Has Fashion Gotten Too Friendly?
Not to drag it,
But I’m still thinking about what Edward Buchanan said. The Instagram post that sparked a few back et forths across the socials (if this was the mid 2010s it would have gone waaay up on HFTwit).
Well, as we’ve wrapped across the big four (NYC, London, Milan, Paris), what’s on my mind isn’t the trends, my favourite set design, or Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel, it’s sentiment. Between Buchanan’s clear call for “careful language” in criticism, writer Kim Russell’s posts about stylists et editors being pushed back a row each circuit, just after a summer where Lyas was let go from Interview mag in fear the publication might tarnish its relationship with LVMH, this season overwhelmed physically et intellectually.
Fashion is in its group therapy era. Everyone say hiiii fashionnnn. (Don’t mind her, she’s in a bit of an identity crisis.)
The industry is increasingly more diverse than it was when I first fell in love with it. Of course we still hear “the first-fourth Black/trans/woman to—” but we also have more representation across design, modelling, editorial etc. It still has room to grow, but I’ll give her her 6.5s in the representation ball.
After [trigger warning: unprecedented nostalgia] lockdown, there was an uptick. More bodies, more sexes, more spaces for the unseen to take stage et grow. More races, more opportunity. People began making their own spaces at the once silk draped table. This reshaped the gates. A complete redesign actually. Took them right off their hinges et let us all in. Ladies free before 11 (et so is everyone else!)
But, as it's said by every well-meaning christian grandparent ever: Proverbs 25:16, it is in fact quite possible to have too much of a good thing.
There is no denying the zeitgeist’s current dedication to wellness. From 27-step skincare routines et pilates bodies to “be kind” culture, cancel fear et therapy speak. We (millennials, Gen Z) are not our founding fathers (boomers [non-derogatory], Gen X), we’re healed.
But in our pursuit of inclusion, have we scaled too far into hyper-inclusion? In our pursuit of mental wellbeing, have we quite literally gone mad instead?
Jean Paul Gaultier Spring/Summer 2026 by Duran Lantink (aka the most controversial collection of the season)
The days of a cutting Kelly Cutrone critic can’t exist in an emotionally correct online world. “Please be careful with your hurtful words…they are human…play nice y’all.”
But have we sacrificed being sharp for being safe? Not to be all Ghostface about it, but we need a few knives in the maison actually. Online, any critique is often seen as cruelty. Et don’t get me wrong, some of the “critiques” really are. Immediately released show reviews heavy on the hyperbolic hate et popularity pile on, without any articulation on the why behind their what, is just a bunch of mean statements.
Et perhaps that’s what Edward was talking about. The arrogance to critique without the credentials.
Buuuuuuuuuut isn’t that kinda…sorta elitist? Does it not spin the block et bring us back to the days of yore when no one was allowed unless they were white et/or thin or highly educated?
Or is it requesting that we stop positioning people who simply like clothes as authorities on fashion? Everyone deserves clean clothing that keeps them safe from the elements et clothed to participate in society, but does that make style a human right?
During the peak blogger era of the early 2010s, the industry began quacking. From Angelo Flaccavento’s 2017 10 Magazine piece Has Fashion Killed the Critic? to the Vogue Editors vs bloggers beef of 2016 where creative digital director Sally Singer cooly said:
“Note to bloggers who change head-to-toe paid-to-wear outfits every hour: please stop. Find another business. You are heralding the death of style”
Aw, do you remember when people said catty things in an early 2000s teen romcom mean girl kind of way? We used to be fun!
Slowly but surely, the people who lived their very real lives in very beautiful clothing became the go-to for post-show information. Fashion editor reviews read only by those interested in fashion entirely (or those who like to read).
That shift—from critics to content creators—was supposed to expand the conversation. Instead, the blogger became the influencer became the authority. Not because they knew, but because they were there. Et experience definitely counts as much as education (et depending on your employer, sometimes more.)
Access is the only evidence your followers truly need. If you have visibility, they’ll equate that with vision. Who needs the vocabulary when you have an edge?
But in my opinion, there are just as many fashion commentators who articulate their thoughts without haughty attitudes or echoing melodramatic group think. Rage bait sells, but it is up to every individual to source the fashion voices they want to hear: educated, quick, simple, messy. It all exists on the world wide web.
The industry, however, will always align with whatever voices whisper, shout, or retweet the most revenue.
Still, like a certain Manolo-loving blonde we all know et love, I can’t help but wonder what happens when art becomes too algorithmic. The gates have been left open long enough to declare that fashion is for everyone, but have we reached the point where that belief has blurred into entitlement?
How much esotericism is too much? Et how much pushes the pendulum back into its original place?
Feature image shot by Joshua Best
