Invisible Clothing
When I think of “invisible clothes” I think of the fairy tale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” in which a vain emperor is tricked into believing that he is wearing magical clothes made of the finest materials. He is only to find out that he is not wearing anything at all but was never told by the townspeople because they were all frightened by him.
There is quite a paradox in the clothing you wear. By wearing almost nothing, you stand out blindingly so, as did the Emperor. By wearing a lot of clothes, you remain obstructed from view, hidden. Don’t you want to feel invisible when you wear hoodies and zip them up to the very top? If you are in a crowd and you wear a hoodie, you would be the only one to have most of your head highlighted by the single color of your hoodie. We are not as invisible as we think.
Last week, Commes de Garcons released their Spring/Summer collection on the Paris runway. Designer, Rei Kawakubo, named the collection “Invisble Clothes” and tested out the theme of seeing and not being seen with her rather outrageous clothing.
Now, bear with me here. I am not going to speak like an artiste does about abstract art; I am going to hold off on the colorfully complex haute couture vernacular. It is what the clothing is trying to say. Well, that sounds silly too. Clothing doesn’t speak. But it does say a lot about your mood, personality, interests, and so on and so forth.
The first look (with the model wearing a green and black square) is quite interesting in what the wearer is trying to say. In the photo, the clothes become almost camouflaged against the black backdrop and crowd of viewers. It is also the flatness of the garment that distorts the model’s form enough so that we no longer see the body behind the clothing at all. At the same time, the garment is so “unique” in its size and shape that it cannot be ignored. We also lose sight of the model because of the concentration on the giant outfit encapsulating her. So I would say that this outfit does make the model very much invisible.
The two looks below are near opposites, in my opinion. The look on top enlarges the person’s body and at the same time the white spikes on top, along with the saran-wrap/tape headpiece draw attention to the model’s face. The look on the bottom is what I would associate more with a hoodie. This is an outfit to hide in. It is flatter and completely covers the model’s face so the only way we know that there is a person under there is the strip of skin revealed from her neck and her feet. While I’d propose that the top outfit is the “visible” outfit and the bottom outfit is the “invisible” one, these examples are a little too abstract to relate to because, well, wearing any of these outfits out in public would garner a lot of attention.
So here’s how I see it outside of the runway, in the familiar setting of our everyday lives. When I see someone wearing flip flops, an old t-shirt, and uncombed hair, I surmise that they do not really care about how they appear to others. They got ready quickly. Clothing is not an important part of their lives. On the other hand, when I see someone with Kim Kardashian locks, acrylic nails, and make-up done to perfection, I surmise that they really care how they are viewed by others. They take a lot of time taking care of their appearance; it takes hours to get your hair to look so nice, hours to get a nice manicure, and sometimes hours to perfect makeup. Is it wrong to get ready without thinking about it or wrong to take your time to look your best? I am not implying that either is bad, but rather that all of these little clothing things say so much about your personality, your mood. One who wears pajama pants to class is getting the message across that they came to class against their will and probably despite fighting their alarm clock. Someone who comes to class with full makeup, hair and nails done gets the message across that they are polished and more awake than everyone else in the class. For me, I do care a lot about fashion but sometimes I feel like it’s a “hoodie” kind of day. This means that I do not care about what I look like, I do not want to be bothered, and that comfort is my priority that day. What message does your outfit say today?
