The ideal of an inclusive society Life is returning to New York and Los Angeles, and a new generation of designers is creating the future aesthetic of these metropolises T he story of what life looks like in Amer- ica at the beginning of the third decade of the 21 st century isn’t just another sto- ry of the "new normal" of a world that has just been ravaged by COVID-19, but also a unique perspective of the ideal of a more inclusive society in which greater tolerance for differences will prevail above all. Following the end of the Trump era, and in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, diversity seems to be the leading idea in every sphere of action. And fash- ion isn’t lagging behind in this, and with many years of a faltering economy having condemned many small and large brands, all the indications are that an un- stoppable creative revolution is on the horizon: one that will, in the “heat of the battle”, set new stand- ards for the more sustainable and fairer fashion mar- ket of the future. As always, the legendary Anna Wintour is the first on the trail of this exciting new chapter: she dedicated the March issue of Vogue, the fashion bible that she heads, to all independent creators nationwide across the U.S. and has deftly selected American fashion for the theme of the next Met Gala. Following last year’s cancellation, this traditional happening at the Metro- politan Museum of Art returns to the cultural calen- dar this September, albeit in a slightly altered form, divided into two parts. e first part begins upon the conclusion of autumn’s New York Fashion Week, with the opening of an exhibition entitled ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’ on 18 th September, while the sec- ond part has been scheduled, as is tradition, for the first Monday in May next year, and will be called ‘In
America: An Anthology of Fashion’. e topic celebrates American designers, but also marks the political, cul- tural and social events of the previous year. Given that profits generated from sales of the fab- ulous tickets for the gala dinner are the main source of funding for the Met’s Costume Institute, we be- lieve that this event will be a real fashion mood board, even with this altered pandemic format, and that we will see a number of socially engaged creations, both strutting on the red carpet and displayed in the ex- hibition itself, such as those that have brought fame to Kerby Jean-Raymond, who creates under the Pyer Moss brand and has already used his fashion shows as a platform to address the problem of the erasing of African-American narratives from popular culture. We have no doubt that we’ll also see the work of design- er Prabal Gurung, whose show last year was entitled "Who gets to be an American?", thereby addressing the issue of social inclusion without restraint. Of course, no cross-section of contemporary fash- ion can be complete without mentioning the phenom- enon that is Virgil Abloh. ere are various descrip- tions linked with him: fashion messiah, provocateur and compiler. One of today’s top designers, accord- ing to many the founding father of hype culture, be- fore he founded his own fashion label, Off-White, and took on the prime position of artistic director of Lou- is Vuitton’s menswear collection, Abloh played music as a DJ in Chicago nightclubs. He is a true example of the “American dream”, but in a millennial remix – as a spokesman for diversity and inclusion in tradition- ally brutal fashion circles. It was in a similar atmosphere that the Telfar brand was created, with a handbag that has been an indis- pensable accessory carried by all trendsetters in recent months, or at least added to their wish list. As pop- ular as it is for its “ordinariness”, and the fact that it goes well with everything (especially when it comes in a neutral skin tone or black), it equally attracts atten- tion for its craftmanship (100% vegan eco leather) and price (under $300 for the largest format). It is the cre- ation of talented New York designer Telfar Clemens, who says that he found inspiration in the large brown paper bags from luxury department store Blooming- dale's. As a genuine example of democratic design, it
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