Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Beautiful Chaos Reigns on the Runways

Beautiful Chaos Reigns on the Runways

Fashion Month continues to reflect our fractured times.

If your life feels like a never-ending parade of concentric Zoom windows, FaceTime squares, and a thousand open tabs, the fall 2021 collections suggest you’re not alone. Perhaps inspired by our ragtag lockdown uniforms of corporate casual on top, sweatpants party on the bottom, designers in London and Milan went for unusual combinations that transcended the typical styling tricks to reflect our fractured, fragmented reality. Along the way, they ended up tapping into the strange, in-between mood of the present, where lockdowns alternate with abrupt re-openings and we wait for our vaccine shots but worry about the variants, constantly whipsawing between hesitation and hope.



At Marni, where “Franken-jackets” (to use Mary H.K. Choi’s genius coinage) popped up for spring, designer Francesco Risso extended the metaphor this season, gleefully trotting out pants with mismatched legs and a leather coat with different-colored quadrants. He paired some looks with comically oversized handbags, a joke of scale, and even turned some pieces into mixed-media collages of found objects, a collaboration with the jeweler Tom Binns. Tactile and soft, the show felt like a nod to the magic of in-person experiences. Right now, "romanticism feels more powerful than any form of protest," Risso reflected in his show notes, "a way to delve into reality with another gaze and another touch, finding another meaning to the everyday. It also felt like a response to the growing pressure for clothes to "pop" onscreen, in our digital-only landscape-these looks felt linked to the physical world, which only made them more desirable.



Meanwhile, in London, Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena of Chopova Lowena opted for mesh tops and leggings made from dead stock material, and looks that incorporated equestrian uniforms mashed up with school uniforms, for the horse girl who’s studying for the SATs in her spare time. A standout motif was the split-personality dresses, kilts, and blouses in contrasting prints.



And up-and-coming label HRH, known for its gigantic scrunchies, showed as a part of the Fashion East presentation, which spotlights the city's up-and-coming designers. The designer, who goes by Hannah HRH, drew from her past life as a gymnast, finding herself inspired by the interstitial lives of athletes (which aren't that different from an existence spent perpetually idling in a Zoom lobby.) “The moments when teams aren’t on ice, or on the court, but are all boarding the plane together or waiting along the sidelines for results," influenced her, as she said in her show notes. The symphonies of sweatpants and mega-scrunchies and puffy scarves, equal parts workaday and showy, were intended to channel the feeling of triumph "when you watch Simone Biles win gold, or when you see Surya Bonaly spiral across the ice in her glistening lamé.”



Danish designer Cecilie Bahnsen forwent the mood board this season, choosing instead to focus on fabrics. She gestured at the chaotic aeshetic of pandemic dressing, turning out all-in-one pieces that removed the need for layering and felt like they contained multitudes, like this sweater and off-the-shoulder dress combo, worn with leg warmers.



And Erin Beatty of Rentrayage has made slicing and dicing upcycled finds into a brand signature, but she went further this season and came up with "Zoom collars" meant to zhush up the sweatshirts we're trying to pass off as office wear. These days, she admitted in her show notes, “fashion continues to feel a touch irrelevant...Where getting dressed felt once a pleasure, a daily sense of opportunity in expression, right now it is hardly a note on the day. We are in an age of such seeming dysfunction, that the functionality of our clothing becomes top priority. One of the few things we can control in a day. One of the few places where we can find literal comfort." For her, pieces that were "a bit strange and perfectly off," including this sweatsuit bisected by cottagecore florals, felt the most suited to our time.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
×