Clothes Own Us? That’s The “Fashion Genius Loci“
Imagine slipping into an old, worn-out leather jacket.
Suddenly, you’re no longer Mr. Nobody — you’re a rock icon,
the ghost of James Dean strolling down Sunset Boulevard.
You become the jacket.
And this jacket is an attitude.
This is the “fashion genius loci“
— a transposition of the Ancient Rome concept of the same name…
The “genius loci“ is the spirit of a place.
It’s that intangible thing, that vibe that sets one place apart from another…
It’s what makes the atmosphere of a supermarket less captivating than that of a field, and your living room obviously less inspiring than the Louvre.
Translate that to clothing, and you get the idea!
By wearing certain clothes, we do more than dressing:
we play, we perform, we embody a certain fashion genius loci.
So, what roles do some of the most popular garments
make us play in the grand theater of life?
Well, well, well…
JEANS
• I am authentic. I am humble.
SWEATPANTS
• The pinnacle of minimal effort.
An act of rebellion against the tyranny of the suit and tie.
WIDE-LEG PANTS
• A walking manifesto for personal space.
SKINNY JEANS
•The cult of discomfort.
You sacrifice blood circulation on the altar of fashion.
SUITS
•The mannequin of ambition.
HOODIES
•The haven of the uninterested.
You are the sanctuary of comfort, the antithesis of formal.
TURTLE-NECK
• « Look at me! Actually don’t — I’m an intellectual. »
MINI-DRESS
•Mischievous.
LEATHER JACKET
• A poser. The catalog’s bad boy, the rebel without a cause…
Except for the cause of fashion.
LONG COAT, in dark tints
•Every step becomes a scene from a film noir.
PUFFER JACKET
• Living proof that comfort justifies everything,
even resembling a sleeping bag.
FUR COAT
•A rebel of the era.
TRENCH COAT
•Once a mysterious persona,
today an invisible characters in a world of the blind.
BEANIE
• Faux nonchalant,
the deep thinker of banalities.
CAP
• The « don’t mess with me » vibe,
mixed with a desperate cry of « I’m cool, yo! »
BALLOON SLEEVES
•Dramatic, theatrical, you are the reincarnation of
Renaissance opulence, a touch of majesty.
FEATHERS
•Fabulous. You float, you shine,
you are the bird of paradise in the urban jungle.
OVER-THE-KNEE-BOOTS
•A daring attempt to walk the line between chic and vulgar.
You walk, and the world parts, half in admiration, half in fear.
SNEAKERS
•The standard of contemporary dynamism.
Embodying the irony of chasing fashion while loudly
proclaiming disinterest in beauty, and a passion for comfort.
CROCS
•Inside a joke. Literally.
BACKPACK
•The Indiana Jones of commuting.
Each pocket is an unexplored potential.
One question lingers…
The meaning we give to clothes changes,
but does their essence remain to transcend our attitudes the same ?
