By ELIZABETH HAYT Published: January 2, 2000
“From art to fashion to design to architecture, visual culture at the turn of the millennium is spirited and seductive. People, paintings and buildings all seem to be dressed up.”
This 4 page article covers several areas:
A.Technology Influences on Fashion
- The article mentions how, “Some see in the turn toward decorative styles a reaction to cold, technological computer culture,” ''We all were in an aesthetic prison. Now, pleasure is a good thing.
It means more color. If you like oranges, go for it. Plush, indulgent, sensual materials are going on.'' Cold and sleek is out according to the author. People are embracing color and decoration.
*Not only for apparel, but also for computers themselves it seems. Elsewhere in my research I came across the introduction of the fruity colored iMac computers in this year which was seen as a break away from previous drab, beige, PCs (see Consumers’ Research Magazine post under “2000’s Technologies”). Both articles support the same idea.
B.Theories for the fashion movement and social context of the times
- Article gives a small handful of theories explaining the trend toward luxury and excess at the turn of the century.
1) A denial of economic uncertainty:
“ ‘That is what may be happening now,’ Mr. Storr said. ‘It's all gangbusters. Spend it while you got it, and spend it with style. The bills aren't paid. The credit cards are maxed, but you look great.’ ”
''A lot of the preoccupation with ornament and splash today reminds me of the Victorians, because of the common fondness for excess, the grand gesture and ostentation,'' said Luc Sante, a writer who has been studying the ties between today's architecture and the Victorian period. ''Like them, we're having such a grand tormented or imperial time. I have a feeling that a lot of today's apparent confidence in the economy, the unbridled enthusiasm, is actually people shaking in their boots. When the bottom falls out, it will do that in a really big way. All of the extravagance right now is an outward manifestation of denial.''
2) Continued optimism from a stable past:
“others see [in the turn toward decorative styles] an upbeat response to the longest period of peace and prosperity the West has known in 100 years.”
3) Gender confidence (for women):
“Some equate today's decorative styles with a newfound confidence in being female. Valerie Steele, the museum's chief curator, said women no longer feel the need to wear power suits to be taken seriously, and men have accepted the fact that the opposite sex can wear flowers and lace and still wield authority.”
C. Current fashion in 2000, excesses in particular, including:
- Designer dresses “doused” in Swarovski crystals
- gold and silver metallic foils and decorations
- be-jeweled micro-miniskirts
- exotic skins (ex. python and ostrich)
- prints
- beads
D. Luxury bags
“The success of the Fendi Baguette bag, which was introduced in fall 1997 and helped set off the current craze for accessories, is a case in point. Although the bags come in 100 varieties in fabrics like cashmere and embroidered satin, each one is handmade. Once a style sells out, it is not repeated. Prices range from $450 to $6,000. Some Baguettes have a six-month waiting list, and the hottest one for fall was a tapestry design, at $2,350.”
***See complete article: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802EFD61538F931A35752C0A9669C8B63&scp=5&sq=technology+style+year+2000&st=nyt
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