Eric Gaskins Vol 19: The Allure of Rumors
RUMORS ARE SO SEDUCTIVE. The idea of someone knowing something particularly compelling before it’s a known fact and able to spread it around is strangely sexy. The one with the tidbit is the one everyone wants to cozy up to. What could be sexier? Does it matter if the information is true? Does it matter in the long run, when things happen everyday? Is it really that important when it has to do with fashion, which by its very nature is a spinning wheel of fortune? I don’t think so. But an awful lot of people do. They absolutely hang on every implied word to suss out the news. Fashion people have an unusually intense interest is being, having, doing, and knowing things FIRST.
I foolishly fell victim to the ever-grinding rumor mill and blurted on my blog (Emperorsoldclothes) that Karl Lagerfeld was retiring from Chanel and Alber Elbaz of Lanvin was taking his place. My motives were pretty honorable. I wanted to share a big news story, but opened my mouth without proof and ended up looking like a “FoolishFashionista”. I pride myself on being objective and informed most of the time. We all fall off the wagon of Integrity every once in a while. To err is human. I almost let slip a truly preposterous rumor after that, which was so bizarre and inflammatory that I actually did all that I could to verify it and couldn’t so I didn’t say anything. That was agonizing because it was truly incredible in its tragedy and scope. The scary thing is that it was more premonition than rumor because one half of the story was totally false and the other half came to pass only weeks later; that part being the death of Alexander McQueen. Rumors serve little purpose but to make the teller feel as though they have an edge and the audience wastes precious time trying to solve the mystery. What is is. What isn’t yet is. So it’s all the same in the end.
Boredom is often the great catalyst for the turbo rumor. It’s been a hellish summer. We’ve all fried in our own fat for weeks and nothing truly interesting has come down the pike for months. Let’s be honest, we’re all craving something yummy we can gnaw on. What could be better than a major changing of the guard at some extremely influential European fashion houses? I’d get excited about it if the end result would mean truly awe inspiring design and a landscape forever altered. My concern is that with a big shift will that mean that new heads on old bodies will think in new ways? Will those new players on older teams bring something fresh or will it be the “Same S%#*, Different Day” syndrome. Karl Lagerfeld is the consummate chameleon and perhaps the only designer working today with the skill to bring completely different sensibilities to each firm he Creatively Directs.
Hedi Slimane, Giorgio Armani, Stefano Pilati of YSL
So I won’t kill the surprise of what is or isn’t on the horizon by laying hints. Let’s just wait and see. Someone very wise said that all thoughts, stories and that includes rumors must be tested and examined to know if they’re true. The first question being, “Are you sure that this is true” The second being, “Can you absolutely know that this thought (rumor) is true”? If the answer is no to the second question, then it isn’t and will stay that way until it is. That is unless it isn’t.
Eric Gaskins ….. The Emperors Old Clothes
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