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Fashion Speaks

Submitted by Jillian Sayre on Wed, 2008-02-27 19:01. |

The Viktor & Rolf show in Paris this week sent a bit of a message:

fashion: dress with stylized 'no'

The two behind the line (yes, Viktor and Rolf) say that the "No" was aimed at the general direction of fashion itself. "We love fashion," they told reporters, "but it's going so fast." The show was peppered with various NO outfits, along with some that read "WOW" and "Dream on" (the latter was their closing remark/outfit, apparently). It is an interesting act of resistance that participates in (to the point of exploiting) the fast-paced visual culture of Fall fashion season.

What I find particularly interesting about the performance/show is that the only phrase written on (instead of worn on) the models themselves was NO, scrawled across a few faces when clothes themselves had less visible or no text:

model with 'no' in makeup on her face

It strikes me as a bit more insidious when drawn on the flesh, at least a bit more radical in its disfigurement of the model's face (the seat of beauty?). To what/to whom is this NO addressed?

You can see the whole show at Style.com

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