Why Is Marc Jacobs & Other Designers Playing in Our Faces?
Year after year, I find myself thrilled and excited to see what new fashion these designers will prepare for our closets. But this season? This was not what I’d expect to see in a ready-to-wear collection. Instead of fresh, wearable designs, we were met with bizarre, over-the-top pieces that blurred the line between art and practicality.
In the ever-evolving world of high fashion, there’s a fine line between artistry and absurdity. Marc Jacobs’ latest collection straddled that line—then leaped right over it into pure chaos. Puffy, doll-like silhouettes, exaggerated proportions, and almost cartoonish designs paraded down the runway, leaving fashion lovers scratching their heads. Was this an avant-garde expression of creativity, or just a bizarre spectacle?
But Marc Jacobs wasn’t alone in this trend of extreme “ready-to-wear” collections. Alongside him, Comme des Garçons, Noir Kei Ninomiya, and Balenciaga showcased garments that were more theatrical than practical. While fashion has always been about pushing boundaries, these collections beg the question—if it’s not wearable, why is it labeled “ready-to-wear”?
Marc Jacobs’ Puffy Wonderland: Artistic Vision or Just Plain Weird?
Marc Jacobs’ collection was reminiscent of a child’s stuffed toy come to life. The oversized proportions, excessive padding, and stiff fabric choices created an unsettling, doll-like aesthetic. Was this a commentary on childhood nostalgia? An ode to the surreal? Or was it just an elaborate joke on consumers who expect high fashion to be at least somewhat wearable?
The problem isn’t just the unconventional styling—it’s the practicality, or lack thereof. While couture is expected to be bold and experimental, ready-to-wear should be functional to some degree. Jacobs’ collection seemed more suited for a museum exhibit than a street style moment. And yet, here it was, paraded under the ready-to-wear category.
Comme des Garçons: A Deep Dive into “Past Experiences”
Rei Kawakubo, the mastermind behind Comme des Garçons, is no stranger to pushing fashion beyond the limits of wearability. This time, she described her collection as an exploration of past experiences. The garments featured layered, abstract forms and exaggerated shapes that felt more like sculptures than clothing. While the storytelling was compelling, one has to ask—does a person truly want to walk around looking like a living art installation?
Comme des Garçons has always been about conceptual fashion, but placing such avant-garde pieces in the ready-to-wear category is misleading. Buyers expecting something they can integrate into their wardrobes are left with confusion rather than excitement.
Noir Kei Ninomiya: Stage Costumes Masquerading as Clothing
If Marc Jacobs’ collection was a fever dream and Comme des Garçons was a memory collage, Noir Kei Ninomiya was a full-blown theatrical production. The designer presented garments that belonged more on a Broadway stage than in a closet. The dramatic flair, the intricate layering, the sheer impracticality—it all screamed costume design rather than fashion.
Once again, the industry played a game with its audience. The label “ready-to-wear” felt like a taunt, as if designers were challenging us to try and make their extravagant pieces function in everyday life.
Balenciaga: Vintage, But Make It Boring
Balenciaga has mastered the art of making the bizarre seem normal, but this time, they swung too far into the realm of uninspired nostalgia. Instead of reinventing vintage silhouettes, they simply regurgitated past trends with minimal innovation. Oversized coats, exaggerated shoulders, and distressed pieces felt more like a lazy throwback than a fresh take on fashion history.
It’s one thing to embrace retro aesthetics—it’s another to offer a collection that lacks originality and calls it fashion-forward. At this point, are we paying for the designs or just the Balenciaga name?
The Bigger Question: Why Call It “Ready-to-Wear”?
It’s clear that many of these designers are more focused on making statements than making clothes that people can actually wear. High fashion has always been about breaking rules and redefining beauty, but when does it become outright ridiculous? When pieces are so exaggerated, impractical, and surreal that they lose all function, should they still be categorized as ready-to-wear?
Perhaps the term “ready-to-wear” has become a marketing gimmick rather than a practical category. Maybe designers are testing the waters, seeing just how far they can push before consumers stop taking them seriously.
But the bigger issue is that these collections alienate real fashion lovers who want style and function in equal measure. While runway fashion is meant to inspire, shouldn’t ready-to-wear be… well, wearable?
Final Thoughts
Fashion is an art form, but when artistry overshadows utility in a ready-to-wear collection, it raises questions about the industry’s intentions. Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, Comme des Garçons, and Noir Kei Ninomiya have given us dramatic, over-the-top showcases, but have they given us fashion we can actually incorporate into our lives?
If this is the future of ready-to-wear, we might all need to start wearing museum exhibits instead of clothes. And frankly, that’s a joke we’re not all willing to play along with.