Supermundane: Fashion Trend or Fashion Mess?
The youth of today seem to be dressed with a hodge podge of clothing layered haphazardly and in sizes much bigger than their body frame. Often pants seemed to be two or three sizes too big and held up with various belts. Boxer shorts and bra straps of shocking colors are purposely exposed. A pair of jeans with holes in them is often more expensive than their non-holey counterpart. To the older generation, this style of dressing may seem like a fashion disaster; however, it actually represents a very strong fashion trend and is sometimes the inspiration of well-known designers’ runway collections.
The youth of today are inspired and influenced by the music and videos that are an imperative part of their lifestyles. The influx of rap and hip-hop music and its culture into the music scene introduced a new "street fashion" that has been copied by the young generation. This street dressing of baggy jeans and oversized T shirts accesoriesed with heavy long “Bling Bling” necklaces wear was immediately imitated as soon as it started to appear on Music TV. Retailers soon realized that this was no longer just a passing faze, but a growing trend that they needed to watch and supply.
Because of the fast pace of the music industry, and the need to always present new and innovative ideas, the fashion trends that it sets are updated frequently. Hip Hop and rap music and styles of dressing have inspired many artists. Once considered a predominantly African-American culture and style, recently the distinctions between black and white have become increasingly blurred by a crossover of language usage, customs and dress. The current supermundane look is a mutation from the original “black rapper look” but has been refined and updated to more sophisticated layering and pattern combinations.
The original "grunge" look that appeared three or four years ago has bottomed out but has been replaced with the look referred to as supermundane. This look involves wearing two or three layers of clothing which are not haphazardly put together; often the items are very specifically chosen to be worn together. Plain pieces of clothing are normally chosen with perhaps one or two patterns in the same color range. Because of the tropical climate in Asia, most of the layers are very thin and transparent; however, when layered they become opaque and acceptable to be worn on the street. Youth will often cut off waistbands, paint on fabric or sew on personal accessories to create a totally unique item. This type of dressing lets the younger generation express indivulality that has not been previously acceptable in fashion.
We've reached a point in society where people don't necessarily look to high fashion for their fashion inspiration. In fact, even many icons in fashion have started to look to the street for inspiration, and that's making the whole culture more casual—and more creative. Like it or not, today’s fashion, in part, is defined by youth culture.
Sources:
- http://teenfashion.about.com/od/celebstyle/a/06vmas.htm
- http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20010729/ai_n13923315
- http://www.fashion-era.com/trends_2007a/2007_fall_fashion_trends _young_party_clothes_2006_7.htm
