I have been thinking this week about how much black and white thinking is becoming the hallmark of many of our current conversations, including those occurring in the world of fashion, the wrist I touch to take the pulse of society. I decided to post a photo of me wearing some blurry, soft and faded color as I write this post. If I currently had an all grey outfit I would be wearing that.
I have been rather fascinated by the discourse surrounding the transition from the old brand Céline to a version imagined by a new creative director. For me it is telling a bigger story. I myself adore the clothing as actualized by the previous creative director, Phoebe Philo. I confess I began to love it when Philo decided to use Joan Didion as the face of the brand for a season. Didion’s unsmiling, sunglass wearing demeanor mimicked the one I was putting out at the time and some people actually posted our two photos together as below. At that time I was only posting black and white photos which paradoxically made me stand out in the colorful blogosphere. I think we were both conveying that being intelligent, transgressive and cool is not going to go away if you do not use the right beauty products, have the right job, have the right wardrobe, be on the right side and if you do not do something right now. I liked that I had some company. I like that someone else thought that being cool comes from a life of thinking, learning, daydreaming and thoughtfully acting with an occasional dose of impulsivity thrown in to make life a little exciting. Being cool means that you can hang out on the fence a little until you collect information that can help you determine what is right for you.
The new director of Celine (without the accent at his directive), Hedi Slimane, formerly of YSL, who favors inky black, skinny, leather clothes seems the polar opposite of the neutral favoring, structural and minimalist design of Philo. A kind of black and white, and I don’t mean color, in fashion. The response to his Paris debut has been in parts vicious, sad, accusatory and framed almost exclusively through the lens of identity. The evaluation of his debut has become one of us against them instead of two dramatically different views of what women want and what kind of woman they see themselves being. The brand under Philo clearly spoke to a certain kind of woman and that women realized and recognized themselves in her clothes. There are reports of almost a panic as these devotees are rushing to buy any and all remaining artifacts of the Philo era. Consignment shops are raising prices on all things Céline. It is almost as if women fear the loss of themselves and who they are if they can no longer have these these particular clothes. This shows how much power fashion as a system has but more importantly how much power we give it. As someone with a performative approach to choosing my clothing I confess to empowering my clothes to help me realize certain aspects of my identity but at the end of the day I am clear it is always my choice, and in that realization I move from the stance of fashion victim into empowered consumer.
I have to confess there were and are some things I have liked about Hedi Slimane’s work at YSL and yes his particular vision of a woman (I guess I have to wonder why I feel almost guilty to say so?). He has an affinity for musicians and black and white photography as do I. Though accused in the current critiques of his work for Celine, of obsessively favoring the ‘young”, past campaigns produced and photographed by him for YSL have featured haunting and current portraits of Joni Mitchell, Marianne Faithfull, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Slimane included and took portraits of these people because he appreciated what they did, they are cool in that way that is ageless and It is the sensibility he seems to be trying to capture. He is a lover of rock and roll and the transgressive, reckless, heady lifestyle you had or have when you are really into the music. He wants to evoke and re-capture that moment for himself in his clothes and for those who might want to have that moment too. His invitation to the Celine show was a bound book of photos of Paris nightlife haunts. I am not trying to be his cheerleader here but I think I want to hang out on the fence before jumping into the fray.
Certain days when I wake up and remember how much I wanted to be Gracie Slick from the Jefferson Airplane, how going out meant leaving the house at midnight and how I hung out out the Fillmore East, I might want to wear one of his garments. Much like when I go to an academic symposium of brilliant women scholars of fashion studies, I might want to wear my Celine with the accent. As someone whose identity is fluid and open to accidental occurrences what I want are choices and not prescriptions or dictates. The world is not black and white, all women are not the same. We will have better answers, be more strategic and ultimately more successful in our desires if we are open to hearing and seeing multiple perspectives. In a climate of very emotional black and white thinking this may be the new radical move.
So I am going to reserve judgement, sit on the fence awhile and think about this as well as other more important things going on in this world right now and see what feels right for me, like my dirty worn sneakers. Care to join me on the fence in some critical reflection?
I too loved the Joan Didion campaign, and immediately purchased the iconic gold-toned pendant- bell- that she wore in the ad. It does give me a subtle sense of power when I wear it!
Tokens are wonderful as well as magical.
I live in a town with no fashion. I never want to be part of the sheep that prefers to care less. I’m 67 and the other day purchased a pair of metallic silver L’agence jeans. I guess I don’t want to be labeled by my age or where I live. The more choices the better. I’m never going to purchase clothes because It is supposedly in unless I love them. When you get to be my age we develop confidence to choose without someone choosing for us. But in the end I have the most fun when I’m not predictable. Love your blog and you. xo
Love that you bought those pants!
Yes. I will and already have (gladly) joined you. There is room for both, yet we feel we have to rmtake sides immediately. Sometimes I am stark, other times not.
As ling as I am not dull.
Well said.
Clothes only come alive when you are alive. Unequivocally you’ve showed us the way. Thanks!
Here’s to life.
My sense of style is so well developed now that I am in my early 50s. I chose items that appeal to me, make me feel good, and flatter me. Hell, I wear things which such confidence that most clothing is flattering. I love what you bring to the table for us women who are no longer in their 20s or 30s, and, quite frankly, I am happy to no longer be there.
Every age has it’s merits and now I have all of them inside me 0-65!
I always love reading your thoughts. Maybe as much as I enjoy seeing your photos or more. I’m one of your younger followers but always find so much I can relate to. I think maybe the black and white climate we are in right now has been a long time coming or slowly creeping in to the extremes of where it is now, because for me, at 30ish, becoming comfortable with the grey areas in life was such a huge part of growing up and something I saw myself wishing my peers would learn as well. It’s only gotten worse certainly, but there’s a relief in reading pieces like yours that reassure there are still many wise people who see through all that and see the black and white for how divisive it is. Funny that music came up, because as a lifelong Fleetwood Mac fan (who stumbled on your latest Instagram post between a bunch of FM ones!), present drama and change in that band is driving me insane with all the anger and fighting and people taking extremes. One band member is a saint, the other is scum, kind of thinking. Funny too to see so much anger towards a band that’s been through countless incarnations and changes and ever endless interpersonal drama. But then that’s where we are in every facet of culture and life. I do wonder, especially given my reflection from my own generational standpoint, if the internet is perhaps a big part of why we are in such a time. It’s so easy to find your echo chamber or fall into one accidentally and just as you felt a little ashamed to admit to liking some of the new Celine, we find ourselves so surrounded by certain views and I don’t think it’s so much like that actually out in the real world, not to the extent it is online with ever more curated content appearing in our newsfeeds and such, pushing away all the rest.
But if the internet is at least in part to blame, how powerful to read your words here and be reminded we can lurk in the middle or make up our own minds even if we come to different conclusions than those around us.
But enough of my rambling. I’m just feeling all you wrote so much right now.
Not rambling at all! You rightly intuit that the internet like anything else has both positive and negative aspects. I do try to use it as a positive force.
Oh how I wish I could articulate the thoughts that rush through my mind & write a blog as interesting & slightly controversial as you do .
I’ve always lived & breathed the juxtaposition of fashion & life’s circumstances..
Marrying & having children @ the young age of 20 years , financially I could all but dream the dream of owning anything that I drooled over in the fashion magazines .
I would scavenge through second hand & vintage stores, to try my best to replicate as close as possible the style , color & the very important feel of a fabric .
Naturally, it was never as perfect as the real deal but by adding my own twist , I managed to always look interesting at least .
Fast forward 5 decades & I stumbled on a picture of you , OMG , I was mesmerized & felt I had found a long lost friend .
Looking back at me from my computer in all your wonderful uniqueness, was a soulmate !.
.
Finally I felt I had come home & like Alice in Wonderland , I had fallen through a giant hole & found where I belonged . I had found my nemesis .
You justified me & my passion for being me , different & individual.
Unfortunately life has dealt me the joker & not the Queen I so desired to be , you have filled that position & I can live gregariously through you & I can smile when I see your photo shoots & go AHhhhhhhhh that outfit is glorious.
I don’t walk the walk of fashion designers , I can but admire from afar .
Please keep on entertaining our passion of being that person with all the bravado you inspire .
Love you ?
Oh my dear you already found a way to have your specialness in the world and to express your creativity. Since you already have I am sure you will continue to do so and have something uniquely yours.
Agree. Thank you for expressing these thoughts/observations.
The older and wiser we get – although the two don’t always go together – the less that a simplistic dualistic way of thinking about the world serves what we need. Dualistic thinking is always about judging ourselves against others. It is important not to divide the world up into us and them, right and wrong, even though sometimes faced with injustice this is the language we jump to. The older and wiser we get the more we sit on the fence. Not in the sense of not wanting to express an opinion but about embracing the bigger picture and being open to seeing how others see us and being able to mirror ourselves and be a mirror for others. I wear grey a lot of the time. Perhaps that’s why!
Yes it is a kind of skill to be able to tolerate uncertainty, not knowing without resorting to an us against them as you note. I feel there is too much of that going on. And that too much us against them ultimately results in things getting dangerous.
‘We will have better answers, be more strategic and ultimately more successful in our desires if we are open to hearing and seeing multiple perspectives. In a climate of very emotional black and white thinking this may be the new radical move.’
I love and embrace this.
I feel it is sorely needed at this point in time.
Thanks for sharing both thoughts and image today. How striking it was to see you in colour on Instagram, leading me to find out what the heck spurned you on to this radical move.
I’ve never been one to look to designers to define me, preferring to pull together pieces that represent my success in foraging in thrift stores along with high street finds which are my own take on past and present. Of course, I realise my influences are the very designers I shun or more honestly can’t afford. Finding oneself is what we all aim to do, and this you do so very well.
Turning 60 this year was the final step in my liberation from the confines and expectations of society, while still dressing for the public within my role at work. It excites me to be alive at a time when we are becoming more of who we are thanks to fashion. No longer the fashion victims as you say, but fully paid up, totally empowered women with a fashion voice.
Thanks for your thoughts and views – informative stuff!
I love that you see this as a positive moment as I do too, I too found 60 very liberating.
I absolutely love your blog and your post’s to be just what I’m looking for. I love what you bring to the table for women like us.
Have a great week.
Thank you, I appreciate my readers thoughtful comments.
Philo’s minimalist approach IS Cèline and I will always love Cèline. I think YSL has its “look” and it would be a shame for the two brands to suddenly look alike.
Enjoyed reading your thoughts ✌?
I think it might be kind of exciting to see who might move into the old Celine’s space. Perhaps Tibi or Gabriela Hearst? I am looking at both.
While I was reading this the next selection on the YouTube channel started (on the wherepostrockdwells channel). The band is "If These Trees Could Talk", the album "The Bones of a Dying World." Someone commented that the title is from a lecture of his, and I think it suits this conversation about choosing what’s right for you, not what the culture dictates:
“We have to create culture, don’t watch TV, don’t read magazines, don’t even listen to NPR. Create your own roadshow. The nexus of space and time where you are now is the most immediate sector of your universe, and if you’re worrying about Michael Jackson or Bill Clinton or somebody else, then you are disempowered, you’re giving it all away to icons, icons which are maintained by an electronic media so that you want to dress like X or have lips like Y. This is shit-brained, this kind of thinking. That is all cultural diversion, and what is real is you and your friends and your associations, your highs, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, your fears. And we are told ‘no’, we’re unimportant, we’re peripheral. ‘Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that.’ And then you’re a player, you don’t want to even play in that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that’s being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world.”
― Terence McKenna
Ah yes indeed. Describes the central challenge of out time. Thank you for sharing this.
I was much more of a "black and white" thinker when I was younger. I was so angry all the time at the injustices in the world and everything for me was good or bad. I’m glad I’ve matured and mellowed into more of a "grey" thinker, realizing that nothing is black and white, and I find myself "on the fence" about many things these days, where 30 years ago I would have had no trouble stating my feelings with certainty.
"Cool" can’t be described in words – you just know who is and who isn’t. It’s a way of living, of engaging with the world, and is in the energy that someone puts out into the world.
I prefer to take a “leap” of faith in what I wear , using my own clothes or putting together thrift or secondhand purchases than buy top to bottom designer duds, unless they speak to me and how I “carry” myself as a woman, in my time of life
My approach exactly never rule anything out.
I have the same shoes. I got them in a thrift store in Carmel-by-the-Sea. I don’t know the designer – where did you get yours??
Tibi