Fashion is no stranger to the times. According to the Oakland Post, the Hemline Index theorizes the connection between the overall health of the economy and the nature of current trends:
[W]hen skirt hemlines are shorter, the economy is booming. Conversely, longer skirts suggest a declining economy. In simple terms — the shorter the skirt, the stronger the economy.
What does it mean to show nothing at all? The opera glove era of 2021–22 was a direct reflection of the precautions taken during the pandemic that urged the world only to look, not touch, but the face-shielding veil trend of fall/winter 2024 extends untouchability to identity safeguarding, where access is strictly limited to those worthy of permission.
Face coverings have historically served as tokens of protection from evil spirits, and in the current economic state of turmoil, a similar kind of solace is sought. With the rise of AI in conjunction with a record number of layoffs, workers are questioning the longevity of their careers and how easily their hard-earned skills can be outsourced by something that was initially created to help, not hurt. The theft of one’s likeness is coming to a head as more people are seeing not only their data, but also their faces used for nonconsensual gains. The desire to cover up is simply a means to fight back.
And yet, the need to be unapologetically human persists. Pure unadulterated joy, the freedom to ugly cry, and the way the range of these emotions are uniquely expressed is why AI will always look to humanity as the source, not the other way around. Much like the popular use of Venetian masks in a time when the ancient republic navigated similarly uncharted territory, the veils seen at this season’s Haute Couture Week act as a censor to the appearance, but never the soul — “for with no faces, everyone had voices.”
