Cry

The beauty of feeling something

Collage by me with a weeping madonna, a slightly tweaked suit by Sacai over a Martin Creed art piece, lips hat unknown origin.

Link to the Spanish version

There's two ways of understanding fashion. One comes from the idea that it can't  go anywhere without an ever growing cycle of consumption. In order to create it, its creatives will have to deliver newer concepts and ideas on as many levels and as fast as possible, so that consumers feel compelled to buy whatever it’s new. The other understanding places creativity at the forefront of a brand’s values, making growth stem from a coherent way of developing the project with creativity at its core. Therefore, creativity in fashion is either understood as the glue that binds a project together or as the carrot that moves the donkey. 

As a consumer, I find myself drawn to the projects or brands that are in the second group. I value the narratives, the care and technology applied to a product, I want fashion that has a place and mission in the world, that produces for a customer that has as much to say as the brand itself, hopefully more, understanding fashion not so much as a way to make loads of money but as a way to create value. 

If you are a designer or creative director at the helm of your own brand, you’ll want to partner with a business person that is also in the second group. Why? Because creativity without a business mind goes nowhere, but a business without honest and compelling creativity will not go very far either. A successful business will need both the creative and the business side valuing and protecting each other, they must remember they’re together in keeping the project alive. As from the customers…Think about this, why buy anything if not for the feeling that it gives us?

The other day I was watching the FW24 Martine Rose show for the second time in the past months. I felt drawn in by the amazing clothes, the cheesy air, the fabulous models and the very campy late 80s music (I even saved the playlist on Spotify) and I found myself crying throughout. Why the tears?- you’d ask. I think it was because I loved it. The older I get, the more easily I cry. I get emotional often, crying at the kindness and beauty of people and at our cruelty and folly. I can’t stand violence, so I rarely watch the news. But I cry a lot when I see people in the zone, celebrating life, and themselves, feeling in harmony and happy, even if it's just for a fleeting moment. I know I'm destroying my punk halo here, but what can I do? Plus, what point is there to be unwilling to conform if I can’t appreciate the things that make me glad to be alive? 

Thinking about it now, I cried because Martine Rose’s trajectory is that of a heroine who toils and toils, refusing to let herself be taken over, to the point where her stubbornness pays off and her determination is justified and celebrated. Also because who takes the time after street casting to then invite their model’s loved ones to celebrate that special moment with them? This care at honouring the people that surround you is rare and special. Community is one of the most beautiful things humans can create. The feeling of belonging is quite something. We are terrified of loneliness but when we belong to a community we are not alone. I love Martine Rose not only for her clothes, but also because her project speaks directly to my soul. I do feel part of her community of misfits while her work and way of doing things gives me hope, reminding me that dreams do come true. Sometimes.

In 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic I, together with Elena Vilabrille, created a podcast called LMQNP, aimed at the Spanish speaking fashion industry and with the goal of empowering the voice of its professionals. We wanted to celebrate their power and values, talk with them about how to steer this industry into a more inclusive and sustainable space and dream with them of a newer global fashion system where values like artisanry, creativity, good practices and respect were the drivers in the conversation. When we started, one of the things that we cared about the most was community. At the beginning it was a somewhat diffuse concept, we knew there were going to be people that shared our values, but we didn't know them yet, we just knew they existed. 

Personally, although I have been a freelancer my whole career, I’ve been lucky enough to have a little community of my own with whom I’ve grown professionally and in life, they aren't just my community, they are my family. But that doesn’t mean I was at peace. This idea of community we had at LMNQP though, was wider, it had to encompass as many of us as possible, even if we didn’t previously know each other. The nature of the freelance job means that life is essentially spent fighting the world (ask @darkartdirectormemes, @stressedstylist, or @fashionassistants), but becoming a voice in search of community showed me how many people were out there too, exhausted at feeling alone and in competition with everyone else. It gave me the opportunity to see the enormity of talent there was, and celebrating their diversity, achievements and worth set me free.

Many things have passed since the three seasons we pulled it off with no budget but lots of generous and talented friends old and new, collaborators and listeners. Sadly today LMQNP is not in conversation anymore, but having the chance to celebrate the Spanish speaking fashion industry really helped me to see things, including my own career journey, in a completely different light. Why do we spend so much time and effort in a mindset that has us pitted against each other? Because we're lacking support and we're worried we won't be able to achieve our goals, forgetting that any goal is more easily achieved as a group. That's why I love the fashion projects that think like that, even if they make me cry.

Enough of me today, dearests. Have a beautiful week, make sure to spend some time with someone that feels like home.

Ps. As you can see, I've gone back to the previous system of one email with link to the Spanish one. The poll results were these, hope that's ok with you.

Love,

Patty