I started buying Vogue and Elle magazine when I was 15 years old. Born into a family of tailors fashion magazines where always around in our offices and I loved going through them. Twice a year and the most exciting of editions from Vogue and Elle would be released these were the ones which had supplements attached. The fashion shows, Spring / Summer and Autumn / Winter. I longed for these supplements, we had no internet at that time, we had to be patient, we had to learn to wait and when they arrived we took our time looking at every picture in detail and trying to understand the shape of a dress or a top, the use of a certain colour and the way outfits where put together. These shows were my inspiration and they gave me the confidence to explore my own ideas of not only what clothes I wanted to wear but also how I wanted to wear them. I went through many different looks which also expressed how I was feeling at any given moment. Maybe I’m looking back with rose tinted spectacles but I wear them well and trust me the outfit is killer…. 

Fast forward to 2016… So where are we now with fashion, what is it that the shows bring? What do they signify? 

First off before a single outfit has even hit the catwalk the question to be asked is who is in the front row… Beyoncé? Rihanna? The Kardashians? The A listers, the B listers, the C’s, the D’s and the hangerons…. But what about the show and the outfits? Isn’t that why we are here. Well sort of yes but to bring the glamour to proceedings the killer front row is a MUST… The glamour has shifted and the presents of celeb royalty takes centre place. 

Ok I think I’m being a little simplistic but you can’t argue that aspirational fashion is where society is moving towards. Fashion was about inspiration, it was about exploration. To be fashionable is now more important then ever but How do you become fashionable? How do you follow trend? If you are Mr or Mrs average then where do you go for the least amount of effort? Well you go to celebrities, you find the one you identify with most and then you copy them. You learn from them, what they wear and how they wear their clothes. You aspire to be like them and that’s how this shift has come about. It’s been gradual but it has been steady and we are at a point where the shows are less about the design and more about which outfit any given celeb will be wearing from any given show… Please don’t get me wrong I’m actually not snobbish about this shift, I’m not yearning for a bygone era. I recognise and have identified this shift and it’s such an interesting move within the industry. It’s grown sales in high fashion stores and online stores immensely, it’s no wonder that each and every stores carries a celebrity capsule collection that runs along side the main lines. The only real negative I find is that fashion has become somewhat homogenised as everyone tends to follow the same celebs. Menswear is now staring to move in the same direction with the likes of David Beckham, Zac Efron and Zayn Malik to name a few of the male celebs the everyday man follow to gain insight into fashion. 

My hope for the future is that people start to find there feet, aspiring to be is a great start but it should be a spring board for you to be who you are, experiment and challenge and aspire to inspire those around you. 

Fashionmashed.