I’ve been reading Economics and Culture. Among other things, it proposes a numbers-based system for evaluating culture. And I’m drawn to this idea because I’d actually love to adapt it for my own fashion-critic toolkit. Still subjective, of course, but at least consistent. A ten is a ten. A one is a one. Everyone gets judged by the same standards. It levels the playing field.
but should it?
Should I be judging Prada the same way I’m judging an emerging designer who’s just getting started? Even the word judging feels so icky to think about in this context —which is weird bc it does feel like the proper context.
Especially because in existing fashion reviews that I read, the emphasis is largely on contextualization over evaluation. I guess the argument is that most viewers need a little help tapping into a designer’s conceptual or material entry points. Or the argument is that nobody wants to ruffle any feathers and that fashion show invites are still precious, so you play the game. And I get that and appreciate that. But I think that leans a little too far into the opposite extreme. If you love something, you can argue that having exacting standards is a form of care. and not saying something critical could be more harmful. i get that, too.
So what is fashion writing today? What needs to exist?
I want to say something real. But I want to be generous. I want to have a point of view. But I don’t want to flatten everything into a rating system. I want to build a language that lets me name what I see but also honors where people are in their process.
Maybe I’m sharing this out of my morning journal as a plea for help lol. If you know how to work through this mental whatever, or have any suggestions on how to parse through it all, my comments are open and i’d be deeply appreciative.
~ Becca