Shame on You, Balenciaga
Fashion shows are not all that different from sporting events. There are seasons, which professionals spend months preparing for. Actual events are short in duration when compared to the hours of preparation that went into them. Attendance of the events are second to coverage of the events on social media. They are industries that rely on consumerism and brand loyalty. We pretend to watch these events for the purpose of critiquing movement, strategy, intention, influence and style when we really only pay attention
because its an unashamed display of attractive human bodies…whether its the sheer-fabric covered nipples on the runway or the tightly-encased muscular asses on the field. And yes, I did a google search for “best men asses in sports” because I’m a thorough researcher. (Sidenote: after said “research” I get why rugby is a thing.) Both fashion and sports view the body as a designable, three-dimensional form.
Which is why I want to say this: Fuck you, Balenciaga. While I’m completely used to looking at fashion shows and thinking “no woman looks like this” or “no woman would look OR feel good in this”…your ready-to-wear fall/winter 2016 collection has taken it to a new level. Firstly, your new collection features strangely structured clothing that only fits women whose waist is directly underneath their breasts, quickly followed by extremely bony and protuberant iliac crests, and who are keep their shoulder permanently attached to their ears.
Which…OKAY…I can live with. Even though it makes me angry that the fashion industry has decided to once again manufacture an unattainable standard for young girls to hate their bodies to. Fashion is weird. However, your new collection also glamorizes what I consider to be “assaulted chic”. Take a look:
Is it just me or do these pictures look like they’re trying to take the JBF-look and turn it into the JBA-look? I’m all for not holding women to a standard of perfection and finding the beauty in flaws. I feel like I have perfected the art of looking disheveled. But there’s something about these looks that I couldn’t help be offended by. You know what those outfits look like? What happens to a woman who is assaulted in the parking garage on her way home from work. It’s not sexy. It’s not stylish. It’s not cutting edge. It’s just another way of fetishizing the vulnerability of women.
So…not only is your current collection ugly as sin, it’s also a slap in the face to victims of sexual assault everywhere. Fuck you, Balenciaga. You have earned the Taste Maven Stamp of Disapproval.
