Who was the ultimate fashion icon of 2020? Surprise - It’s your neighbour!

by Marilena Papalamprou

It was one of those monotonous evenings, much too frequent during this lockdown life. I was randomly altering between Youtube videos, without actually focusing on any. My mind was travelling, imagining the places I would like to escape after covid will hopefully be over, when I stumbled upon a video titled “What Everyone is Wearing in New York – Summer Trends 2020”, which brought me back into reality. Of course, there are thousands of videos presenting fashion trends, and most do not impress me. But New York has been one of the places in my just-ceased reverie, so it kind of felt as a sign at the time. Also, the fact that the video was the episode number 13, of a now 17 episodes series, lasting half an hour, intrigued me; is this series that good to make so many lengthy episodes and people keep watching it? So I clicked it, and I was not disappointed.

The video begins with a black and white slow-motioned caption of pigeons flying. Then a British woman’s calm voice echoes over snapshots of empty streets, people hanging out at the park or riding the metro, and Black Lives Matter graffiti on brick walls: “The streets of New York are noticeably still quite empty”, the voice says, and after a small introduction setting the urban-pandemic mood, the street-style interviews begin. First woman being interviewed is a curly haired dark-blonde, wearing a white t-shirt, white and baby-blue striped pants, a white fedora, and white sandals purchased in Uruguay, as she informs - a casual yet chic look. The second interviewee, though, is totally different - a black woman in a striped loose long-sleeved shirt, grey workout shorts, yellow/black striped socks, various ethnic rings, a colourful facemask, and a dreadlock hairstyle resembling a tower. As I keep watching, I understand that the video’s cleverness and attractiveness lie in the variety of the people being interviewed. Karen (the woman filming, who not once appears in her videos of this series, focusing exclusively on the pedestrians she speaks to) has a wonderful eye for fashion. She approaches people of all ages, genders, races, sizes, and styles, showcasing that beauty stems from fearlessness of personal expression; fashion is about having fun. She also plainly illustrates the ultimate fashion inspiration method: people-watching.

This is the feature of her video which made me hooked to the series, watching all episodes in the span of a few days, because it is the one rule I swear by. I have been interested in fashion ever since a little girl, before even realising that my obsession in dressing up “weirdly” could be translated into showing an interest in fashion. My experiments have been both disastrous and cool, and, without wanting to sound boastful or self-congratulating, the people close to me tend to ask me for fashion advice, or at least appreciate my willingness to occasionally dress ridiculously in public. I have three advice to give to all those wanting to explore the beautiful world of fashion, and finding their style: 1) It takes time - I have been trying out different looks for almost all my life, ever since I stole my older brother’s Día de los Muertos tee at age 9. Since then I have switched from a proper 1960’s hippie look (long curly mullet included) to 1980’s Goth (loads of white powder, hairspray, and lace), and have basically touched upon everything in between. Do not expect to “find your style” in a week. 2) Ignore all fashion rules you have ever heard or read of - As Karen beautifully shows with her Youtube series, fashion is, essentially, about happiness. Wear whatever brings you joy, even if the 5 top notch fashion magazines deem it as “ugly”. No matter how many representatives of the mainstream industry will tell me that I simply must have a plain white t-shirt, I would never wear it; so I will not buy it. This leads to my 3rd, and most important advice, which has been highlighted in Karen’s series: for inspiration go out on the streets. It is wise to ignore restrictive rules vacant of any meaning, but nobody can create the perfect outfit out of pure imagination. One needs inspiration. To put it simply, as musicians turn to their vinyl collection when in search of ideas, the fashion enthusiast turns to other people. Celebrities and characters in films are great inspiration too, but there is a certain feel of immediateness when seeing a beautiful outfit up-close which is unmatched. It is also, I believe, much healthier and encouraging to admire the style of “common people”. Walking to the grocery store and seeing the beauty and style of a 60-year-old lady with a velvet hat, or of a 20-year-old boy with spiked hair and pink trousers, makes one realize all the creativity surrounding us. It also motivates us to engage with our own little fashion creations: it goes like this - if they are doing it, then why not me?

I do believe outfit-building is an art. You create a temporary, textured sculpture made out of fabrics and ornaments, and you wrap it around your body. It is a lovely, hearty act. But in order to build your own textile sculptures, those that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also carry a piece of your self at the time, you first have to break other people’s apart. The more you people-watch, the more you notice, not only specific fashion patterns that work well together, but small pieces of all your fellow strangers’ selves. You become aware of all the effort and love people put into their appearance, and start catching glimpses of their personalities and interests. Slowly you start seeing beauty in everyone; even if one does not like fashion that much, just for this people-watching is worth it.