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DEJA VU

I stumbled on a great streetstyle-spread, titled Die Mode auf der Strasse (Fashion On The Street) in Das Magazin, a kind of sharp, Swiss version of The New Yorker plus ambitious photography. The opening lines run: ‘Pictures from New York. Though they could also be from London, Zurich, Amsterdam, Munich, or Paris. Today, fashion happens independently of fashion magazines’ Sounds old-hat? Well, that’s because it is. The article was published in March 1971.

Three things I find striking. We’re looking at one of the very first streetstyle-articles published in a Swiss mainstream magazine. Having in mind all that buzz’n'fuss about streetstyle-blogs in recent years, I wonder what effect it must have had on the common Swiss reader when it landed on their breakfast table back in ‘71. Were they thinking what freaks? Did it prompt the housewife to ditch her couturier? Did it lead to an increase in the sale of sheepskin coats? Picture the moment in time: ready-to-wear fashion was finally liberating itself from the diktats of haute couture designers. In the words of a journalist quoted in the article: “Only a decade earlier, a well-dressed woman could be defined in 7 sentences. These days, even 10 encyclopedias wouldn’t be enough.” Individuality and the concept of streetstyle were literally hitting the (main)street for the first time.

Still, our prototype-spread’s already got all the essentials of today’s (stereo)typical streetstyle look right: the hipster couple, the uptown fashionista, the big shades, the poses, even the signature effortless, caught-off-guard visual style. The images look timeless, fresh, and now, so Sartorialist or Jak&Jil.

Thirdly, and this is somewhat of a blow: a quick stroll down Zurich Bahnhofstrasse on a wintery Wednesday morning on January 20, 2010 confirms fashion-wise, the street hasn’t terribly moved on from 1971. I look around, and guess what I see: sheepskin/shearling vests, big-knits, fur, skinny-jeans tucked into boots (btw: was as unflattering then as it is now on the unskinny leg) still rule the sidewalks. The only real innovation I can spot is block-heels got replaced with Ugg-boots and fierce platforms. And I doubt Moncler down jackets were seen much off-piste 39 years ago.

© Das Magazin/TAM 12, March 27 1971

Note to self: today’s street is too obsessed with retro. We can find proof winter is not about fashion, it’s about surviving the cold. Individuality doesn’t necessarily equal innovation. Dressing up and dressing well will pay out though. Good streetstyle-looks don’t age. Actually, they get better over time. I’m secretly waiting to read the line: today, fashion happens independendly of streetstyle-blogs.

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