I've been thinking about this editorial for a couple of weeks now, just trying to gather my thoughts about it. It would seem the "fashion world" is split on the idea of this stunning spread documenting the current Gulf of Mexico situation. The arguments are either that it is so stunningly realistic that it makes people uncomfortable (political correctness ruling the way people view it and resulting in unfair judgements) and there are those that say the spread glorifies the BP disaster by trying to sell high fashion clothing.
While I do understand completely that fashion is an industry that has the main purpose of selling clothing I refuse to believe that is all it is. Perhaps I am just one of those people that sees the dreams embedded in fashion, the artistic expression thrown directly upon the human body. Nothing is more glorious to me than that. Like the music industry, in comparison, the goal is to sell your merchandise because as we know money makes the world go round. But really, is that all it is?
If so why are so many people invested in it? Why do so many people share daydreamy sentiments about haute cotoure collections? Is this just a by-product of the modern world's focus on materialistic greed? Is it really just about using your money to buy something to define you?
I can't, in all honesty, believe this because that is just not the case for me. It may sound overly materialistic to say that clothing is one of my greatest tools for expressing myself but it's true. I get a high like none other when I carefully combine pieces to create the look I feel like portraying on any given day. And I can feel this way without all of the ritz of high end designer names because, let's be honest here, I'm a college student and my mother has had a terminal illness my entire life. I simply don't have the luxury of buying clothing like that. So, for me, the idea that fashion is purely a buy/sell world doesn't hit home.
Fashion is not just profit margins and price tags, it's a form of expression. It's an art and perhaps everyone complaining should recall if they ever said something similar about Alexander McQueen's work (which at the time of his death seemed to be the general consensus, that his work was art).
This spread touches on something hauntingly familiar for me. It evokes emotion and thought. It is, in my opinion, beautifully executed and hauntingly provacative. It hardly seems as if they are promoting the clothing here. I don't see McMenamy strutting around in the clothing. I don't see anything light and enticing about it. I don't see the clothes and say, "I want to buy these." Perhaps that's why some people have a problem with this. Water and Oil is, after all, in Vogue Italia, a well known fashion publication. Again, I think there is more to fashion and fashion photography than selling clothing though.
Why can't a noted fashion photographer strive to take photos that make a statement more than "buy the clothing so I'll keep getting hired?" A fashion photographer is still a photographer and a photographer is an artist. Artists like to make commentary on social situations. The BP oil spill is a very large situation if I'm not mistaken.
You don't feel the urge to buy those clothes? Good. I don't think that's the point of this spread.
Yes, perhaps there were better ways of bringing light to the situation. Maybe the use of feathers and such might have been in poor taste. The money spent on the shoot might have been enough to feed many of the families devastated but you could say the same for every politicians' salary or the amount of money BP ceos make.
When it comes down to it, someone will always detest something presented to the public. In this world, there is no such thing as unanimous. For me, at least, I like this spread. At least in the sense that it rises above the the considerably shallow, exterior surface of the fashion world that most people seem to dislike (but hey, they dislike this too so what does it matter).
"Water & Oil," Vogue Italia, August 2010/Model: Kristen McMenamy/Photographer: Steven Meisel/Source: Fashion Gone Rogue
[In a side note, I am starting class tomorrow! I'm hoping this means I am able to do more outfit posts as I've recently picked up so many lovely clothes. Also, thank you all for visiting my blog. And thank you so much, if you read this entire thing. I tried to put a lot of thought in it but I must confess I only proofread it once. So I apologize if there are an odd bits.]
