Crisis - Killing Fashion for Fame?

By Leodora Darlington

In this generation, we have a new set of fashion and style icons, such as Alexa Chung who rocks designer gear in her own way. Esteemed designers have for years been showcasing their designs on runways and ad campaigns all over the world. Burberry, for example, is renowned for the class and fine tailoring of its garments, and walking through Westfield, Oxford High Street, or even glancing at a poster on a passing bus, you are used to seeing familiar faces; some of the celebrities used in their campaigns in the past have been Lily Donaldson, Eden Clark, Alexina Graham, and Richard Wyndham. Nevertheless, to see a Harry Potter star or the boy lead in Stormbreaker blown up on a Burberry poster is at the very least a little disconcerting for most.

(fan-taken photo from the premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

Flicking innocently through “The Sunday Times Style”, you suddenly find yourself faced with an A3 size poster of Emma Watson and her brother for a Burberry campaign. We cannot for one moment doubt that Emma Watson is a stunning girl and a sufficient actress, however, this “Burberry trend” as some like to call it, is becoming increasingly infective, with the faces of celebrities such as James Franco (who plays Harry in the Spiderman movies) for D&G, and even Cristiano Ronaldo for Armani. Of course, business-wise this makes sense – we do after all evidently pay closer attention; of course we want to use the same perfume Beyonce’s advertising or the underwear David Beckham is promoting, but when does it start becoming about the fashion and the designer again? Surely, the focus on the celebrity detracts from that of the product.

(picture sourced from http://www.ladygaga.com/photos/detail.aspx?fid=16698&phid=16699)

At the same time, we the public, see celebrities parading their style on a daily basis. Take for instance Lady Gaga; as ‘out-there’ and extreme as her style may be to the greatest part of us, you would not believe that a select group of naïve, impressionable ladies are now replicating her fashion, parading skimpy, crazy, plastic outfits, that look more like melded and welded IKEA furniture.

(sourced from http://www.denimology.com/2008/03/kate_moss4.jpg)

It is dangerous to generalise, as we do have many celebrities who have, in their own way, brought new, cool trends to the industry. Lily Allen seems to have single-handedly brought back the little prom dress (although arguably, the combination of the dress paired with trainers has not taken off quite so well); Kate Moss has made incredibly popular skinny jeans, Mulberry bags and waistcoats. “There’s no question that celebrities impact fashion, and in a very big way.” states Ed Cortese, a stylist who has worked with publications such as Harper’s Bazaar and GQ. We just have to look at people like Kanye, self-dubbed the “Louis Vuitton Don”, making his signature “Kanye” glasses popular worldwide.