Here we are. This is sad. To be honest, Eleni and Greta don’t even want to write this article because it is another sign that things are coming to an end. We’re both still unemployed, or as we like to put it, “funemployed.” How can we deal with a little uncertainty?
GO: Let’s be real, graduation is fucking scary. The future is terrifying mainly because right now, I have only a vague idea of what it will be like.
ET: Preach!
GO: Not to get too psychoanalytical here, but maybe our fear of the future explains why almost all of our articles have been retrospective?
ET: There is some security in the past – maybe that’s why fashion is uber-referential? Old trends, like DIY denim, resurface because they are tried-and-true. Having no idea of where I’ll be in a month or so is terrifying. On the other hand, a part of me is excited to enter the industry. I think we both are fortunate to have studied something that we are truly passionate about during college – exciting things lay ahead.
GO: I know you’re right, and I suppose now is a good time to stop being scared and address the future (our own and that of fashion). Let’s face it: We live in an increasingly digital world, and the fashion industry isn’t immune to that. I’ve always dreamt of working for a fashion publication (wink wink nudge nudge Vogue), and although I believe the physical copies will still exist, with each year we get closer to the end of print and enter exclusively digital industries.
ET: Print Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar will remain a luxury in my mind. Nothing is more indulgent to me than reading on my porch, on the beach or in a bathtub – it’s something you can’t do with a computer or iPad. It makes me sad to see the appreciation for glossy magazine pages wane. At least Vogue has made an effort to make fashion more accessible through their website. My biggest concern though is fashion may become too gimmicky and impersonal.
GO: Everything is moving too quickly. We’re bombarded with information every second of every day. Clothing designs are being created just as fast, and trends are in and out within minutes. I’m scared that, along with the rush of technology, the beauty of time and the physicality of art will become things of the past.
ET: I agree. My yiayia taught me to look at stitches, feel fabric, and appreciate quality garments at a young age. Will our own grandchildren even get a chance to appreciate craftsmanship? Or will they be 3D printing what they want to wear that day?
GO: My question for our generation is, how do we marry together the technology and the hand work? I’m not sure I have the answer yet, but I think it lies in some type of emotional expression. How do we make technology more personal, more connected.
ET: That’s a great, daunting question. We’ve always talked about revolutionizing the fashion industry together. How do we even go about that?
GO: Another question that might have to remain unanswered for the moment.
ET: Despite the ever-changing nature of fashion, I take comfort in knowing that you will always be my greatest fashion confidant. We’ve always joked that we need to fight in our column, but I can’t recall a single fight we’ve had?
GO: I was really trying to pick a fight here with you. I mean, technology is your “thing” but I guess we’re living proof that the highly emotional, narratively inclined type of fashion can get along perfectly well with the highly demanded, precise and analytical type of fashion. (Take your guess at who is who in that analogy)
ET: Technology and innovation can be emotional; I have never been more in awe than when watching Hussein Chalayan’s dissolving outfits.
GO: Such a beautiful moment among many for Chalyan. There are a few others who blend these boundaries, such as Alexander McQueen, when he digitally printed “Plato’s Atlantis” with such precision, producing one of the most compelling fashion stories of all time and created history. I think our future lies somewhere in this blended realm.
ET: Just not our immediate futures. While I’ll miss our propinquity, technology will be a saving grace in continuing our conversation.
While this may be our last article for the Cornell Daily Sun, it is definitely not the last Talk is Chic. Greta will eventually get around to making us a website. Until then, our last words of wisdom are “Fashion is serious. Fashion is silly. Fashion is everyday. Everyday is mundane. Nothing about fashion is mundane. Interpret this as you wish.”
Many thanks to our editors, our families, our 114 homies, our loyal readers, the CTB staff, anyone who has ever taken an Instagram picture for us, and anyone who has ever liked that Instagram and [insert some designer here that has done something really dope recently with hyperlink].