Barts diary

 

I am so happy I left London. I was in town when the second wave of terror attacks happened. I was at college… had just checked my emails… then my friend Christine screamed my name and shouted out that more bombs had exploded. The next thing I recall is running into my friends Ali and Katrine and that we sat down in a pub on Marylebone High Street to watch the news. In the meantime I tried calling everyone back home to let them know I was okay.

We all felt eerie. There was this mood of indecisiveness and not knowing where to go… and not really wanting to go anywhere. I have a problem with the British mentality though. That stiff upper lip is really starting to annoy me. As soon as the cricket came back on, the TV channels were changed, which is extremely annoying when people in Belgium know more about what’s going on than you do… I have little respect for attitudes like that. Moving on with your life, sure, I’m all for it, but this was extremely quick.

So I took a Eurostar train back to Brussels the next day, as was planned. I felt very apprehensive and cautious that day, and couldn’t wait to be back in Belgium and with Frederik for some peace and quiet. But I was on guard there too, especially when I drove my car through the tunnels in Brussels… This is the Third World War we’re in… and I think we haven’t seen the last of this yet.

One good thing is that things like this do help you put things into perspective… so onto more worldly matters, like FASHION! So I’ve been hunting for jobs since I last wrote. Frederik is in Spain for two weeks on holiday, so I knew I’d be lonely and bored. He asked me to come over for a couple days though, but I decided not to as I wanted to try get my life on track here.

Small advancements I am pleased to say. I sent off my resume to a number of designers here, and I also sent out emails to my contacts. They’re all on holiday though, which is extremely frustrating!!! However, there’s a good chance I may have a position at Princess Blue, a store in Antwerp that stocks Helmut Lang, Viktor & Rolf, Marc Jacobs and ACNE, my favourite denim brand! I know, it’s retail, but hey, it’s cashish…

 

www.acnejeans.com

So if I get this job, my mind will be at ease. I’ll finally be independent and I’ll continue my search for a ‘real’ job. Besides, who knows what possibilities I may have at Blue. I’ve noticed how people often get their foot in the door through a retail position, so I’m pretty excited. I spoke to Axel, the store’s owner/buyer, and he seemed pretty enthusiastic. He’s going to call me after next week, so watch this space.

Last time, I was going on about the difference between fashion in the US and in Europe. Generally, fashion in the US tends to be more commercially driven, sometimes to the detriment of creativity and innovation. Recently, I came across several fashion ‘cognoscenti’ supporting that claim.

Paul Redfern, one of my lecturers at college in London, saw a link between American approaches to fashion and the Protestant work ethic. Contrary to Europe, where Catholicism is more strongly present, Protestantism claims that sinners can only be redeemed through divine grace, which is totally arbitrary. Because of this, sins are regarded as a sign that you’re out of God’s grace; and when you have not committed a sin, you’re probably still in God’s grace, but you can never be sure. Consequently, everything is put towards pleasing God to obtain his grace. So if you’re successful professionally, this is a sign you have God’s grace. Not making any mistakes obviously is a major concern here.

Gradually, mainly because of the rise of modernity, ideas of grace have become infested with ideas of taste through the concept of ‘fashion victims’, which has enabled sociologists to link fashion with religion. In Europe, a ‘fashion victim’ is someone who is very well informed on what are the latest fashions and they will ONLY wear labels. In the US, a ‘fashion victim’ is someone who simply does NOT have it. They make one fashion mistake after the other, and are sinners against the religion that fashion has become.

It is therefore understandable why American fashion is so ‘good’, classic and conservative. There is no going wrong in US fashion generally. It is not part of the history of American society to take risks because this may cause you to become a ‘sinner’ on many different levels, and consequently an outcast of society.

 

www.balenciaga.com

It really seems to make sense to me this theory. However, there’s also simpler ways of putting it, like Nicolas Ghesquière, who designs for Balenciaga, and Isabelle Huppert, one of France’s most respected contemporary actresses put it in ID’s Migration Issue for April 2005. Huppert states, “We could say that it’s the capacity for natural sophistication. In Europe, maybe there is the capacity to access something that is elegant and yet very simple, without artifice and seemingly without effort. While in America, there is more of a desire for…” Ghesquière: “For the spectacular!” Huppert: “Yes, signs of sophistication that are immediately recognisable.” Ghesquière: “It’s true. I find that unfortunately there are some American actresses who do not know how to dress at all. We feel they are well ‘surrounded’ but that’s not very interesting.”  Huppert: “I agree.”

And so do I! Anyways, I’d better get to being ‘good’, and do something about my work ethic. 🙂 Talk soon!

B***