The Style Guide
“The difference between fashion and style is quality”
Giorgio Armani
If you took the title of this series literally how would you view these images? Would they seem pretentious? How would that view change if you thought it was meant to be ironic?
You could take the labels in these images as a guarantee of quality and an expression of style. And yet, for the most part, many of these labels are not immediately visible on the articles of clothing etc. when worn. The label on the sole of a pair of Gucci shoes would be rarely visible, the one inside the shoe totally invisible when actually worn on the foot. Would quality be self evident anyway?
How differently would you feel wearing, say, a Dolce & Gabbana garment rather than one purchased at Primark or WalMart? Would you assume a more confident demeanour that no-one could fail to notice? People say that first impressions count - does this mean that those who can afford a designer label will always have an edge, a perceived advantage?
Would you be impressed?
And yet these images remain essentially mute and can answer none of these questions.
Style Icons