“Longevity of vision is what we need.”

Visiting Paris Fashion Week for the first time for a couple of years gave me a chance to reflect on where I think the industry is. It’s made me consider fashion from two perspectives and this is my first set of thoughts….

It’s not just the complex geo‑political context that we are living in that makes most people think carefully about their purchases. If they are parting with their cash, there are so many possible avenues for their money – so why buy yet more clothes?

And given that you are interested in a particular designer or have a loyalty to a certain fashion house the prices have seen serious increases, so what had been within reach now leave many feeling shut out and makes fashion seem irrelevant or just for the so‑called 1%.

There is reduced fashion aspiration and I would say for many fashion houses inspiration too.

Fashion or clothing?
These questions and challenge are always there but have been thrown into sharp relief during my visit. If as I believe fashion must be more than just more product, that it’s more than just superficial gloss. It is always about how you present yourself to the world, that it’s about your identity, reflects your values, your personal style.

“Fashion must be more than just more product.”

So how a designer says more with their clothes than selling product reveals a clear divide between fashion and clothing.

A study in silhouette and structure

What Consumers Feel Is Missing
What I’ve been feeling for a while is that many luxury, fashion‑forward companies are treating their business more as clothing – increasing their turnover and how much product can be shifted. It makes the consumer feel that there is not so much thought about what authenticity is, what the vision behind the designer is. I feel this is what is turning the consumer off – it’s more than the price increases.

Why Fashion still matters
I love fashion in the truest sense – the beauty – sometimes ugly beauty, the skill, the cultural impact on our lives, its economic contribution, its challenge to design thinking, the employment it gives to so many women – it really matters. But the vision and purpose behind it is what really matters.

Movement played a central role, with fabrics revealing structure through each step.

I do have certain contemporary designers that I feel always have seriousness and challenge behind their fashion thinking but for anyone that knows me above all it’s Yohji Yamamoto. I have been buying his clothes for over 20 years – I still wear some of those original pieces.

You could argue Yohji has devotees and that is rightly so, I would include myself in that. He has never compromised, he has been resolute in his approach to the silhouette, to tailoring, to fluidity. He is an artist. He has a complete vision of how he approaches designing for women and for men.

“He has never compromised.”

The show on 6 March was a masterclass from an 82‑year‑old original. It was an exploration of the kimono, Japanese culture, the possibilities of fabrics, styling, music. The skill, beauty and sense that fashion is an artform that makes us think about who we are, what our individual legacy might be, our individual creative agency, what our cultural connections might be was moving and thought‑provoking.

I have been lucky enough to interview Yohji a couple of times – including an in‑conversation that accompanied the exhibition at the V and A. I have written about him and never fail to be moved by what he creates. It’s this approach and integrity that I am always searching for.