Lack Of Style
DAME VIVIENNE WESTWOOD has never been shy to tell us what she thinks of us - whether it's our
pointless love of disposable items or the harm we are, however inadvertently,
causing the planet - but the latest bug bear on her list is our style, or lack
thereof.
"People have never looked so ugly as they do today, regarding their
dress," she told journalists yesterday, following her Red Label show in
London. "We are so conformist, nobody is thinking. I'm a fashion designer
and people think 'what do I know?' but I'm talking about all this disposable
crap. So I'm saying buy less, choose well, make it last… In history people
dressed much better than we do. If you saw Queen Elizabeth it would be amazing,
she came from another planet. She was so attractive in what she was
wearing."
"It's not easy to find elegant women," Pilati told Vice magazine. "There are a few, the majority of
whom are old - and there are one or maybe two in the world who created a new
style when they were young. Today when I go to New York and survey art and
fashion, I see smart women and the level is high. But there's a difference
between this and saying a woman is elegant. My idea of elegance - and this
refers to women as well as men - is that someone is elegant when he or she
shows a good knowledge of what fits them, where you can find naturalness and
self-esteem. Not showing off. Elegance is the idea of showing an optimistic
depiction of oneself, and to lose oneself in the frivolity of style and
fashion. Nowadays nobody gives a shit about being elegant, or chic. If you're
doing it, you're doing it for yourself, because it's your way of being. When
you're not thinking, "This is fashion," and you're not buying clothes
to create statements, you're on the right path."
Source:
VOGUE – LAUREN MILLIGAN 17 February 2012
