The fashiontainment and salonfähigkeit of fashion presentations

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The audience waits for the fashion circus to begin...

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Monday evening on the 3rd of January 2011, successful Dutch fashion-designer Hans Ubbink treated the Amsterdam fashion crowd on a public fashion show. In the arena of the neo-renaissance Royal Theater Carre in Amsterdam Ubbink showed his men's wear, woman's wear and denim collection for fall/winter 2011/2012, graced by live performances of singer Ellen ten Damme, an illussionist and   musicians Moke. Ubbink is known for his 'unconventional' locations to present his collections; a concert hall and a summer theater in a forrest (and believe me, for Dutch terms this is uncommon to do, where fashion shows take place on the traditional runway of our fashion weeks). This time Ubbink took it show over the fashion top: make it a public fashion show where 'everyone is invited'. Just buy a ticket at the checkout or online and be part of the inner crowd, the more the merrier. How democratic can fashion become these days? 

What to think of a publicly accessible fashion show, where the ordinary man can buy a rather expensive ticket (34 euro) to see a fashion show, what is in fact a marketing tool of a fashion designer. At the show of Hans Ubbink all seats were filled, what meant that ca.1200 people were willing to pay to be a part of this special fashion experience. Will this be the latest trend in the democratization of fashion, or is it just a way to compensate the high costs of fashion shows in these economic unstable times and lack of big advertisers and financial support?

After the show I spoke with Maartje Hartveldt - fabric buyer at Hans Ubbink - who told me this particular fashion show have cost over 50,000 euro, the production of the three collections not encountered. The turnover of the ticket sale will not cover the expenses of this event, though. 

But still, it is not a bad idea to give the 'hungry mass' the opportunity to physically experience an real-time fashion show of a popular fashion brand. Why not go for unconventional ways to fund a fashion show? Fashion has become entertainment, a spectacle with the focus on worldwide attention, less a way to strengthen the relationships with the upper class, fashion authorities and loyal customers, I think. It is (still) an explosive marketing tool to reach for the biggest market of potential buyers: the middle class. 

But at the same time, an anti-reaction is on it's way: a trend to present luxury fashion collections in selective and small gatherings, only allowed for the influential, viable and indispensable shareholders and fashion authorities, to give them an exclusive treatment. The concept of the19th century salons is gaining popularity among the high end fashion houses (e.g. Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Valentino, Jan Taminiau, if i'm correct) not in the last place because the concept of a salon links fashion with the world of the fine arts and academics. Salons are an effective tool to build personal relations with the ones fashion needs to outlive the democratisation of fashion - and keep the luxury status. 


I asked designer Hans Ubbink what will be next? A football arena? 'No', he thinks of a more intimate approach, where just a very selective group of people are invited to set eyes on his new collection. 'Like a French salon?' I asked. 'Yes', he replied, 'a salon is a good example of what I wish for next time. This was fun, for one time I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to watch a real fashion spectacle, but next time, it will be completely different,' he promised.

With live stream fashion shows where avatars are sitting front row, fashion also find it's way back to exclusivity and interdisciplinary by strengthening the relations with the arts and elite again.


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