Published on THE MANOR
Words & Graphic by Evan Skovronsky
View piece here
Words & Graphic by Evan Skovronsky
View piece here
The models walk out and up to a stage placed in front of the audience. The viewers are seated bleacher style, unlike the traditional catwalk rows. The model is illuminated from above, the paddles rise, the ratings are given, and then they step down and off the stage. The only time the model is in the light is when they’re up for judgment. As they walk, a voice is guiding the audience to vote, encouraging them to be strong with their opinions. “Your arm already knows what to do, judging is an instinct, do it.”
Although I loved the show, with its tailored yet loose colorful silhouettes and sleek overall styling, I am more interested in this audience-turned-fashion critic idea, as one would expect. Sunnei has done something most designers would never let happen. Allowing clothes and looks that took months of labor to be rated live and in-person before the model even leaves the runway is wild. A fashion show is filled with fashionable people (duh) and each has their own view of what looks good. Usually, these conversations are saved for after parties and Vogue Runway reviews, but more and more we see people sharing their views on shows, myself included.
Most judgment is one of two things. Immediate gut reactions, and long-standing, backed up by facts judgments. The latter is usually how I try to judge, although not every time. Loris Messina of Sunnei quoted, “All opinions are legit regardless of whether they’re grounded in knowledge.” In this digital age, there is some resonance with this. Whether or not you’ve done your homework, a stupid opinion is still an opinion. Countless opinions are shared online daily without the knowledge to back them up, and Sunnei is putting the gut reaction, this “primal” need to judge and nitpick on display. They’re showing people and our psychology this year, not clothes.
Whether it was the Great Flood, a public stoning a la Shirley Jackson, or you just unfollowed James Charles, we all judge. But who gives you, and me, the right to do it? I consider myself an opinionated person. I’ve written previously about collections and people that left a bad taste in my mouth (I was a little harsher with Lagerfeld) and I will always share my opinion when asked, (and when not.) But for some unknown reason, giving the audience an okay to judge the looks as they appear in front of them is somewhat strange. In some absurdist, Black Mirror Nosedive reality, this could be normal, but not in this one. We’re taught to gossip behind closed doors, under the covers, or over a coffee, not out in the open. Instead, Sunnei is letting people rate people, without allowing them a minute of critical thinking, urging them: don’t think, judge.