When I whine about fashion being disappointing and conciously not promoting ideas that move humanity forward, I am talking about dresses like this. This is Hussein Chalayan for Vionnet. I love both this designer and this fashion house. Chalayan normally has ideas that are exciting and push bounderies and expand what we think about fashion. Yet, this dress is "same old" with a teenager with an ombre target on her crotch. In his statement about the line, that's supposed to represent a spiral staircase. No matter. Target on a teen's sexuality or a spiral staircase to her lady bits, it reduces her to what is between her legs. The dress doesn't let your eye focus on the model herself for something interesting about the dress. It focuses you on her crotch.
The over-sexualization of teenage girls and women does nothing for the wearer of the dress or the society she lives in. It brings us back to accepting girls as objects of sexual fantasy. This is not ok. I demand something more than a dress that tells those around me that my most important feature is to invite them to consider me for their sexual pleasure.
We need to do better. Sexual fantasies about children should not be sales ploys or high-fashion. Fashion, you disappoint.
photo from style.com
