“ASK SAM” Reflects On Taste And Why Some Designers Still Need To Get Some

By Samantha von Sperling | October 6, 2016 | Lifestyle

As I crawled into bed after an exciting, yet long day in the front row at NY Fashion Week shows, (I know, #champagneproblems!), I reviewed all the many moods and feelings that were created in each collection, each look.

I turned up the volume on Masters of Sex (I love the work of the wardrobe department for the show), to drown out the sound of the pigeons getting it on around the AC unit sticking out of the bedroom window. I don’t have the heart to shoo them away, even though I want to sleep. After all, the outside of the air conditioner is their perch, their little piece of the rock. No one likes to be interrupted in the throes of passion, and honestly with all their ruckus, I felt uncomfortable to interrupt.

We all want to make ourselves attractive to the object of our desire. Birds have feathers, but we have clothes! We want to wear clothes that make us feel gorgeous. Fashion shows are “fashion as theater,” as art: Exciting, interesting, but not necessarily wearable. It’s not just about creating a mood. I believe consumers want clothes that make them feel great in their skin.

Fashion Week was a mix of both great design and looks that had no actual appeal. Much of what I saw was magnificent on the runway, but in real life not so much, especially if you’re not a model — not all silhouettes are flattering.

We must not be slaves to fashion or swayed by the egos of designers, especially if they lack taste. Taste, like talent, can be honed, nurtured and developed, but taste is one of those elusive traits you either have or donΓÇÖt.

Designers have a responsibility to develop good taste as much as possible because the masses of people that have questionable taste are looking to the experts to dress them. The fashion disasters that we see on the streets are not only the fashion faux pas of consumers but the faults of designers with bad taste making ugly things, further aggravated by poor styling choices from the wearers.

You might think, “Wow! That ‘AskSam’ gal is such a bitch! Taste is subjective!ΓÇ¥ But no, not really. There are limits. We want fashions that makes us feel great. A garment, like a favorite jacket that we literally live in, has the magic to lend us emotional well-being. A favorite pair of stilettos that makes us feel powerful and sexy without killing our feet (at least not immediately) can give us the courage and the confidence to face interviews, first dates, breakups and a host of lifeΓÇÖs moments ΓÇª when we need to channel our inner fabulousness with a little external boost.

If the game is to compete in a market that seems more competitive and saturated with each passing year, then originality, wearability, quality, a pulse on the times and a feel for what people want are good strategies. I wish more of that would be evident on the runways.

In the end, designers want to sell clothes, and we consumers want to buy well-made garments that make us look and feel great!