ARTSETC.
Fashion reflects post Sept. 11 world
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Wednesday, November 14, 2001
LONDON (REUTERS) — Fashion may be fickle, but for some it helps to express strong emotions in a topsy-turvy world in the wake of September’s hijack attacks on the United States.
From London to Tokyo, hip young things are donning the reds, whites and blues of the U.S. flag or clothes emblazoned with “I love New York.” On London’s Oxford Street, stores brim with accessories and clothes, from belts to miniskirts, wallets to basques, bedecked with the colors and patterns of the U.S. or British flags.
“It’s time to show your true colors. And if they’re not red, white and blue, then you need to rethink your wardrobe,” Britain’s Sun newspaper said in a double-page fashion spread.
In Germany the editor of Tussi Deluxe (Babes Deluxe), a magazine for young women, said a T-shirt with the words “I love New York” was the thing to be seen wearing.
“I and a lot of my friends have started wearing them since Sept. 11. People want to show their solidarity with the people of New York, if not with the American regime. Everyone wants to have these T-shirts,” said Katja Vaders.
The front cover of November’s U.S. edition of Vogue suggests fashion has shed its frivolous image, with the headline “American fashion waves the flag.”
Vogue, which was selling a “Fashion for America” charity T-shirt with a red, white and blue heart, was one of many fashion magazines to say they had reassessed what was important in the wake of the hijack attacks on New York and Washington.
ESSENTIALS, OR ON A WHIM
In the catwalk capitals of the world, trends have polarized, with people either buying fashion perennials or high-end statement clothing, aficionados say.
“People either want really fabulous things, or they want to dress more somberly — in monochromes, but still in classic suedes, cashmeres or leathers,” said Emily Davies, a fashion reporter at the Times newspaper in London.
Germany’s Hugo Boss, which opened a flagship store in New York in April, said the commercial behavior of New Yorkers had changed since Sept. 11.
“People are concentrating more on value and quality,” a spokesman said.
At high-fashion emporium Maria Luisa, which has four boutiques in Paris, a spokeswoman said there had been a dip in sales in October because of the absence of U.S. clients who usually cross the Atlantic in autumn to buy designer clothes.
“We have felt a timidity in terms of the amount of money they want to spend,” she said, adding of those who were shopping: “Either they go straight to essentials, or they act on a whim.”
On Milan’s fashion haven via Monte Napoleone, there were few shoppers apart from window gazers.
“At the moment I feel almost guilty splashing out for a thousand-dollar skirt. But I still love looking at beautiful, luxurious things,” said Anna-Maria Smyth, a Londoner on holiday. Carolina and Elisabetta, two 16-year-olds shopping on their way back from school, said they and their friends were buying tight, sexy trousers and spangly tops to make them feel good.
“I don’t want to be miserable. So we are dressing up smartly to go out and have fun,” Carolina said.
HARD ROCKET CAFE
For others, the events of Sept. 11 have had little tangible effect on trends and fashions.
In Japan, American flag logos are hot items, but only because they top off the glitzy ’80s look that took off in Tokyo this summer, says fashion critic Yumi Nemoto.
Camouflage went out with the summer, and ethnic trends are likely to pass, many fashion experts say.
Paris department store Galeries Lafayette, Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz, the world’s largest fashion retailer, and Spanish chain Zara, part of the Inditex group, said sale patterns had not changed since the attacks.
“There is no ambient psychosis,” said a Galeries Lafayette spokeswoman.
But the message was clear in Tehran, where one westerner was seen wearing a “Hard Rocket Cafe … Kabul” T-shirt in the same style as the Hard Rock Cafe, a popular Western hangout with restaurants throughout the world.
