Shocking? Scary? Scandalous?

By Selina DufnerWith Halloween coming up, let’s take a look at three collections that caused quite a backlash and furore in the fashion world. But were those negative reviews that followed each collection fair?Yves Saint Laurent - The Scandal Collection, 1971Why the criticism? The collection was different from the widely admired and elegant haute-couture fashion as it featured elements of what is known today as prêt-à-porter, meaning that the collection was based on comfort and casual wear, and the majority of the clothes were wearable on a daily basis. Laurent created daytime dresses with pink lip motives all over them which was considered tacky. The collection was also hugely inspired by the fashion of the ‘40s, the time Germany occupied Paris. It was criticised for being a sad reminder of the Nazi days, as many people who saw the show did actually experience that dreadful time.How did the designer defend himself?Laurent called his critics narrow-minded petty people paralysed by taboos, and stated about the collection: “Perhaps it did not please certain press or American buyers - but it pleased youth,and that is what counts for me. Fashion is a reflection of its time”.Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis - Grunge Collection, 1993Why the criticism?Nirvana and grunge music were huge in the early ‘90s and of course an inspiration to Jacobs. The key elements of that collection were Doc Marten boots, jeans, flannel shirts, overcoats and printed maxi dresses. He sent the models down the runway without make-up. There was no retouching in any way so the whole event was very natural and not at all what the audiencewas expecting it to be. The usual glamour was certainly missing. “A typical outfit looked as if it was put together with the eyes closed and in a very dark room” was one of the headlines. The collection and the bad reputation of the grunge scene eventually led to Jacobs being fired from Perry Ellis.How did the designer defend himself?Jacobs explained to Naomi Campbell on her “No Filter with Naomi” show on YouTube that he didn’t actually get fired for doing the collection and that there was a different reason behind it. He revealed that most of the company’s business came from licensees and that the only thing they actually financed themselves were the runway shows. As those started to become highly expensive, Ellis wanted to live off the profits of their licensees rather than spending money to create. When Jacobs lost his job, the press portrayed it as if Jacobs did something horrendous. Despite the criticism, the collection certainly helped his rise to fame and was very influential. Jacobs stated in 2011 that the collection was about a sensibility and also about a dismissal of everything that one was told was beautiful, correct, glamorous and sexy. He added that he thinks that that’s the way people dress now.Alexander McQueen - Highland Rape, 1995Why the criticism?McQueen was still at the beginning of his career when he presented Highland Rape. People were overwhelmed because this was something completely new and they weren’taware of the idea behind the collection. He showed dresses that were torn and let models walk down the runway dressed in nothing but panties and jackets with their bare chest showing.They looked as if they had just been raped. This was also represented in the way the models walked. Some walked as if they were hurting and others had a very aggressive and fast walk.McQueen certainly got the attention of the press with that runway show and made quite a few headlines, including: “Alexander McQueen gives fashion a bad name”, or “McQueen’s perverseview of women”.How did the designer defend himself?McQueen clarified that he was not a misogynist and that his idea was to portray what it is like when a man takes from a woman because that is what rape is. His older sister was badly beaten up by her husband and he saw that when he was just a child, so what he wanted was to create these strong women, embodied by the models on the runway.