VMAs 2017: The Difference Between Style and Fashion
That sad, FOMO feeling of summer ending is creeping in. The mornings and evenings are brisker, there are less day light hours, and the VMAs happened over the weekend. Its official: summer is on the way out.
Let’s save the despair for now and focus on the positive. Dissecting fashion is always a personal pick-me-up. What’s not to love? The cherry on top of the banana split is a juicy night full of extremes. Let’s place these extremes on a made up ‘good’ style versus ‘bad’ style spectrum. The VMAs never disappoint when it comes to chatting about the style choices the stars make. Sunday night was no different.
I will continue to make a case that for style to be ‘good’ it must say something about the person. Take Pink for instance. Her matching family pant suits were dope. They came as a unit and celebrated as a unit. Even my cold heart melts a bit with that intention and execution. There’s a long history of women in suits and she keeps it fresh and unexpected. So, too, was her story about creating your own standards of beauty, especially when you have a child that is struggling with identity.
Next, I loved what Paris Jackson said and wore. Sure, the graffiti mesh scribbled Dior was nothing new. Plenty of fashion darlings have worn similar styles form that collection. What is compelling though is that Dior stands up for something. Dior refuses to associate with racists. Remember this? Yeah, me too. That alignment between Jackson and Dior makes a lot of sense.
Last, although more subtle, I must point out Kendrick Lamar’s choice. Sunday night he donned Prada. Prada has long stood for the other. It has long given alternative options to the nerdy fashion friend. The aesthetic of Prada is for the inspired. Many seasons ago they dedicated their collection to feminism. On the weekend, Lamar supported the brand and chose it for himself. I do like a guy that like to think of women as equals. I also like his insane performances.
A bunch of other people wore other stuff that I've already forgot about. Not a great sign if I can't even remember it. Must be meh. It must have lacked that certain style I was after.
In case you didn’t catch the show but want to know what happened, check out this fantastic - and pity - rundown of the night.
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