OP-ED: HOW GRAILED IS KILLING THE MENSWEAR AVANT-GARDE

[DudleyGray]

Ugh, to say nothing of Grailed, which has its pros and cons, this was such a frustrating read in that the writer clearly doesn't "get Fashion." Rather, he's akin to a business major who likes to stunt on the side. A part of me wants to write a long-winded response invoking Barthes, what Fashion is (technologically, iconically, and verbally) and what it is for, its inherent and necessary elitism, what actually gives clothes meaning and value beyond function, but that seems like a lot of effort to preach to the choir.

[eleves]

Wow, just wow at that article. I agree with Dudley, Grailed aside, the article's writer is terrible. 100% an "outsider" who wanted to be "in". This sect of "avant garde" fashion was never an exclusive club or insiders game. It's just something that took a true appreciation to seek and find in both a physical and spiritual/aesthetic sense. Anyone could find what they wanted if they tried hard enough. What has been championed on this forum for years because of true advance in design and creation or aesthetic and forms has been turned into nothing more than a kid's tool for leveling up his cool factor or just an attempt to stand out from his peers as the edgiest person while those same peers are trying to do the same thing. On the direct subject of grailed, I think the biggest issue is that the ease of finding a plethora of pieces from a specific designer completely ruins the ethos of what many designers try to put into their work and the effort to avoid commodification. There are plenty of things that I searched for for years and the inability to confirm its continued existence or someone's need to sell it was actually fun and made the piece a prize worth searching for and receiving.