As fashionistas may remember, Alexander Wang launched his denim line at the beginning of December. Sold at Wang's New York store and online as well, the line was accompanied by a campaign consisting in several images shot by Steven Klein and art-directed by Pascal Dangin of KiDS fame.
In one image model Anna Ewers is sitting in an armchair, her body covered in what ordinary people like us may think is a thin film of WD40 lubricant, with a pair of Wang jeans around her ankles (plus the x in the "Denim X Alexander Wang" covering her breasts...); in another picture she is standing with her Wang jeans pulled halfway down her thighs (and she is once again covered in WD40...), her hand between her legs suggesting masturbation.
We all know that adverts are mainly done to provoke and stir useless discussions and debates while giving commercial exposure to a specific product (that most of the times reveals as rather crap) and obviously these adverts tick such boxes.
Yet, while looking at them, I can almost hear the distant voice of my late ballet teacher who, horrified by some ads oversexualising women in the mid-'80s, used to claim "If I want to see a naked woman, I'll stand naked in front of the mirror". In a nutshell, do you really need to exploit the female body to see a pair of more or less average denim trousers? Apparently, yes. After all, Wang's jeans - mainly focusing on the percentage of stretch they offer the wearer and on a reactive potassium dye that resists fading - do not display any other special characteristics design-wise (just check out the looks here), even though for a price range going between $225 and $295, you would expect maybe something else thrown in.
Which makes us wonder why as consumers we would have to opt for such a product if it weren't accompanied by a campaign revolving about shock tactics and ridiculously suggesting - what? - that you will feel instantly sexy in them or that you will get laid as soon as you wear them (assuming you will ever manage to keep them on, something that the model in the images doesn't seem to be able to do...)?
But let's stop ranting about the oversexualisation and exploitation of the female body before some fashion expert/high profile blogger/friend of Wang arrives and tells us that this is art and we don't understand anything about modern feminism, real style and contemporary photography.
The most surprising thing about this story is indeed what Wang told WWD about his line: "At the end of the day, you can't really be revolutionary with denim (…) But you can go in and tweak and really find the nuances and the way to put it together."
Such statement sounds pretty amazing when you think that it comes from a fashion designer, and designers are usually considered as creative and revolutionary figures, while denim has proved throughout the decades as an extremely versatile fabric.
Indeed a section of the Pitti Filati 75 fair was dedicated to experimental collections made with denim, with prototypes created in collaboration with Italian producers and manufacturers. Each collection was developed by a young designer who tried to take denim and turn it around a bit.
One of the lines - Palestra - revolved for example around geometrical and architectural elements and details: denim was pleated and folded to create origami-like motifs on jackets, ponchos and collars or to create pieces inspired by sport gear such as fencing uniforms.
The line was designed by Lucia Rosin from the Meidea Creative Studio, using fabrics by Albiate 1830, TRC Candiani, Berto E.G. Industria Tessile, Lanificio Europa, T.B.M., Italdenim and Industria Tessile del Vomano (ITV), with printed effects by Stamperia Toscana and washing by Itaclab and Martelli Lavanderie Tessili.
These pieces were obviously prototypes revolving around the concept of research and made to show what you can do with denim or by working with genuine professional companies manufacturing and working on denim and denim-based fabrics (pictures of the industrial plants of the companies involved in the showcase were employed to illustrate some of the processes behind the manufacturing).
Yet, even though these pieces were prototypes, it is undeniable that some of them were far more intriguing and desirable than the much trumpeted denim lines and collaborations currently in the stores, supposedly aimed at "empowering" consumers or at making them instantly hot and trendy (or more simply aimed at ripping them off...).
Apparently Wang wanted an image that would provoke people. Well, he definitely prompted me to wonder if useless products such as his denim line would exist if the fashion industry focused on creating better products at slower rhythms rather than at clogging up the market with undesirable and unnecessary designs. In fact, what would happen if in 2015 the fashion industry abandoned shock tactics to sell overpriced branded products in favour of well researched ones focusing on high quality and original design?
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