Walter Benjamin, the German philosopher, has written about how fashion go into the past, find inspiration and make it into something new. This term he calls Tigersprung and is based on modern fashion’s historicism which he observed in Parisian department stores in the nineteenth-century. Benjamin links the energy of a wild tiger and the unpredictability of the modern fashions process as designers reach back in time and find inspiration for new collections.
Tie dye, which previously was associated with the 60’s and the era of the hippies, appeared as one of 2019’s trends. The hippie culture originates as a revolution against society's norms and perceived visions. Men’s and women’s hair got longer and natural, the pants resembled long skirts and the blouses' sleeves became long and wide. The difference between man and woman disappeared because the hippies wanted to achieve peace and love for everyone; no matter if you were man or woman. Last year tie dye found its way back into fashion; and that is quite understandable considering the political environment we live in today. Tie dye is a symbol of the desire for freedom, the same freedom as the hippies wanted; to live in a world with love and respect for everyone regardless of gender, skin color, age or sexuality. When Donald Trumpmakes statements about skin tones and gender restrictions, that creates fear in the world and sparks the need for change. Tie dye returning is proof, that people want this change.
With the tie dye trend, a more fluent view on gender was also present in 2019. Kim Jones, the Artistic Director for Dior Men’s, stated that he believes the men of the 21st-century see the rigid gendered binaries their fathers and grandfathers conformed to as a thing of the past. This point of view was present in his SS2020 collection, where the format was still jacket, shirt and pants; but they were paired with more considered feminine elements like sheer fabrics, prints and colors like pastel blue and pink.The overall collection and runway setup was very soft in its expression.
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At Heron Preston's Men’s SS 2020, there was likewise the format was still jacket, shirt and pants but in combination with e.g. a shawl around the models heads like women in the past century used and hereby breaking codes around consider male garments . The inspiration was New York, the urban jungle and big-city life.
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At Maison Margiela’s Men’s SS2020, a feminine silhouette influenced the show. The male models wore knee high boots, short length shorts and had defined waist with belts; a very dynamic and fluid comment on gender. The collection was also a comment on military in a way that was re-constructed, which could be influenced by the political environment with e.g. Brexit.
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It is evident that there was a change within men's fashion, but the question is if this is only a tigersprung as Walter Benjamin emphasized or is it change in a more fluid direction?
Sources:
Abby Lillethun, “Fashion Theory Introduction” The Fashion Reader (2nd ed. 2011)
Alexander, E. (9. maj 2019). Søgning Tie dye: Tie-dye is back for 2019 and this is why. Hentet fra Harpers Bazaar: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/shows- trends/a25945717/tie-dye-is-back-for-2019-and-this-is-why/
Heron Preston's collection ss 2020 https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2020-menswear/heron-preston
Kim Jones' collection SS 2020 https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2020-menswear/dior-homme
Maison Margiela’s collection SS2020 https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2020-ready-to-wear/maison-martin-margiela
Wilson, E. (1985). I Adorned in Dreams (s. 179-207). I.B. Tauris. p. 192
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