On Everything #135: Wheeling Out the Old Designer Is the New Runway Status Symbol
A weekly newsletter for our Substack subscribers by Eugene Rabkin, our founder and editor.
Veronica Leoni’s debut at Calvin Klein last year was hotly anticipated. There was no shortage of famous guests in the front row, not the least Mr. Calvin Klein himself. It was the first CK show he attended after his departure from the brand he sold in 2002. At Duran Lantink’s Jean Paul Gaultier debut, the man himself was the guest of honor. In January John Galliano showed up to “support” J.W. Anderson’s first couture collection. Ann Demeulemeester has attended Stefano Gallici’s shows, and Dries Van Noten has remained a fixture in the audience ever since Julian Klausner took over from him two years ago. And, much to my surprise, considering his ignoble departure, Alessandro Michele attended Demna’s Gucci runway debut two weeks ago.
Brands have long used front row fixtures like celebrities and influencers to generate buzz. The more celebrities, the more attention a brand receives. And the less meaning and the less design in the clothes, as has often been the case lately, the more the need for superimposing meaning onto them through other means. And while celebrities and influencers continue to sell if not things than the public attention, everyone by now knows that their appearances are mostly sponsored. Many other efforts, especially in the realm of culture, like literary clubs, often feel forced. In the ever expanding search for validation, it seems that some fashion brands have found a new vein to tap in, the former legendary creative director.
It is a clever move, for a couple of reasons. First, it taps into our overwhelming sense of nostalgia, which now comes in two types, one for those who were there, and another, the stranger and newer type, for those who weren’t. For those who were there, there is a pang of recognition and wistfulness, for those who were not, a chance to get closer to something they never got to experience.
