Hello, Open Thread. On this day 109 years ago, the first woman was elected to Congress: Jeannette Rankin of Montana. That makes this week, when Virginia elected its first female governor, a good time to raise a glass to her memory. The election also gave us a new power couple: Zohran Mamdani and Rama Duwaji. They are bound to be style-setters in their own way, not least because of Mr. Mamdani’s fairy-tale campaign, his democratic socialism and their ages (34 and 28). Every choice they make is going to be scrutinized. As they know. They consulted with a stylist on their looks for election night in part because they knew that every detail was going to matter. Though this got some blowback (Socialists! Caring about fashion!), I think that’s silly. Shopping is time-consuming, especially when you are trying to combine brands that may resonate with a broad electorate, as Ms. Duwaji was. (Her picks: uptown Ulla Johnson, downtown Eddie Borgo and Zeid Hijazi, a Palestinian designer.) I don’t have any issue with outsourcing the task. In any case, I expect that Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Duwaji will continue to work as necessary with all kinds of advisers, including wardrobe advisers, as they enter Gracie Mansion. It’s going to be fascinating to see how this develops. If Mr. Mamdani’s win marked the rise of a new generation, the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards, which took place on Monday, was essentially an affirmation of the establishment and the status quo. (That’s the event’s host, Teyana Taylor, above, wearing Thom Browne.) Ralph Lauren, who has won seven — count ’em — previous CFDA awards, including the Fashion Legend award, a gong created just for him, won yet again: women’s wear designer of the year. Thom Browne, who happens to be chairman of the CFDA, took home his fourth men’s wear designer of the year award, and the Row won its fourth accessories designer of the year award. (It also has two women’s wear awards.) Not to take anything away from those triumphs, but it makes the American talent pool seem pretty paltry when the same names and brands keep snagging the prizes. There’s a sense that fashion is in retreat in all sorts of ways (see Balmain parting ways with Olivier Rousteing), and these choices, all safe, known quantities, seem like part of that trend. Anyway, I made a little video about the night if you want to watch. Finally, Anna Wintour’s last Vogue cover after almost 40 years as editor in chief has been unveiled, and it features … a man! To be specific, it stars Timothée Chalamet, looking like a hipster colossus bestriding the world. For anyone who doesn’t remember, Ms. Wintour is handing over her day-to-day Vogue duties in January to Chloe Malle, the better to focus on the brand’s global presence, though Ms. Malle will still report to her. Anyway, the Chalamet cover makes for an interesting goodbye statement from an editor who once shocked the industry when she paired a Lacroix jacket with jeans, swapped models for celebrities and showcased the brides Kim Kardashian, Melania Trump and Lauren Sánchez Bezos on her covers. I like the fact that rather than offer some career recap, or look back with all the famous models and movie stars and tennis players she knows, she chose to do something kind of forward-facing. But then, if anything marks her tenure, it’s a dispassionate ability to sever ties with the old and move with the culture. Even if it creates a lot of pearl-clutching in response (and this cover did). Think about that. Then consider the story of Judy Garland’s “lucky jacket,” get a load of the “power suits” on the new Hulu streamer “All’s Fair” (even if the reviews were terrible, the clothes are kind of mind-boggling), and check out what happened when Shein opened in Paris. Have a good, safe weekend.
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Your Style Questions, Answered
Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or X. Questions are edited and condensed. When did the retro sneaker phase start, and what’s it all about? There are so many cool color combinations … but will it last? — Gabrielle, New YorkFashion obeys the laws of physics just like the natural world, and there is no better example than the fact that what goes up must come down. This is true for hemlines and volumes, and it has proved true for sneakers. They became so ridiculously oversize thanks to the Balenciaga Triple S, which, in 2017, made monstrous footwear seem like the hottest thing since fur-lined slides, that there was nowhere to go except down. Indeed, back in March, Max Berlinger wrote an article for The New York Times declaring the end of the giant sneaker and the return of retro style: the slim-line kicks introduced in the middle of the last century that were being reissued and rediscovered by a new generation. The truth, however, is that the recent sneaker cycle probably started at least five years ago, when Grace Wales Bonner, the cult-y designer of a namesake brand and the new Hermès men’s wear designer, tried her hand at reinventing the Samba, introduced in 1949. Fashion insiders got overexcited, it sold out, and Adidas understood that it had a potential hit on its hands. Before you could say “midcentury,” Adidas started releasing the shoe in various limited-edition color combinations. (Nothing spurs consumption like the word “limited.”) Samba fever probably hit its peak in 2022, when searches for the shoe rose 350 percent, according to the shopping platform Lyst — at least until Rishi Sunak, the former British prime minister, was photographed wearing his Sambas in Downing Street, almost immediately harshing the vibe. Still, the Samba success opened the door for other brands to dip into their own archives, (re)producing hits like the Nike Cortez (first released in 1972), the Nike Zoom Vomero 5 (introduced in 2010), the < |
