Silliness With a Message at AVAVAV's SS24 Runway.
AVAVAV's Beate Karlsson brought some comic relief to Milan Fashion Week, but this 'Play That Goes Wrong' was more of a call to arms than a comedy sketch.
Silliness is one of the most integral elements of the human experience. As a kid, what brought me the most joy? Putting on a costume and being silly! The question follows - as adults, when did fashion (and everything else in life) become soooo serious? I mean, can no one take a joke anymore?
As fashion month draws to a close, we have seen many examples of seriousness and a few moments of silliness with a purpose. Comedy designed to self-critically analyse the wider ridiculousness and cynicism of the modern fashion industry. A brand that does this with an expert flare is Stockholm/Florence based AVAVAV. Beate Karlsson is the creative director of the brand, she put AVAVAV on the map with comedy sketch style runway presentations that spoof the traditional fashion show.
She did not disappoint at her SS24 presentation, which was AVAVAV’s first calendared show at Milan fashion week.
Silliness with a purpose was epitomised by this collection, which was named ‘No Time To Design, No Time To Explain.’ Karlsson’s runway presentation was nothing short of fashions’ answer to Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors. It expertly combined clothing and theatricality to put across its’ message, while simultaneously making the audience (and everyone who saw the show on Tik Tok) giggle.
The show began before the first model walked out. Someone placed four post it notes on the back wall of the runway that repeated ‘AV’ four times, spelling out ‘AVAVAVAV’ instead of ‘AVAVAV,’ they quickly came back on and removed the final post it note.
This moment sets the tone for the rest of the show, which played out like a YouTube compilation of ‘runway fails from America’s Next Top Model.’ Intentionally creating viral fashion fails has become somewhat of a signature at Karlsson’s runway presentations, considering her SS23 show had all the models act out a ‘model falling over on the runway’ meme and her FW23 show which involved the clothing literally falling apart as the models walked.
The SS24 show’s intentional play on the fashion faux-pas involved a detailed and specific set of planned out ‘mistakes’ that were acted out by the models, as well as being represented in the clothing, makeup and styling.
Karlsson’s utilisation of theatricality reminds me of Thierry Mugler’s runways from the nineties. Not in aesthetic, but in the way that the models genuinely put on a show.
Rather than just doing a generic walk, pose and circle back that is more commonplace on contemporary runways, models both wore the clothes and played a part. Their acting added to the experience of watching the runway as a theatrical piece centred around clothing, rather than a display of outfits worn by people serving as hangers.
This collection also makes a statement about how many in the modern fashion industry prioritise profit, ‘viral-ness’ and marketability over artistry. As the show’s title pointed out - there is no time left to design.
The first model was on the runway for a moment before running backstage looking panicked. Look four walked down the runway before sprinting back (she also had a piece of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of her shoe), look five appeared with no shirt on and gestured to backstage angrily before he was thrown his shirt, he then proceeded to walk the runway while getting dressed. Look six sprinted both up and down the runway, sporting a leather jacket with pieces hanging from it that dynamically moved as she ran and a shopping bag handbag - an accessory that was repeated throughout the collection, such as in look ten.
There were many notable features in this collection, from graphics on hoodies with comically oversized sleeves, that read ‘MADE IN ITALY (or China, can’t remember),’ to the words ‘filthy rich’ printed across many of the models’ chests. Two looks involved dresses that were impossible to walk in, one was made entirely out of duct tape which had seemingly been wrapped directly onto the models’ body, as it was sent down the runway with the roll of tape still attached at the bottom.
Models walked down the runway at entirely different paces, some being visibly shoved on by people backstage. Multiple models were missing shoes, others wore baseball caps that covered half their face with eye holes cut out and a few looks featured hoodies worn backwards leaving the models’ faces covered entirely.
The makeup, keyed by Michele Magnani, included ‘I just cried my eyes out’ smudged under eyes in black and red. Pieces of hair were glued to the models’ faces, with necklaces fastened over the back of long hair - embodying classic ideas of ‘hair and makeup fails.’
It was kind of like what you would expect to see on Project Runway before someone gets eliminated (unless they got the Tim Gunn save, obvs.)
The details in this collection and its’ theatrical presentation demonstrate that Karlsson did not just decide to be silly for the sake of silliness. AVAVAV SS24 is a prime example of humour being used as a means to promote an underlying message.
Each of the twenty six looks brought to life mishaps that any person working on a fashion show literally prays won’t happen.
Meanwhile, messages about integrity in terms of design, ethical consumption and the lack of regulation around production are presented. The overall attitude of the industry, which frequently spotlights people whose aim is to come across as ‘filthy rich’ (a progression from FW23’s ‘hot, rich, famous’ graphic) is also questioned.
Through theatricality and comedic timing, Karlsson issues a scathing commentary on the current state of the consumer-focused fashion industry. In other words, she threw some well-deserved shade at her peers.
She also camped it up with diamantés (which were mostly used to spell out the word ‘cunt’ on baseball caps), AVAVAV’s signature claw boots and a final look worn by Dorian Electra, which was a suit made entirely out of yellow post-it notes.
After her ingeniously creative SS23 and FW23 presentations, I was very excited to see what AVAVAV would present this time around. Following SS24, we have now been served three shows that all follow somewhat of the same format. It is apparent that Karlsson’s POV is that serious points can be effectively put across through a sense of humour and noisy design choices.
Who doesn’t want a hat with cunt in diamantés on it?
In many ways, fashion is serious, but as AVAVAV continuously proves, it is more than okay to have a bit of a laugh. In fact, humour is a great way to make a statement, as it highlights the unintentional ridiculousness of the side of the fashion industry that takes itself a bit too seriously.