If you’ve ever watched a high fashion runway, chances are a lot of the looks made you think ‘What the heck is that…’
Many luxury brands use fashion shows to reveal their ideas and takes of new lines for clothing and accessories. However, most looks that models sport down the runway are unwearable – some seem excessively bizarre and ‘ugly’. Viewers at home are often left wondering why designers choose to present such extreme takes on fashion that are not suitable for regular consumers.
There are multiple reasons for runway fashion and its extremities.
Haute couture is handmade with incredible detail throughout its entire process and envisioned by very talented designers and artists. It is not a matter of practicality: A lot of runway looks are worn in their most artistic forms at their debut in order to emphasize the designer’s vision.
Runway fashion should be viewed as an art gallery. Most items are not ready to wear because that is not their purpose, the purpose is to display creativity and imagination with an underlying statement or message that heads a specific design campaign for the brand.
Here is the Moschino Spring/Summer 2021 show, which was insanely creatively done during the height of the pandemic: the brand used marionette dolls with doll-sized garments to show the clothing pieces. The show even had a doll audience. Designer Jeremy Scott alluded to the brand’s values by saying the show was “a Moschino wink-and-nod to the fact that in order to begin anew, you have to start small.” This is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQQE9PrcIDo&t=4s
Another important reason for extreme runway outfits is to highlight a trend. Magnifying certain details draws attention to what the designer wants to focus on and foreshadows what styles the brand’s future products may contain.
For example, this is a Christian Cowan fall ’22 look with oversized pailette sequins. Emphasizing the sequins with size draws attention to the idea of sparkling and glitz, which is predicted to be a highlight in 2022 fashion.
Fashion forward consumers and celebrities can actually purchase runway looks as well. The original fits are modified to better suit the individual in a more flattering and wearable manner.
Here is an example of Rihanna sporting a Molly Goddard dress in her own style:
Runways are the pioneers for fashion trends each season. Other companies look to the high fashion designers for fresh ideas and concepts as well as pointers for future trends. This link goes more into the nuances of haute couture: https://medium.com/@huangakil8/why-is-fashion-so-ugly-1fb67669dc6e.
Just for fun, here is a video of some of the most “out there” runway outfits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7P_gJocvvY.
I generally don’t pay too much attention to the fashion scene; usually it only draws my attention when there’s an especially absurd fashion piece that has people buzzing on social media (for example, the different Met Gala outfits each year). However, the idea of clothes serving as an art form makes sense. As someone who really likes different forms of visual art (namely drawings and paintings), I can really see the parallels between some of the outfits you included in this post and certain modern art pieces. I also like the idea that runway pieces serve as foreshadowing for the brands’ future works, and the doll fashion show is a really creative concept. Overall, this was a very interesting post!
This was really interesting! I always thought that runway shows were somewhat bizarre, but this makes a lot more sense now. I love fashion and shopping, but never knew any of this! The doll show is very unique, I had to look twice to see that they were dolls and not people. Even though fashion shows have a specific purpose, it is still somewhat strange to me. Granted, I am not artistic at all and appreciate the fine details that go into it! Well done!
Hi Su. Being completely detached from the fashion industry, I cannot even remember the last time that I have paid attention to something like a model runway show, so this is definitely a fresh take and experience to read. After viewing the photos that you have included in the post, I can firmly agree that I would never imagine any person wearing those outfits in public unless it was for some very specific occasion. “What is that” was without a doubt, absolutely my first, instinctual reaction to them. However, in terms of spreading an idea as an art form, I think that this is not bizarre at all. Interesting post as always. I will be looking forward to the next one!
While I don’t usually watch runway shows on my own, my mom and I are huge project runway fans and have been watching the show for years. It has been so interesting to see these designers create new high-end looks out of nothing! Something I learned from the show also was the concept of avant-garde! It’s when you design something that’s essentially “crazy” and against all mainstream trends. I think any revolutionary fashion trend will be seen as “ugly” at first, but become something really popular and expensive eventually.
I have to say the thought about why the clothes some models wore down the runway were ugly has crossed my mind. I guess I never truly considered their purpose though. I assumed that designers would make wearable clothes, as that’s usually the way to profit, but I never thought about is as a commentary on trends or almost like a work of art. Like most art forms, fashion is subjective, but learning about the motivation behind their work makes these high-fashion pieces make a little more sense. I also like how you added the picture of Rihanna wearing something off the runway because it really does look so different on her with her own style (at least to me). Definitely made me think about high fashion in a new light.