Last night Calvin and I had the best time shooting. We began very late, around 7:00 PM, and began to chase the sun as it traveled west, getting ready to set. It presented us with a creative challenge and I realized those are the moments when something really quite wonderful happens. In just seconds, what was a brilliant photo op was over and the light was gone. You have to think and move fast.
The light changes so quickly during this time and it reminds me of the pace of this digital world I am in…if you don’t move quickly you will lose it. That seems to be the nature of it all, sometimes you get your face full in the sun and the next minute it is back in the shadows. Once again a recent feature in the New York Times brought thousands of new followers. Unlike the last time when I allowed it to overwhelm me, I know now that soon impulsive newcomers will drift on to the next new thing because of FOMO (I just learned this means fear of missing out LOL). My base will hold, expand to include more into the circle, and that is who I will always write and create content for.
I wanted to be comfortable for this shoot, I wanted to have fun and I wanted to give street style a little glam and sophistication. Styling is always a creative challenge for me just like chasing the light is one for Calvin. I go through periods where I feel so attracted to a type of clothing or a kind of garment. This always comes from a need to express some perspective, feeling or association I have about the current time in history and culture. Recent obsessions have been denim and transparent pieces. Can you guess why? Somehow it feels frivolous to really dress up right now.
This summer I am drawn to streetwear. The freedom of less responsibility and national and global events are really activating my counterculture DNA and I am feeling rebellious and well…badass. My earrings are “throwing daggers” so to speak. Intending to catch the end of season designer sales, I found myself buying track pants, graphic t-shirts and visiting Y-3, Adidas and Nike. Though modern and different, the t-shirts I am choosing remind me of the collection of band t-shirts I had, and still have, like the Rolling Stones and my soft, pastel Allman Brothers “Eat a Peach” shirt I wore all summer with a faded denim skirt. The lines for the Supreme store I saw while shopping remind me of waiting in line to buy concert tickets or a new album. I can hardly remember times I dressed up then, always preferring the attitude, coolness and the message behind the deliberate decision not to.
I guess the brand that most captures the who I was then with the who I am now is Y-3, probably the first significant collaboration between activewear and high fashion. It began with a phone call from Yohji Yamamoto to Adidas in 2001 to get some kicks for one of his fashion shows. In 2002 there was a small collection. It still leans toward black and white and has everything from dresses to sneakers. I put this collaboration on my research list to ferret out more details of how this partnership came to be and still emerges. Stay tuned for the story.
What do you think about the way streetwear has impacted the world of luxury fashion?
A thought provoking piece as always! The way you’ve used the elusive, and momentary change of light to mirror the fleeting moments in life is brilliant. Thank you for the inspirational thoughts that encourage more thinking on my part! Ellie
Thank you for being here to read them!
Such synchronicity! Even though I live in Utah it is interesting how our taste aligns. I am retired now and so do not buy as much as I did in the past however my last few purchases have been a couple of Yohji Yamamoto pieces, a Schai divided skirt ( before I read about her on your site! I even met Suk at a friend’s home trunk show) and two pairs of No 21+Kartell sandals ( which I think you would love). Now the only two pieces I have on my wish list from the Resort shows I see on Vogue Runway are a Y-3 skirt (!) and a pair of Issey Miyake jeans.
And in terms of your question, I think the world has gotten much more casual in almost every profession and segment of society. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of imagination in terms of design or, especially for those who can afford it, good quality.
And as babby boomers with money ( and without!) retire, lifestyles continue to morph to a point where streetwear is the only thing that makes sense anymore – so might as well make it as fabulous as possible!
Excellent points.
It’s a curious question, really. It is easy to see that streetwear has impacted high fashion in huge ways. One word as an example: denim! Also the track pant thing is obviously huge. It also cuts the other way, with high fashion elements trickling down to streeet wear…
I think the more cross fertilization, the better.
Especially when it comes from the bottom up and not top down!
There is a book (published so long ago that I can’t recall details) about how fashion takes 18 months to go all around the world and what starts as street style (as far as I remember, in London) ends up on the runways of New York, Paris, Milan. So street wear impacting on luxury fashion is not new. What IMO is new is the current speed with which high end designers pick up on street style and adapt trends to their own lines – not surprising with the benefit of internet access, which probably did not exist when the aforementioned book was published.
This, of course, worked in reverse. In the sixties and seventies, those of us with a talent for sewing made our own copies or versions of haute culture. And nowadays, some designers like VB and the Japanese stable, whose styles are more original than most, have only a short time to wait before their "new" trends and ideas are copied on the streets around the world.
Fashion these days, IMHO, has become boring. There is little that is original. The impact on my own way of dressing is that I only wear plain clothes, perhaps with a twist, and only in black or white with an occasional flash of green or red. Now this, I think, is where you came in as Accidental Icon – but whereas you now have turned to fashion, I dislike fashion intensely in just the same way I did years ago when I adopted the same minimal way of dressing.
If I can find the book, I’ll send details.
I write on the night when fireworks up and down my street disappear almost before they finish opening their colors into the sky! Yes, we should seize the moment whenever possible. My grandfather said his greatest regrets were all for things he had NOT done. A significant piece of inherited wisdom.
Street style? When I started working a professional job, even the most comfortable pieces of my clothing constricted and impeded me. By the time I finished up that phase of my life, I was no less tailored but wore far more knitted fabrics and woven materials that stretch and rebound with ease. More of my garments had artistically designed functional pockets than in the early days. All of these characteristics are thanks to feisty women’s improvisational street style and the influence they have on designers, it seems to me. One of the trends I most enjoy is the celebration of worn natural fiber items. Everything from sashiko quilting to destructed jeans interests me in its appreciation of human exertion as an art form.
Such lovely reflections, thank you for taking the time to share them.
I laugh how luxury fashion sweeps stuff off the streets and then how the streets shred it again. A snake swallowing its tail comes to mind. I have purchased two pairs of track pants in the last few months, stripes down the sides, and paired them with everything in my closet, loving them most with men’s pointy dress shoes. What’s in the air to make me do this?! I love your golden hour shots. BAM!
Good question one I will chew on…what’s in the air?
You are amazing! I came across a video about you and clicked through to your blog. Love your style.. inspirational 🙂
http://www.thatgoangirl.com
Rockin’ the three stripes, always in fashion! Just gave my wardrobe and update at <a href=”https://www.westbrothers.com.au”>West Brothers</a> , all of the old school adidas merch is hot again, check your wardrobes you might have some retro classics!
You are really inspiring me at 55, in a straight jeans, knee high boots nothing else culture of the winter of South Africa. I am generally an out of the box dresser beginning with my personal decision to rock a bald head. I have struggled to do me in this culture full of youth whose staple fashion diet is basically uniform giving the illusion of an environment of robots, except on special occasions. Well, you have completely motivated me to creatively indulge in my love of coordinating my uniqueness through fashion, fav lipstick of the day and my ever present bald head. Thank you so much! P.S. my catwalk is my judgemental church.
You have me inspiration today and I thank you for it.
I enjoy reading your blog, looking at your photos, and following you on Instagram. You make one realize that age is just a number, that fashion is for any age, to wear fashion with confidence and to be carefree – have fun. Like you stated in your post, in this fast pace digital world things are moving quickly and we need to seize the moments…absorb as much as we can and enjoy. Looking forward to reading and being inspired by more of your blogs and photos!
Knowing when to speed up and to slow down.
Love your fashion sense and that you are not scared to be yourself
Be You
Thanks, not always easy but one must.
eventhough u wear slippers, it’s also a moody look