Last week we saw something new. It seems that pop culture may have turned a corner. Earlier this month Montreal's UNTTLD label won a Star Wars fashion week contest with a Leia-inspired bikini dress. Designers José Manuel St-Jacques and Simon Bélanger were awarded the $15,000 prize on Toronto's World MasterCard Fashion Week. [LINK]
"We decided to empower Leia and bring back the chain and make a dress out of it that's somewhat armour, somewhat very sexy," said St-Jacques.
"When something is so iconic, it's easier for people to understand where you started," said Bélanger.
We’ve actually seen Star Wars on the runway before. Back in February 2014 there were two, nearly back-to-back, collections which tapped into the iconic franchise. Both featured printed images on the fabric. [LINK]
What separates the UNTTLD dress from these two collections is that it was Star Wars inspired not Stars Wars referencing. The dress is true couture. I am at once impressed by the achievement yet left somewhat skeptical of the direction. If this is a coming of age of pop culture fashion then perhaps, to quote Tennessee Williams, it is ‘all at once and much too completely’. Perhaps taking one’s cue from kids’ pajamas is really more of what taps into the fun that is at the essence of fandom. Otherwise why bother, right?
#takebacksuperhero