https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:59:32 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style/page/2#post-1811870 Wed, 31 May 2017 11:06:49 +0000 harmonica 1811870@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Suz </b>- Glad you're having a good time! :-)<br /><b>approprio </b>- I think you are on to something with deconstruction and the challenging of "assumptions about functionality, culture and the body". As for "arrière-garde", it's beyond my intellectual capacity. :-)&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style/page/2#post-1811726 Tue, 30 May 2017 13:43:39 +0000 approprio 1811726@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>harmonica</b>: maybe the descriptor we're looking for here is <i><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.notjustalabel.com/editorial/the-social-significance-of-deconstruction">deconstruction</a></i>? </p> <p>I hesitate to grace this middle-aged postmodern hangover with the title of avant-garde, but as an artistic and philosophical response to fashion it performs roughly the same function,&nbsp;which is to challenge our assumptions about functionality, culture and the body.&nbsp;This seems to be a common thread which brings together a certain minimalism and the ever-elusive edge, so I suppose it's the closest thing we have. </p> <p>If I was really clever, I'd have thought of this yesterday, but then we would never have found out about the critical importance of fashion's arrière-garde, which is clearly this year's Shock of the New. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style/page/2#post-1811721 Tue, 30 May 2017 13:21:35 +0000 Suz 1811721@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Harmonica</b>, I do think that distinction holds. It is possible to embrace one and not the other. If you think back to modernism...it had a deeply conservative strain, no? Ditto most other strongly ideological schools of design...because, you know, "purity."&nbsp;</p> <p>Fabulous discussion, <b>Gaylene, Liz, Rachylou, Shevia</b>, and all!&nbsp;</p> <p>And <b>Harmonica.</b>..I saw the church in Akureryi. Though it was not open...loving Iceland!! Very cold today, though.... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style/page/2#post-1811719 Tue, 30 May 2017 12:54:28 +0000 harmonica 1811719@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Do you think it would make sense to distinguish between <i>avant-garde design/style</i> and <i>avant-garde lifestyle/thinking</i>? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style/page/2#post-1811688 Tue, 30 May 2017 09:52:23 +0000 rachylou 1811688@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I can see you, tho, Jenni, enjoying a bit of the avant garde here, a bit of edge there (!) </p> <p>Maybe not so much minimalism, tho... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style/page/2#post-1811686 Tue, 30 May 2017 09:46:34 +0000 Jenni NZ 1811686@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Welllllll.... now you've all got much too tricky for me! That's why I called on Liz, because I knew I couldn't contribute! The intellectualism of the discussion is too much! But I agree that Rachylou is a seer.<br /> I don't believe anyone would ever call me edgy, and certainly not avant-garde or minimalist. But some of my items do get called cool or amazing, and that's enough to make me happy </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style/page/2#post-1811652 Tue, 30 May 2017 03:39:57 +0000 Sal 1811652@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sorry that is probably me "muddying the waters". &nbsp;I agree there is a difference between the design/style minimalism vs the lifestyle/environmentally conscious minimalism.&nbsp;</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style/page/2#post-1811650 Tue, 30 May 2017 03:17:34 +0000 Jaime 1811650@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This thread is amazing. One small peep - I think minimalism as a <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.becomingminimalist.com/what-is-minimalism/">lifestyle/approach to clothing</a>&nbsp;needs to be distinguished from <a rel="nofollow" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism">Minimalism the design principle</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>From the above links:<br />minimalism the lifestyle:&nbsp;<em>minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it.<br /></em>Minimalism the design principle:&nbsp;In visual arts, music, and other mediums, minimalism is a style that uses pared-down design elements. </p> <p>Rachy, you are so smart and so right, it is practically the dark ages out there.</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style/page/2#post-1811649 Tue, 30 May 2017 03:04:20 +0000 rachylou 1811649@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>No way there's already an arrière garde! Oh, I have something now to confront all the family architects/minimalists with at the next gathering! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style/page/2#post-1811643 Tue, 30 May 2017 02:08:59 +0000 Sal 1811643@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think my take home from this is that you cannot really buy (especially from corporates) edgy or avant garde styles. &nbsp;Is my friend that wears a flower in her hair and dresses up her rain boots with tinsel on the rugby sideline edgy - I think she is- she is defying her environmental norm by being creative and different (and DIY).</p> <p>Minimalism is also marketed to us - buy the one perfect black dress or pair of jeans - but minimalism cannot be found on the shelf. &nbsp;I almost feel as a style concept Minimalism needs to be renamed because buying items to be a minimalist is quite back to front.</p> <p>I do have a minimalist relative or two - they never buy clothing until they need it, and they keep/wear it for a very long time. &nbsp;They borrow clothes and gear, use the library, rarely update phones or home decor. &nbsp;When we holiday together they do take one pair of shorts and one pair of jeans for a three week trip. &nbsp;I doubt anyone would describe him as stylish but he is usually appropriate. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811624 Mon, 29 May 2017 20:53:51 +0000 harmonica 1811624@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I've enjoyed this conversation so much, <b>approprio</b>! Much more elaborate than I could imagine (or put down in words). No need to apologize. Keep it up all of you!&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811622 Mon, 29 May 2017 20:48:32 +0000 approprio 1811622@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>And now we're getting somewhere! <b>rachylou</b>, that's profound! Prophetic even! Google&nbsp;arrière garde and you'll find an 1980's architectural movement called critical regionalism, a human-shaped response to brutalist modernism and ringing warnings against populism that sound eerily familiar.&nbsp;<b>Gaylene:</b>&nbsp;this must be what happens when romantic Futurism gives way to technological Rationalism. Exactly what we need right now.&nbsp;</p> <p><b>harmonica</b>: my sincerest apologies for the derail. I'm pretty sure this wasn't what anyone expected when the <b>approprio</b> card got played. Certainly not me. But now we know.&nbsp;<b>rachylou</b> is a seer.&nbsp;Fashion scholars will be linking to this thread years from now. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811590 Mon, 29 May 2017 16:33:31 +0000 Gaylene 1811590@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh, I love this, especially Rachylou's arrière garde! </p> <p>Fashion as self-knowledge instead of what's new and trendy, or lists of do's and don'ts, or trying to replicate whatever X is wearing. I think Coco Chanel would say "FINALLY, they get it!" It's not about the mariner sweater, the pearls, or the chain handbag, it's about investigating the limits of form and functionality on our own terms, instead of losing ourselves under piles of discarded clothing and slippery expectations. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811578 Mon, 29 May 2017 15:03:35 +0000 rachylou 1811578@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh, now that's truly a provocative thought. </p> <p>You know, one always thinks of going forward as 'evolution' and 'progress,' but the truth is, 'devolution' is always around the corner as an equal, if not greater possibility.</p> <p>What if the avant garde is today the arrière garde? And no energy can be spared for advancement? Or is that obvious by now, with the young adult fiction craze for apocalyptic fiction being decrepitly old now?</p> <p>...What if full on retreat is the zeitgeist? I never quite thought of it like this. But you know... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811571 Mon, 29 May 2017 14:16:44 +0000 approprio 1811571@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Gaylene</b>, I stopped short of saying so, but that's exactly what I find so refreshing about <b>Angie's</b> approach. Edgy, avant-garde or minimal, any one of these are ours to reinvent. Sure, we need to do the legwork ourselves, but if there's one thing to be said for growing older, it's the years of experience we get to draw on to define what works for us.</p> <p><b>rachylou</b>: that's a whole critique of fashion waiting to be unpacked right there! There's an argument that an industrialised consumer culture is incapable of supporting a genuinely radical avant-garde. I don't completely buy this but I do find it compelling - no doubt the globalised nature of the industry has made interventions of the kind we saw twenty or thirty years ago very difficult. </p> <p>In the current climate of rapid change for the sake of it, the only innovation possible is pushback. I've had <a rel="nofollow" href="https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/fashion-with-a-capital-f">my rant about Gucci and Vetements</a>, but living in an international city I can see some of what's driving these developments, which seem to be a natural progression from normcore. I'm stumped as to why the outcome seems so formulaic though, and with so little appetite for customisation. Maybe that's the Instagram effect?</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811531 Mon, 29 May 2017 09:17:38 +0000 rachylou 1811531@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wait wait, approprio! How can the literal edge, pushing boundaries, cause the retread we are seeing now? </p> <p>Or do I ask this because secretly I don't believe mere cleverness is enough to be avant garde and I secretly believe that cleverness is all we're getting? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811527 Mon, 29 May 2017 08:42:55 +0000 lyn67 1811527@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>A great read, thank you Angie, Gaylene, Approprio(yoo blew my mind not else!) and all!:-) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811514 Mon, 29 May 2017 06:25:39 +0000 harmonica 1811514@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow - thanks, <b>Approprio</b>!! I will have to reread it.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811469 Sun, 28 May 2017 22:31:58 +0000 Anonymous 1811469@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This comment says it all: &nbsp;<i>Does their promise keep us on the treadmill? Most definitely. &nbsp;</i>Thanks <b>Approprio</b> for a great read. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811466 Sun, 28 May 2017 22:21:40 +0000 Gaylene 1811466@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Interesting analysis, approprio. Given your definitions, I'd be inclined to say it would be impossible for mass market fashion to give us any of those elements--edge, avant-garde, or minimalism--since all of these seem to outside of whatever the marketers are selling to us under those labels. </p> <p>Sure puts the personal back in personal style, doesn't it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811463 Sun, 28 May 2017 22:10:21 +0000 approprio 1811463@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Heh. You called? *cracks knuckles*</p> <p>I agree wth Angie’s assessment of “edgy” as something situational that can’t be bought off the peg. It isn’t necessarily an expression of personal style either, but of attitude and charisma. For instance, you could say Helen Mirren is every bit as edgy as Tilda Swinton, because who else could possibly make Dolce &amp; Gabbana look so downright subversive? The style is the epitome of conventional flattery, but the woman herself is dangerously talented and sexy as all get-out, hence the edge.</p> <p>If you accept a <a rel="nofollow" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avant-garde">literal definition of avant-garde</a>, you can argue that this concept of “edge” as the evocative expression of a mood or situation, is the main driving force in contemporary fashion right now, and the reason why just about everything on the international catwalks looks like retreads of something you’ve seen before. This is a sorry state of affairs in my opinion, there are all sorts of reasons for it, but I’m hopeful that we’ll get past it and onto something better soon. In the meantime, new contexts in urban styling are food for thought, and almost certainly where we’re heading next. There’s always an avant-garde operating at a different edge, where pushing the boundary is about questioning form, function and the limits to craft - this has never been easy to find, but it’s still out there and it merits seeking out and supporting.</p> <p>As for minimalism, this is another thing fashion can’t sell you, but that’s not for want of trying. I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with some very stylish people over the years but the only real minimalists I’ve ever met have been ascetic Buddhists and even then I’m not really sure. If a dedicated spiritual practice is no guarantee, my guess is you’re unlikely to find on a lifestyle blog. On the other hand, we’re all familiar with the thrilling moment when <i>those</i> jeans and <i>that</i> tee were absolutely perfect and you wouldn’t have wanted to wear anything else. Again, it’s purely situational, because life is complicated and tomorrow is another day.</p> <p>Any one of these ideas in isolation would be very hard to pin down, but all three of them together give an interesting perspective on our expectations of fashion and how we’re socialised to look at style. The fact that none of us can identify aesthetics that we could all agree on goes to show just how slippery they really are, but each represents an elusive quality we all wish we could nail - a vibrant expression of self, an interaction with a wearable piece of art, or a perfectly realised outfit with no need for embellishment. Do any of these things really exist as tangible commodities in today’s fashion culture? Probably not. Does their promise keep us on the treadmill? Most definitely. </p> <p></p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811281 Sat, 27 May 2017 16:47:00 +0000 harmonica 1811281@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>smittie - your first row of minimalism ressonates with my understanding, too.</p> <p>Sarah - I see what you mean. I wouldn't think of your outfits as minimalist. Definately edgy, but not Hard Edge.</p> <p>Rachy - I can't imagine minimalist fan / brand /logo wear</p> <p>texstyle - proportions are so important, but also hard to get right. Especially if you go outside classic looks </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811268 Sat, 27 May 2017 13:48:09 +0000 texstyle 1811268@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Fun thread, thanks for starting it harmonica.</p> <p>Gaylene - I think your example is a great one - wish I could make minimal look so elegant.<br />smittie - love your examples of minimalist!<br />rachylou - I'm so glad you&nbsp; mentioned the thing about a logo (or any other embellishment) because that does seem to make such a difference. Just the other day wearing a favorite navy linen shirt I realized I need to reset all the buttons because they were sewn on with white thread and that keeps it from looking minimal and clean to my eye - similar to how a logo on a jacket would.</p> <p>I think overall I <i>prefer </i>minimalist but have a hard time finding the right pieces for myself. Like just the right length shorts so I don't need to roll them (which ends up more tomboy than minimal to my eye). And sometimes I'm still attracted to a pattern (plaid, certain stripes, slight floral) so I'm not sure those fit into minimalist much at all but I'd get bored wearing solids every day.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811200 Sat, 27 May 2017 02:10:50 +0000 rachylou 1811200@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm eating my lunch and have had this thought: I think of minimalism as simple (in the wearing, if not construction), but not all simple things are minimalist. Like a fleece with the logo of your favourite sports team is simple, but not minimalist - no matter how small the logo. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811190 Sat, 27 May 2017 01:42:24 +0000 SarahTheWhite 1811190@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh, I like this thread! I'm not good at pinning down definitions, but I do enjoy everyone else's explanations... I particularly like this because I feel like I often try to incorporate all three at the same time. My take on this (for my own style and wardrobe) would be that I prefer little color (which I see as minimalist) with items that are strong on detail and form - drape, asymmetry, texchture (which to me is avant garde) along with something unexpected for edge, as Angie says (such as nose rings and unusual hair color and style). I feel that my most favorite outfits do combine all those elements. if only ALL of my outfits could... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811171 Fri, 26 May 2017 23:32:05 +0000 Anonymous 1811171@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Here are a few examples of outfits that might be minimalist, but I personally think they might be too uncomfortable, too interesting or too clean to be minimalist. </p> <p>I don't know if any of you will agree with this assessment.</p> <p>This is just the general impressions of someone who does not follow fashion that closely! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811169 Fri, 26 May 2017 23:28:29 +0000 Anonymous 1811169@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Here are some examples of what I think of as minimalist style. I think one distinction I make between minimalist style and avant garde is that minimalism is more comfortable-looking.<br /> I think of minimalism as fairly colourless too. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811164 Fri, 26 May 2017 23:02:13 +0000 harmonica 1811164@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thank you all for your insights! I think this is a theme that has to be practised to fully understand, like «I know it when I see it». Visuals are helpful! </p> <p>Angie - thanks for the clarification on edgy style vs hard edge! I like your explanation.</p> <p>Deborah - I see your style as a mix of avant-garde and minimalist. And you do have an edge/personal twist!</p> <p>shevia - I like your way of explaining it. I think your explanation clarifies how a minimalist outfit can be very complex</p> <p>Rachy and Sal - great examples!</p> <p>Sophia Alice, JuniperGreen - I agree :-)</p> <p>Jenni NZ - I'm calling on Liz, too </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811110 Fri, 26 May 2017 18:42:16 +0000 JuniperGreen 1811110@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ooo I quite like this conversation. In my creative field I regularly come across all three, and love to see how they're executed!</p> <p>I think rachylou and sal have hit the nail on the head with identifying the various style icons that embody each descriptor. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/edge-vs-avant-garde-vs-minimalist-style#post-1811019 Fri, 26 May 2017 10:22:10 +0000 Jenni NZ 1811019@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Please can Liz (Approprio) comment?! </p>