We are Also Aliens
Walter Van Beirendonck AW22
“Other Worldly”
It is not a widely known fact that I have followed WVB since W< was a HUGE deal. It was one of the foundations of my interest in fashion at a time when Japanese and European street wear were all the rage. The layers of mismatched pieces and prints, wild silhouettes and loads and loads of accessories… one looks like they dove into a pool of discarded clothing and accessories and grabbed as much as they could and put it all on before exiting. The craziest thing is that it was awesome, and the crazier thing is it still is.
If nothing else the last 2 years have allowed us to reach deep within and remember who we were before life happened to us. What we really wanted to wear and why. I feel an almost nostalgic vibe when I see WVB’s collections. Call me crazy but I feel as if this is one of his most marketable collections. That word, “marketable” is death to the artist’s ego but music to a designer’s heart. The fine line that all fashion designers have to walk is one of creativity and commerce. As the world around us adapts to this new form we as a collective are responsible for forming these new ideals. With that said, would this collection be as “marketable” pre-2020? Is it because we have finally allowed ourselves to give into our wants and normalize the innate freak-vibe that we feel more free to come as we are? Whatever the conclusion is for each consumer individually, WVB has been doing his thing and rocking my world for decades and I suspect he will continue to do so.
