GLOBAL — It seems as though wherever you turn there’s talk about designer wears, whether it’s the latest “it” bag dangling from the arm of a celebutante or the newest avant garde heels hitting the runway. We’ve all fallen prey at some time or another and I freely admit that my eye is easily captivated by the finer things.
But as a culture are we addicted to designer confections, feverishly scrambling to claim ownership to high-end labels? Do you crave the latest Marc Jacobs oversized tote bag or Christian Louboutin peep-toe platforms? Does the idiom “Keeping up with the Joneses” come into play here? Or maybe the comparison is better used in reference to the Kardashians.
I recently spied an image of Chanel sneakers (yes you read right, sneakers) in the blogosphere. The poster gushed and lamented how she’d love to add them to her shoe collection. My first thought was, “are these for real?” Then I sighed, “Et tu Chanel?” Was the brand synonymous with bouclé suits and quilted bags feeding the cravings of our pop culture driven society? Celebs are also known to have an affinity to designer brands such as Victoria Beckham who’s rumored to own more than 100 Hermès Birkin bags.
The addiction isn’t confined to our culture here in the states – our friends abroad have also succumb. I recall shortly after the royal wedding of Prince Wiiliam and Kate Middleton, eyes were transfixed on the Duchess of Cambridge and her sister Pippa Middleton. News about Pippa’s Modalu “Bristol” bag that sold out after paparazzi snapped her carrying it in London and Kate’s $6,000 off-the-rack evening gown by British designer Jenny Packham, had media tongues wagging.
But we don’t only get our influences from Hollywood glitterati and British royalty. TV shows like “Sex and the City” served up the goodies with product placements – at the height of it’s reign – mentioning brands such as Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, and Fendi.
It’s quite possible that what makes designer duds so appealing, is the notion that owning them puts the wearer in the league of the elite. The king of the Pop Art Movement Andy Warhol described this concept best in his book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again:
A coke is a coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.
Simply put, a coke is accessible by almost anyone because of its affordability, yet high-end designer items are only obtainable by those who can afford their lofty price tag. Perhaps that’s the answer; we crave that which we feel will align us with celebrities and socialites we see in mainstream media, as if it’s a way to gain entry. Or maybe citing pop culture as the culprit is a cop out and designers are only delivering us what we crave.
What do you think?
Chicly Yours,
The Chic Spy
