The idea is the design

Dirt is a daily email about entertainment.

Emily Jensen on how current fashion trends rely on conceptualism rather than craft. 

In a past life, I was an intern at V magazine, where I was often tasked with transcribing interviews. One of those conversations, for V’s Fall 2011 issue, was between photographer Jean-Paul Goude and George Lois, the man who revolutionized advertising with his philosophy of “the big idea” and the visionary of many iconic ’60s Esquire covers. Goude wanted to understand how exactly Lois designed those brilliant covers, like Andy Warhol drowning in a Campbell’s soup can or Muhammad Ali posing as Saint Sebastian. But there was no design, Lois explained. The idea provided the form. The design is the idea. 

The adage has lodged itself into a permanent file in my brain not simply because it has influenced maybe every commercial image created in my lifetime, but because in recent years, Lois’ maxim has been taken to its most vacuous extreme. It’s in the Skims Valentine’s Day ads featuring The White Lotus stars Simona Tabasco and Bea Grannò, a brilliant feat of marketing with images that mean nothing if you don’t recognize the two actresses. It’s in the Tiffany & Co. x Nike Air Force 1, a ho hum shoe exciting to neither sneaker collectors nor luxury fanatics. It’s the Gucci x Balenciaga x Fendi x Versace collabs ad nauseam. It’s the Brad Pitt-Jared Leto-insert-celebrity-here beauty brand. It’s everything Daniel Arsham does. 

There is no design to these things because there doesn’t need to be; the idea is the design. Those seminal Esquire covers too relied on recognizable faces and tropes, but their ideas about their subjects were so clearly crystallized they could be understood instantaneously: that Warhol was drowning in his own fame, that Ali had been made into a martyr for his beliefs. These contemporary creations might similarly grab our attention, but they possess no idea beyond, “Here’s a cultural entity you already have an emotional connection to in a slightly unexpected context.” And yet they will be successful in the way they need to be successful, which is to say a lot of people will look at them and dunk or coo at them on Twitter or Instagram.

MARCH MADNESS

PISCES SEASON

This Newsletter Was Sent With Beehiiv

Here at Dirt, we know our readers have a lot to say. If you’ve considered starting a newsletter, there’s no better place to get started and no better time than now.

Beehiiv's all-in-one publishing suite comes with built-in growth tools, customization, and best-in-class analytics that actually move the needle—all in an easy-to-use interface with other useful features like responsive audience polls, a custom referral program, SEO-optimized web pages, and so much more...

We look forward to seeing you in our inbox! 

Try beehiiv absolutely free with no credit card required.