Hi my name is Zöe Irwin, and I am a trend addict.
I’m here in New York to investigate the movements on colour tones and the impact of the celebrated 1964 essay by Susan Sontag ‘Notes on “Camp “ ‘, which posited different ways the concept could be construed.
There is a feeling in the air that Sontag’s writings are timely to what is going on both culturally and politically . So here I am to record the exhibition and study the colours and fabrics that will have an impact on future releases. So much so that the 2019 Met Gala was centered around the theme of the new exhibition and was given the theme of Camp: Notes On Fashion.
The exhibition features 250 fine art and fashion objects and is totally mind blowing. It is one of the most beautiful exhibitions I have ever seen. The Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele has said that the DNA of the exhibition is related to his work, working to the expression of human nature.
Sontag has said that Camp is the love of the unnatural, of artifice and exaggeration , style at the expense of content.
The exhibition is an array of beautiful fashion pieces displayed in incredible boxes with washes of pastel and highly pigmented tones. It examines how the elements of humour, parody, theatricality and exaggeration are expressed in fashion.
Designers from Vivienne Westwood to Balenciaga have the most interesting and incredible pieces on display. Trying to pin down camp is not easy – often evading capture and inextricably tied to the meaning of fashion.
Growing up in the world of hair, the whole exhibition led me to think about my interpretation of camp in hair styling and made me realise how incredible a whole show with this theme would be for our industry. To see different hairstylists’ interpretation of this subject in hair would be so interesting. I spend so much time with younger hairstylists mentoring and developing their creative minds and I feel the book “Camp: Notes on fashion” by the Met is a must for hairdressers .
I also know we are going to see its influence in new collections for the next season.
