Trend Dissection 0.7: Lusting for Logos

Collage by Aylea Skye/ Original Images by Unknown Sources

Monograms and a Moroccan Pouffe

At a time when monograms aren’t tacky and audacious designer logos are the height of fashion, it’s patent that ‘high fashion’ isn’t scared to be gaudy and garish; in fact, the streets, the mundane and the indelicate are somewhat muses to fashion houses, and we are now paying unfathomable amounts for a velour tracksuit, or leather Thai market or Ikea inspired bag.  We’re lusting for logo’s like it’s 1999, and unapologetically so. 
Within saying this, in your face designer logos can still simply be deemed as tacky; there's beauty and art in the styling, a sort of eclecticism that makes it à la mode. Now, there is no specific formula to achieve such a look, but there seems to be some sort of equilibrium of loud and quiet, avant-garde and vintage, trash and trim that stops it from being passé, and with this the nature of which the wearer carry themselves must be factored. 

Our unabashedly indiscreet display of logos on earrings, a T-shirt of Moroccan pouffe bag seems to raise questions about fashion, money and society. Are we so enthralled with appearing affluent, on-trend and modern that we can’t see the ridiculousness in what we are being sold at monstrous prices? Are we so influenced by the bourgeois about what’s acceptable that we will happily purchase what they told us was tack (or some cases is) previously? Are we so influenced by designers, fashion houses and magazines that we have lost the ability to like or dislike a trend with a personal opinion?

Well, the answer to all of those questions is, unfortunately, yes (in many cases). But this is nothing new. It is only explicitly being made apparent due to the extremity of the circumstances. It’s a little like Dr Suess’ star-belly and non-star-belly, the rich proudly parading stars when the poor didn’t have them, the poor eventually attaining them, the rich not wanting them and so on and so forth. Right now we are lusting for pretty much trashy, classy trash. When this is worn by anyone and everyone, when this is no longer exclusive to fashionista’s etc, we will be Ebay-ing the life out of our lurid Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Vetements. Unless of course some genuinely do like the working-class, mundane inspired piece that we are currently buying because of course, you may; I for one (a person who grew up watching early noughties R&B music vids, and in fact general noughties TV) love an abrasive designer logo, a bit of baby pink faux fur, or diamanté encrusted sunglasses, and I am sure many others will too.  The point being made here is that like all trends and waves in the fashion currents the lust for logos will be ridden out, and when it is it will probably only be the ‘uncouth’ wearing such pieces, and the trend will be given back to those who created it; fakes will be fakes, a Thai market bag will be a Thai market bag, and the de rigueur will want nothing to do with it. And one day we will look back and loathe the tacky eccentric-ism that dominates at present.