Emily K, JenniNZ: The carrier bag thing is not exactly new - maybe you saw Celine's striped totes from 2013, which attracted similar criticism.
Gaylene: thanks for articulating why this is so problematic. I find Gvasalia infuriating because he's obviously aware of and totally unfazed by the contradictory nature of what he's doing. Fine, so he's hijacking working-class banality in the service of fashion-meme generation, but it's unsettling to see the media lap it up for being so charmingly "meta" without considering its implications.
As a counter-argument, I suppose you could say it's a potential leveller at a time when we arguably need new ways of looking at and talking about fashion. Gvasalia's approach invites us to consider the visual language of globalisation and how it permeates our lives - it doesn't matter whether you're shopping Ikea or Balenciaga, you're still stuck on that treadmill. Gucci's curated garage-sale chic appears as a counterpoint to this: why buy something new when you can seek out that quirky vintage piece? Which would be fine if said garage-sale hadn't already been picked over so thoroughly and is now flooded with last year's polyester.
Bijou: I've often wondered where the next McQueen will come from, and whether we'll ever see another talent like that. On the other hand, there's potential for a renaissance in independent design, because of the appetite for shorter supply chains and closer links to clients. Do we need to go through this first before we can get there, I wonder?
