“Fashion visually celebrates the irrational, preserving tension rather than seeking resolution.”
In Hollander’s Sex and Suits, she claims that fashion is not for functionality, but rather for the peculiarity and spontaneity of a moment. It is not something made to last forever, so when it exists for that moment, it is much more glorious. This is a trending topic in that the things we make are becoming more and more disposable. Yes, it questions the value we put in materials and the cost we’re willing to pay for that, but it also brings on the topic of sustainability and the environment. It is always visual aesthetics over functionality in fashion. Nowadays, no woman has real pockets or buttons in their pants. They’re all placed for decoration rather than utility. And while “preserving tension”, I believe it is that feeling of seeing something completely weird and feeling almost uncomfortable about it, but at the same time not disliking the feeling. The feeling of something being unresolved can often lead people into confusion and unsteadiness, but there is beauty in that cacophony and lostness. Just like in jazz music, unresolved chords tend to trigger people’s senses more than the usual C major chord because it is exactly the same except for one damn note.
- Anne Hollander, Sex and Suits (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016), 14-28
