"Many things in the world have not been named; and many things, even if they have been named, have never been described. One of these is the sensibility - unmistakably modern, a variant of sophistication but hardly identical with it - that goes by the cult name of 'Camp'".
This is the opening of Susan Sontag's 1964 essay "Notes On Camp" in which she attempted to describe and define this term with some intriguing examples.
Sontag explained in her essay that "the essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration. And Camp is esoteric - something of a private code, a badge of identity even, among small urban cliques."
If a fashion fan erased the word camp from this quote and attempted to put in its place the name of a fashion house/brand, there would only be one option to choose - Kawakubo's Comme des Garçons.
Yet so far Kawakubo's shows haven't been about "camp", but have often been pervaded by an ominous feeling, a sinister power that was often infused in the dresses and that evoked in their colours, shapes or formations strange dark forces or an imminent apocalypse.
Something changed, though, in the A/W 18 show during Paris Fashion Week, that opened with a bride in a white lace dress and oversized jacket.
What followed became gradually more surprising and confusing: a model was framed by a giant fabric flower; polka dots fabric formations were carelessly tossed on another design, like relics from a picnic party thrown onto somebody by a naughty and unexpected wind. A Betty Boop sweater was ripped open and recombined and collaged with a ruffled ensemble; a black lace bubble-shaped dress was appliqued onto a massive fuchsia tutu.
There were echoes of the 18th-century in some of the fabrics, but there was also a lot of fantasy: models were swallowed in mille feuille-like constructions that looked half-architectural half-lifted from a weird fairy tale. At times their ample gowns were actually made from a mass of petticoats, in other cases the models emerged from layers of fabrics and textiles arranged in huge rose-shaped formations.
Gargantuan designs incorporated padded areas in classic Kawakubo style or mysteriously sprouted tulle dresses that seemed to stick out from the side of a piece, as if they were the results of some mad experiment in a secret alchemical atelier-cum-science lab.
Hairstyles were as outlandish as the frocks, and included triple buns, metallic bobs and leopard patterned swimming caps, while the thick plaform shoes were cooler re-editions of late '80s bicoloured/striped platform footwear (hands up who had them, apart from Kylie Minogue on the cover of "Got to Be Certain").
But what was this all about? Were the models on the runway new and weird versions of Gelsomina in Federico Fellini’s "La Strada" as the music integrating Nino Rota suggested? Actually no.
The starting point was Sontang's essay on camp and suddenly it all made sense. In Sontag's words "camp is the strongly exaggerated", "the triumph of the epicene style (the convertibility of "man" and "woman," "person" and "thing")".
For the writer, filmmaker and political activist "the hallmark of Camp is the spirit of extravagance. Camp is a woman walking around in a dress made of three million feathers."
Sontag's definitions perfectly made sense in connection with Kawakubo and they seemed to describe this presentation better than any proper press release, while summarising the spirit of Kawakubo's shows.
In her essay Sontag stated that she felt strongly drawn to camp, but also offended by it, contrasting feelings that are often experienced by the people watching a Comme des Garçons show.
Yet, bizarre as it sounds, this time Kawakubo was less cryptic than usual and admitted she wanted people to feel happy, which seemed the antidote not just to the fatigue generated by the various fashion weeks (that are frankly becoming more and more irrelevant...), but also as the perfect answer to the cynicism of a world riddled with problems.
Sontag highlighted in her essay how camp is the seriousness that fails and that preserves that mixture of the exaggerated, the fantastic, the passionate, and the naïve, but she also added that "The whole point of Camp is to dethrone the serious. Camp is playful, anti-serious. More precisely, Camp involves a new, more complex relation to 'the serious.' One can be serious about the frivolous, frivolous about the serious." After reading these definitions, suddenly Kawakubo's extravaganza with its floral fabrics, tartan patterns and piles of tulle made sense.
Yet Kawakubo also integrated in her interpretation of camp a subversive element, stating in the show notes: "I can really relate to this vision. Camp is not something horribly exaggerated, out of the ordinary, or in bad taste. This collection came out of the feeling that, on the contrary, camp is really and truly something deep and new, and represents a value that we need. For example, there are so many so-called styles such as punk that have lost their original rebel spirit today. I think camp can express something deeper, and give birth to progress."
"To talk about Camp is therefore to betray it," Sontag states in her essay. Maybe that's what we should do when it comes to this Comme des Garçons collection - admire it and, rather than endlessly and aimlessly talk about it, let its rebellious message inspire and lead us.
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