Guest Blogger Andrae Gonzalo Muses on 21st-Century Style
Over the past year, along with several of my friends in the design world, I've been entertaining a conversation about whether it is yet possible to pinpoint the "look" of the 21st century's first decade. For the most part, the question has been met with a bland "meh" and a nod to the revisionist picture of late 1970s porn that American Apparel is so gifted at evoking. Essentially, I've thought the look of the "aughts" has come to "nought" except for, perhaps, the rebirth of skinny jeans and the reemergence of that most preeminent of zombielike-trends-extraordinaire—LEGGINGS. (You cannot kill them; however, they are vulnerable to fire).
But then, this week, reading about Los Angeles' recent incarnation of the "Edwardian Ball," down at the old Tower Theatre, I wondered about the question again and thought, "Well, perhaps this could be something." It does make sense—romanticizing the turn of the last century just around the time that our own century has flipped. If you recall, it happened much the same way with William Morris and his crew during the early 1900s. Then, the impulse manifested itself in a fetish for Japanese wood joinery and all those lampshades and ceramics, colored with carcinogenic lead pigments. Perhaps "Steampunk" and "Retro-futurism" are then the natural requisite response to all of the stress and turmoil that we're experiencing due to the Internet information age.
If the arts-and-crafts movement looked back fondly to a time when medieval guildsmen made beautiful things with their hands, why not romanticize a time characterized by strict decorum and privacy, when the humans had just taught the machines to make lace? In fact, I kind of like the idea of being introduced to someone via engraved calling card in a time when these Youtubes, Facebooks and Twitters are relentlessly driving me to "update my status" and list "25 not so random things you don't know about me." (I swear, if I get tagged for that one, one more time . . . .) And then there are the photos. Once upon a time, a photograph captured the truth. People actually said things like "Pictures don't lie." This morning, the Flickr search I did for "Edwardian Ball 2009" yielded 1,951 different images; all depicting people in silk top hats and corsetry and looking into the lens of the camera, either giggling about some secret that you'd "just have to be there to understand" or emitting a smoldering stare from the viewing plane that attempted to say "I am mystery personified." As someone with 228 Facebook friends, and counting, this type of retrospection seems an antidote for the digital poison, which is eating away at my soul. Sure, we're friends on Facebook, and you may know the shape and location of the birthmark on my left shoulder, but did you know that I own a monocle? So I'm rather tempted to seek out the next Edwardian Ball. Perhaps amidst the waistcoats and spats there is the aesthetic seed of some new look that might define our times. Either that, or it's the winter refuge for those actor types who keep the Rennaissance Pleasure Faire alive every summer. God, I hope it's not the latter. I shudder to think how many times I might have to endure hearing the word "m'lady."
Photos by Josh Reiss/www.curiousjosh.com
Notable for his participation on the second season of "Project Runway," free-lance fashion designer Andraé Gonzalo is a native of Los Angeles and the erstwhile proprietor of Chinatown's Forget It, Jake boutique. In 2007, Gonzalo's endeavors expanded to include instructing at the Fashion Institute of Design Merchandising, as well as costuming for the theatre. He continues to expand his work in the theatre as principal collaborator with his partner, choreographer Jamie Benson.
