IS "HOMELESS CHIC" FALL'S NEWEST TREND?
Scott Schuman, the man behind The Sartorialist, snaps a homeless man in New York. Perhaps keeping up with this fall's interest in homelessness?
new york - so what do you think is the reason behind the sudden interest in making homelessness stylish by the fashion industry? pure coincidence or did they all secretly meet up à la the skull and discuss that this fall they are bringing back the "chic" in "homeless chic"? although i would love for it to be the latter, i'm betting on it that if anything it's more pure coincidence due to fashionable minds thinking alike. the sartorialist's scott schuman is the latest to be intrigued by the homeless people as a man in that situation becomes one of his subjects for his blog this week. schuman writes that he doesn't typically shoot homeless people since he doesn't "find it romantic or appealing like a lot of street photographers...". he continues that "this shot isn't about fashion - but about someone who, while down on his luck, hasn't lost his need to communicate and express himself through style." i'm sure mr. schuman has his best interest at heart, but did it ever occurred to him that maybe this man could just be wearing clothes he recieved from the shelters he visits? therefore, this isn't about keeping up with his need to "express himself through style" but making due of what he can find to keep himself warm outside the streets of new york. also the photo was taken back in april, why post it now? hmm, i'm starting to think they really did meet up à la the skull. [story via nymag & images thesartorialist]- Kristina Bustos
I know that fashion can be used as an escape to forget about life's bigger problems, but for this guy who doesn't know where his next meal comes from and was probably just layering to keep warm, he probably doesn't give a crap about more trivial things like being a style icon. It seems almost condescending in a way - "look at this cute lil homeless guy playing dressup."
ReplyDeletei totally agree with AFitz. I think the idea of "homeless chic" is completely degrading, yet another situation in which the fashion world takes itself down a few pegs by totally exploiting something just for the sake of being "edgy."
ReplyDeleteThat's an easy one. You can look good for cheap by shopping at Salvation Army and Goodwill, but not Housing Works where cheap chic is trop cher. Another observation -- by promoting second hand chic as a fashion virtue, there's less embarrassment and less need to tell friends that you have no money. Being broke in NYC is a sin. Being styleless or shabby is a MORTAL sin. You get absolution only if you're identified as chronically poor underclass "other".
ReplyDeletewhile i hate "homeless chic", i do like this image. i however, would have liked to see this man profiled and get his word about his clothing and situation (grant him some agency!), rather than getting schuman's rich white guilt and assumptions vomited all over the page.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this is his first time photographing the homeless. IIRC there are photos in the archive.
ReplyDeleteCamille Acey i do like this image. i however, would have liked to see this man profiled and get his word about his clothing and situation (grant him some agency!),
agreed