The rise and rise of ugly fashion
Bejewelled crocs, logoed bumbags, Deirdre Barlow specs — just when did fashion turn its back on good taste? reflects on a most unlikely trend
Sold out. Snapped Up. Waiting Lists. Queues for days. In the world of fashion, ‘must-haves’ must be exclusive, ideally in short supply, and always Instagrammable — if only to ensure requisite bragging rights. Oh, and they must be ugly. Really ugly.
Not that this is anything new. The burgeoning trend of ‘ugly fashion’ has been gaining traction since 2011 when Christopher Kane first debuted a pool slider on the catwalk, followed hot on the heels in 2012 by French fashion house Céline’s fur-lined Birkenstock.
2013 saw the term ‘normcore’ (an alloy of normal and hardcore) coined by New York trend agency K-HOLE to describe the backlash against trophy dressing as people looked to fit in rather than stand out.
This non-conformist ease, ironically co-opted by the style cognoscenti, became its own statement of intent with disruptive anti-fashion fare from iconoclastic brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, and Vetements setting the new agenda.
Fast forward to 2018 and we appear to have been hit with the ugly stick.
Bejewelled crocs, logoed bumbags, Deirdre Barlow specs, comedically oversized puffer coats and 2018’s runaway runway success — the ‘dad’ sneaker.
There’s no escaping it, good taste just got its comeuppance. The question is — why?
Or should we ask “why not”? Counter-intuitive as it may appear, the trend for mastering the aesthetically-challenging is, well, part of the challenge.
Much like the extreme sport of wearing killer heels (a podiatrist’s licence to print money), the big fashion houses appear to be tapping into a game of one-upmanship; or, in this case, one-downmanship.
A casual scroll through Instagram reads like a visual style slay with Balenciaga’s sold-out Triple S chunky-soled ‘dad’ sneakers (€650), Gucci’s 1980s-inspired shell suits (four figures, anyone?) and Vetements’ DHL-branded t-shirts (€540) ranking high among retail kill.
It’s as if ugly has become a stand-in for cool. Instead of the Mean Girls wearing pink on Wednesdays, they’re rocking mom jeans with white socks and Teva hiking sandals.
And therein lies the rub. Like most exclusive clubs, there’s a price to pay, and oftentimes, an initiation to pass.
If you can tread the fine line between fashion victim and fashion victor in a pair of Balenciaga Speed Trainers (€565) without so much as a wobble, consider your insider approval a shoe-in.
Just remember: God may love a trier, but fashion tends to keep a wide berth of those who try too hard, as fashion director of Image magazine, Marie Kelly, explains.
“Fashion loves a good backlash, and brands like Vetements and Balenciaga offer pieces that are the very antithesis of Tribute heels and Hervé Legér dresses, which defined the noughties. I think the appropriation of the latter by reality TV stars and fashion wannabes also influenced the move toward ‘ugly fashion’.”
Unlike most trends, ‘ugly fashion’, as the name suggests, is self-limiting and mildly prohibitive, hence the charm. (Heck, even Kim Kardashian swapped sexy for ugly.)
Inherited wisdom tells us to dress for our figures, play to our strengths, be classic with a twist — not wear a pair of high-waisted ‘mom’ jeans and an oversized blazer with shoulder pads.
If fashion favours the brave, then those who dare and win, win big in the style stakes, especially on social media.
Some of us, though, are a tad gun shy as Kate Hiscox, head of TV at Warner Music and fashion blogger at Wears My Money admits:
“There’ve been many trends I’ve turned my nose up to at first, ‘Who on earth would be foolish enough to buy fur-lined slipper loafers in THIS climate?’ It turns out I would after a year of seeing them all over Pinterest and Instagram. Then making the classic mistake of trying them on. Needed. Wanted. Bought.”
Photographer Hazel Coonagh believes this adjustment to be about question of optics.
“A few months ago, I bought a pair of non-prescription, red-framed Sally Jessy Raphael style glasses through the suggestion of a friend. I would never have given them a second look; now I wear them constantly. I think once you are willing to try different styles you’ll be surprised how they can grow on you.”
But it’s not all face value. Testing the limits of taste is more than a superficial pursuit; it’s a powerful means of disrupting the status quo and giving it a ruddy good shake.
As contemporary culture becomes less binary, aesthetics become a relative concept. Genderless dressing and athleisure sensibility are now part and parcel of a more mobile, label-free society.
By recontextualising, revamping and reissuing marginalised styles, what’s overlooked invariably becomes the new normal.
“It’s a shift to a more inclusive and adventurous fashion culture,” remarks Coonagh.
“Thanks to social media, more people than ever before are involved in the conversation. Acceptance of a diverse fashion sensibility is at an all-time high from what I can see and I’m all for it.”
Indeed, the age of the bricoleur may well be upon us as we go meta, merge references, and create the ultimate postmodern pastiche — powered by the latest 5.5-inch LED back-lit widescreen next-generation smartphone; but let’s not forget the cash cow — the business-minded bovine that gives the public what they never knew they wanted.
Sure, we could wax lyrical about the Warholian subtext of wearing an overpriced IKEA-inspired bag (thanks, Balenciaga); we could baulk at the waiting lists engendered by an orthopaedic shoe, or we could look at the bottom line and call the whole caper a smart move.
More than just semantic totems, the latest ‘ugly’ pre-requisites pay dividends.
According to The Business of Fashion, Birkenstocks’ revenue tripled in 2017 as compared to the year before while revenues at Crocs has held steady at $1 billion to $1.2bn (€853m to €1bn) annually since 2011 (look out for Drew Barrymore in the new campaigns); while the Gucci pool slider holds steady as one of the top hottest brands and biggest products in the quarterly Lyst.com index listing for 2018.
Where high fashion leads, the high street is never far behind in creating pocket-friendly versions for those with more dash than cash.
Once edgy becomes mainstream, however, the backlash will follow and a new retinal challenge will ensue.
“Maybe it’s the sartorial equivalent of eating oysters,” says Kelly, “You have to work on training your palette, or in this case, your eye.” True.
What new ‘ugly’ trends the next decade will bring only time will tell. What’s guaranteed is another debate on the tenets of good taste as we adjust our TV sets to deal with the glorified glare of a new ‘must-have’.
