Last week I moved through life and the world of fashion at dizzying speed. There was New York Fashion Week, a trip to the West Coast, launch parties and popping up at a pop-up to see and support dear friends. I am part of the visual blur loosely called fashion that has been created by the internet and social media and calls for constant creation of content. I must confess there is something a little destabilizing about moving at such a pace and I can see how easy it can be to lose yourself. Reinvention and creativity needs time to be nurtured. Don’t get me wrong I am not complaining about my new life in fashion, I am observing. I am observing the impact on me and speculating on the impact on others.

I love going fast. There is something exciting and heady about it like speeding in an open convertible on a really sunny day with your hair whipping around your face. Fast entails risk. Fast gets the adrenaline going and that creates energy and propulsion. It helps your body get revved up so you can do things. I think this is why I like technology because it is so fast. I can find what I need right now. A forgotten answer, the name of a brand. I lived for a long time in a world that delayed gratification as well as parents who were really good at that too. So I am not feeling guilty about sometimes wanting my gratification to be immediate. Nor do I hesitate to tell myself to slow down.

Among the multiple images streaming by this week there are certain clothes that catch my eye and feel fast. That if I put them on and wore them they would propel me out of my apartment and into the streets. I want them now. A visceral feeling of lust. It must be satisfied immediately. I can see why fashion is moving to a see now buy now system. It is for the times you feel like this about clothes. Fast garments for me are clothes or accessories that are unusual and deliriously fun like some of the clothing that came down the runway for Libertine. Fast garments are what help me capture a cultural moment or convey a historical sign like all the feminist and woman references that appeared in many of the shows this week.

And now for the both/and. As you know I do not think that experiential states need to be mutually exclusive. For me fashion and clothes are not just meant to activate and energize my physical body they are also about conveying my desire and dreams. Some clothes are more about future selves. The selves that I can possibly be. Here is where fashion for me becomes slow. The pieces that capture my imagination and fuel my dreams are those I will always have. They are not fleeting. They appear in my musings and bring me pleasure as I wait for them to appear. They will re-emerge throughout the rest of my life in various renditions but they will always be there. They anticipate who I might become while always knowing who I was. Many of the elements of slow clothes are luxuriously simple. The textiles, draping and tailoring are what stir my desire as they are often the stars of the dream. I anticipate the feel of them against my body. I hear the rustle of the silk, accept the soft kiss of velvet. I daydream about where I will wear them, how I might style them, what it will feel like when I finally get them. Today I needed to slow down and disappear into a dream. The woman who appears is wearing  The Row FW 2017

What kind of clothes move your body and/or stir your soul?