vienna

Procession
“Twice each year, the fashion industry succumbs to the allure
of pure, exhilarating spectacle. Seventh Avenue traffics
in fantasy, myth-making, and romance. Audiences assemble
around the catwalks in anticipation of the clothes, the models
… the magic.” 564
It is clear today that the fashion taste and the development
of new design are not only influenced by the ritualised presentation
of the new fashion through couture shows in the major
fashion capitals. 565 Nevertheless, we will focus on the phenomenon
which has not changed over so many centuries, and there
is no doubt that the circulated images are synonymous with the
introduction of fashion. 566 Fashion shows are held twice a year
and a couple of months before the new collection appears in the
show windows. 567 The fashion shows of the major fashion brands
are held in the creative centres of fashion. Only a handful of
designers present their new collections to a small group of
journalists, buyers and celebrities. The ritual audience is strictly
limited. What happens behind the closed doors? Fashion author
Michael Gross describes the search for truth undertaken by the
ritual audience:
“What happens is that every season, the collective unconscious
of the designers, the media, and the stores have to agree on
what they call a story. And a story, in the business, doesn’t need
a beginning, a middle, or an end. All it needs is a word – and
that word can be Red, or that word can be Mod. And the minute
they have that word, they have their story. And that gives them
the fuel that they need to run on for the next six months.” 568
564 Givhan (1998).
565 Du Gay (1997:141-149).
566 According to Gross (1995:40), the catwalk presentation was introduced in Chicago in 1914.
567 The introduction of the new spring/summer collection is currently at the beginning of October. Presentation in the show
window starts at the end of January.
568 Gross (1998).
The
Death
of
Fashion 245