The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris - Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden

In a completely dark room, a model emerges from a wall of mist holding a smartphone. Her face is illuminated by the light of the screen, while a Siri-like voice repeats the phrase «Is the sky blue?» on a loop. Nicolas Di Felice, creative director at Courrèges from 2021, does not do things by halves in his reflections on our daily relationship with technology: «I am not judging, but I am questioning myself and I wanted to try to think about the subject» he said on the sidelines of the show. A few hours later, Jonny Johansson also did something similar, addressing his relationship with nature and the way we are getting further away from it in the Acne Studios Autumn/Winter 2023 collection. «For this collection I was thinking about the dark winters we have in Sweden, where the light only lasts a few hours» the designer shared. «I have always liked the contrast between nature and urban life, the idea of an endless forest just around the corner. In Scandinavia, nature often collides with the city: the playground on one side of the building and the forest on the other. But living in such close contact with nature is becoming increasingly rare in our modern world.»

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443449

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443447

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443446

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443445

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443444

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443443

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443455

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443450

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443454

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443453

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443452

The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris Between social criticism and the Garden of Eden | Image 443451

Two approaches from two different eras and two different histories. Di Felice, who was born in the Belgian mining town of Charleroi and grew up with a passion for MTV, which he described in an interview for Vogue as "my window into fashion", and Johansson, who now lives permanently in Stockholm but constantly references his roots in northern Sweden in his work at Acne Studios. Both, however, reflect not only our everyday relationship with technology, but also the one fashion has developed in recent years when, aided by pandemic constraints, it began experimenting with digital shows, augmented reality and Web3, finding itself in the metaverse and NFT without really needing to. While technological input continues to be an integral part of a brand's creative process (we saw this a few days ago at Anrealage's show), we are also witnessing a progressive return to basics, be it a biting critique like Courrèges' or a convulsive search for simplicity on the catwalk.