Come fashion week and the time of wardrobe flurries begins. ‘What to wear’ becomes the biggest dilemma for everyone who’s destined to attend, the front row being the most style conscious. Over the years the race to dress best, latest and trendiest has become an insatiable beast for celebrities, socialites and yes, even journalists. I know that personally, I like to have my fashion week wardrobe in order.
However, and the reason for writing this post, is the recent rise of a wardrobe ‘malfunction’ of a different kind. Designers, having the urge to look popular, have become all too eager to ‘dress’ people for fashion week. Hence the invariable calls come that so and so would like to make something for you, from their new collection. Would you be interested in wearing it to their show?
Uh, no. Sorry. I cannot show so much favouritism to any designer. I may have stumbled upon that path once or twice in the infancy of my career but not anymore. I like to choose what to wear and I prefer to pay for what I choose.
Red Carpet host Natty in HSY: It’s a welcome sight to see a red carpet host or celebrity wear an outfit from an unrevealed collection to the show but not so welcome when you’ve convinced a journalist to do the same.
First of all, there would be nothing wrong in a designer’s PR firm to extend that very same offer to a celebrity, who would no doubt elevate the popularity of a collection by wearing it on the red carpet. However, that offer extended to a journalist reflects very bad on his/her ethical values. If I, as a journalist, agree to wear a yet-to-be revealed outfit from a collection on the day of the show, BEFORE it is showcased, then that means I am already favouring the designer. It creates an unfair air of nepotism and portrays me as biased. Not only have I accepted free clothes, I have endorsed a designer before seeing the collection. It’s wrong and it’s a practice I have not seen anywhere else in the world simply because there’s hardly anyone who will accept a favour and then critique the collection fairly.
So next time you see a member of the media, journalist, editor or blogger wearing a piece from an unseen collection, you know which way their comments and reviews are going to slide. As for me, time has taught me to not even wear something by a designer who’s showing that day. It keeps things uncomplicated in the unfortunate case that the designer’s new collection turns out to be a bummer.
