S.and the logomania is the trend of 2021, is theegomania to go deeply out of fashion. The fashion soul feeds on the concept of cooperation while re-tracing its identity concept by celebrating itself. And never as this year has shown it to us. But let’s go in order. When Gucci and Balenciaga have mutually “hacked” the collections, this spring, a new era was already being celebrated. The mission: to dismantle every concept of genre, convention and (even) branding. In addition to displace, with superb nonchalance, elements of streetwear in high fashion.
Six looks from the Aria collection by Gucci
The inversion of the codes of AIR (the collection born from the partnership between the two creatives of the fashion houses, Alessandro Michele and Demna Gvasalia) literally led to a “barter of logos and codes” and sums up well in itself what happened in this “Hacked” 2021. Ma The Hacker Project it also establishes much of what awaits us in 2022. Starting with the most positive thing of all: the outing of what in technical jargon are called “collabs”, collaborations, in a new perspective of balance between giving and receiving. A tangible example? There Balenciaga bag Hourglass with Gucci monogram prints. Perfect osmosis between the essences of the two houses and a perfect symbol of this revolution.
A look from the Aria collection by Gucci, with the jacket with double logo
So, moreover, he had also prophesied Virgil Abloh, enlightened genius watching us from up there: «Life is collaboration. Where I think art can be somehow misled is that it propagates this idea of itself as a lonely love story: a person, an idea, no one else involved. ” Fashion doesn’t keep everything to itself, however, e re-writes its codes starting from the base: its identity. And here they come back, the logos, somewhat decayed descendants of an “ancient” fashionista geological era, between the late 80’s and early 90’s. In truth, logomania tout court it had been discarded at the beginning of the pandemic because of that understandable desire for sobriety that characterized this particular historical moment. This is why it was decided to rename the phenomenon in a more current, cooperative, as “logomania 2.0 ″.
What is Logomania 2.0
Already in 2017, Louis Vuitton had collaborated with Supreme for a collection full of logos. By the end of the 2010s, fashion houses like Vetements and Moschino had already begun (not too timidly) to borrow logos from other non-fashion companies as a critique of consumer culture. How to forget the t-shirts Vetements DHL or the accessories with the Moschino M logo inspired by McDonald’s. Then, streetwear thought about getting into the spirit of the time of luxury, taking a cue from Dapper Dan (and here too it came later Gucci with a masterpiece collab).
Put, for example, the collaboration between Telfar and Ugg, which was first announced in 2020. Second Lyst, demand for both brands increased by over 200%. Meanwhile, the Gucci and Balenciaga runway “hack” received over 5,000 daily searches on Lyst in the two months following the debut. And one of the most successful sneakers this year is from Adidas by Bad Bunny collection and features the logos of both.
Not to mention the collab Gucci x The North Face, already in its second chapter. Full of duvets, backpacks and quilted skirts, logos and monograms “borrowed”. Then, there was the November release of Fendi x Skims, Kim Kardashian’s designer capsule collection, which includes not only shapewear and lingerie, but also swimwear and sports suits, signed by the two Kims: the creative director of the Roman Maison, Kim Jones, and the star.
Kim Kardashian in Fendi x Skims (Ph. Donna Torpe).
Fendi, in truth, had already promoted logomania 2.0 even before and much bigger with Fendace, the Fendi + Versace show: where, instead of a simple limited edition, Kim Jones designed Versace (Silvia Venturini Fendi took care of the men’s line) e Donatella played Fendi. What to say? Almost unimaginable on closer inspection, for example, the belts with double F by Fendi and gold logo by Versace. Or the Versace logo from the 80s reinvented with the double F, instead of the nods to Greek mythology. Even the goddess Aphrodite would have appreciated his creative audacity.
Fashion trend 2021, and the winner is…
Confirmation comes from Vogue Runaway who some time ago launched a poll on Instagram to figure out which was the absolute fashion trend that best represented the style of 2021 including: navel in sight, monogram logos, chains on the body, oversize, surrealism, miniskirts, ugly shoes, balaclavas, Y2K, goddess dresses, stripes, popcorn tops, catsuits, transparent platforms. After two rounds of scoring, the top four tendencies to win were: monogram, balaclava, striped and clear, with the monogram eventually taking over in the final round, earning 53% of the vote.
From Kim Kardashian to the last hours, with Carrie-Anne Moss, because it is no coincidence that «the Matrix is everywhere». This time an accomplice is Oscar De La Renta who for the premiere of the fourth chapter of the anthology, Matrix Resurrection, created a crypto-couture dress, a digital shower of embroideries and logos of the house, which recall some chapters of the saga. That’s right, we officially welcome the era of logos, mutual self-celebration, companies squared off. If brands combine their names on garments and accessories, rather than just combining pure and simple matter, it is because together we are and do better.
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