“What Is Fashion?” Depending On Whom You Ask, It’s An Open-Ended Question.
“Fashion is the expression of taste, aesthetics, mood and art through clothing, accessories and wearable items,” says retail consultant Dr. Danielle Testa. “It is a direct reflection of society, culture and individual moods.”
The fashion industry is always on the fasttrack to what’s new and next; however, the irony is that fashion can’t escape from being an artifact of time. And fashion, just like history, so often repeats itself.
“Twenty-five years ago, denim took off,” says Tom Simon, operating partner at The Clotherie, an upscale boutique at Biltmore Fashion Park which has outfitted some of the Valley’s most well-heeled men and women in top-selling dress wear and luxury sportswear since 1969.
Simon, who started his career at The Clotherie in the ’70s, also founded the former Hub Clothing store that brought luxury denim to the Phoenix market in the ’90s before returning to The Clotherie as co-owner in 2019.
“A stylish pair of jeans—think super low-waisted styles from Diesel, Big Star or Frankie B—was considered a status symbol circa 1997, when name-brand denim broke over $200 for the first time,” says Simon. “It was also the era of ‘pre-athleisure,’ as evidenced by Juicy Couture velour tracksuits and when stretch was first incorporated into denim.”
Now, these nostalgic trends from the last millennium are making a comeback.
“Expect that any late ’90s or early ’00s trend is fair game for fashion brands,” says Dr. Testa, noting trends such as midriff-baring tops, wide-leg trousers, shimmer makeup and butterfly hair clips. “Looking back 25 years provides a joyous escape with our clothing because we are all balancing a lot coming out of a couple years that were pretty somber for society as a whole.”
Dr. Testa also observes a direct correlation between fashion and world events as trending styles capture the zeitgeist.
“What we wear is becoming more directly related to the economy and society,” she says. “Take the massive loungewear trend of the last two years; can you imagine a ‘Mad Men’ character wearing sweatpants to the office in the ’50s, even if there was a pandemic? The boundaries of what is socially acceptable in fashion have widened, and subsequently, our fashion choices are now more direct reflections of our environment and sentiments.”
While styles continue to evolve and change, some elements of the fashion experience have stood the test of time. For Simon, that’s prioritizing the individual wearing the clothes.
“In the present, past and future, what has always been number one for us at The Clotherie is service,” he says, noting The Clotherie’s personal shopping and in-house master tailor services. “It’s about instinct, not imitation.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Testa forecasts the future of fashion in Arizona to be bright. “Phoenix is a place for innovation,” she says. “There are so many entrepreneurs and innovators here that are making this a destination for—not just jobs in fashion and related fields—but creative opportunities to ignite new ideas in a rapidly evolving industry.”
The Clotherie is located at Biltmore Fashion Park at 2502 E. Camelback Road, Suite #169, Phoenix, Ariz. 85016. www.theclotherie.com, @theclotherie
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