the clothing is too expensive or that the topics in high fashion magazines are too extreme. No; the problem is that the models are too thin, and that is why fashion has lost touch with reality, after, presumably, representing real life all this time before.

If we look at the three main fashion magazines, Vogue, W, and Harper's Bazaar, we see that there is not an ounce of reality portrayed, and that is certainly not because the models are too thin. We read about Plum Sykes purchasing a bespoke suit (translation: really, really expensive suit) in London, the wedding of Vogue socialite Lauren Davis to the uber wealthy Andres Santo Domingo, the new $500 miracle face creams, and the It-Girls fresh off the private jet from Moscow or Rio. So, what, I have to wonder, is real or average about that? And could heavier models in the pages of the photo editorials somehow trump this? Ah, no. Of course not. But, how closely should fashion, fashion magazines, and models mimic the quotidian normalcy of everyday life? Would people even read Vogue if it were merely a glorified Pottery Barn catalog? Cancel my subscription the moment that happens!

For me, the great joy in fashion has always been that it has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with reality. There is an element of escapism one feels when reading Harper's Bazaar or W that cannot be easily achieved through other outlets. Maybe that is what I love most about fashion. It has the power to transform the dull and average into something wondrously beautiful. Like Valentino said, "I love beauty. It's not my fault."

In short, fashion has never ever reflected reality, but the reason for this has never been, nor ever will be, because the models are too thin. Fashion has always been about fantasy.