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Examining AVAVAV’S Spring/Summer 2024 Show as a Minnepean Satire.
Figure 1 - AVAVAV (September 2023) ‘ADD SHAPE: No Time to Design’ Spring/Summer 24 Available from: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2024-ready-to-wear/avavav (Accessed 30/03/2024)
Figure 2 - AVAVAV (September 2023) ‘Crying and Running: No Time to Design’ Spring/Summer 24 Available from: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2024-ready-to-wear/avavav (Accessed 30/03/2024)
Fashion satires have been used to enlighten viewers and individuals about the institutional failures of the fashion industry. Historically, satires have been used in a classist, often demeaning way. But the modern AVAVAV Fashion Spring/Summer 2024 Show, proactively named ‘No Time to Design, No Time to Explain', utilises satire to address the expanding pressure placed upon individuals working in the fashion industry. By employing three central theories of humour - Relief, Incongruity, and superiority humour, this essay will dissect how this show acts as a Menippean anthropological satire aiming to critique the fashion industry's societal norms - and to change them. The issues addressed include the fashion industry's parasitic relationship with consumer culture, mass production and workplace pressure. The message is effectively presented between the garments worn by the models and the theatrical performance of the show. Most crucially, I will discuss how the show aims to create hope for a better future by pointing out current flaws.
Humour has often been a crucial element in understanding human nature. Jokes and humour are essential to understanding the sociocultural universe that our humanity has created. Simon Critchley, the author of On Humour, asserts that ‘jokes are like small anthropological essays’ (2002, p.65). This refers to Critchley's ideas that jokes are more than just entertainment and can be crucial in understanding human nature's power dynamics, behaviours, and absurdities. Although similar, Satire expands on the role jokes play by utilising “irony and exaggeration … Satires are fiction, where contradiction, exaggeration and inconsistency flourish, and certain matters are pushed to extremes” (Iddeng, 2000, p.6). But the most crucial feature of satire is that it must critique something about our society. This is why the contextualisation of satires is so essential to understanding them. As further underscored by Linda Morris, satires must call for reform, stating that satire should have the specific aim of having a ‘sense that there is some hope that exposing society's excesses might lead to reform" (2007, p.341). However, this call to action depends on viewers' comprehension of the satire and whether they understand the context. It is stated that ‘humour is a form of cultural insider knowledge’ (Critchley, 2002, p.67). Humour, through jokes or satire, is a reflective mirror of society, revealing its complexities, absurdities, and potential for transformation and representation.
The history of fashion and satire intertwines across centuries, reflecting evolving societal norms, power structures, and cultural movements. During the Renaissance, satirical prints and caricatures became popular mediums for mocking fashion trends and societal vanity (Donald, 2002, p.1). In the 18th and 19th centuries, satirical magazines and novels lampooned fashion excesses. In contrast, the rise of couture houses and haute couture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries provided fertile ground for satirical commentary on high society and luxury fashion (Wilson, 2003, p.176). In the contemporary era, fashion satire has expanded its reach through various mediums, including film, television, and social media, offering sharp critiques of consumer culture, beauty standards, and the fashion industry's environmental and ethical practices. Through humour and irony, fashion satire continues to challenge conventions, provoke thought, and shape discourse on the intersection of fashion, society, and identity.
The satirical show serves as a representation of those involved in the fashion industry. Fashion is a physical medium that mirrors the human condition, and humour is its counterpart. In his analysis of French fashion magazines, Roland Barthes highlights the historical role of fashion and satire. He argues that sartorial fashion can only be transformed into "representation" (Barthes, 1985, p.60) through language or imagery, and he values verbal representations for their semantic transparency. Satire, often unintentionally, transforms itself into representation because it conveys a semantic ideal through the images and language used. The photos used in fashion satire can communicate ideals about the social body and the fashion industry due to their semantic transparency.
Historically, the fashion show has been the intersection of fashion, consumption, business and, most importantly, modernism (Evans, 2013, p.1); likewise, parody is both a symptom and a critical tool of modernism (Hutcheson, 1985, p.2). AVAVAV uses these two ideas to critique the system in place for the fashion shows. By focusing on the Spring Summer 2024 show named ‘No Time to Design, No Time to Explain, ' The Fashion House has often utilised fashion satire within its shows to address criticisms and changes. The show, taking place in Milan, is depicted on a plain grey runway, with yellow sticky notes, hand-drawn in three separate tones, say ‘AVAVAA’ in the background of the modelling shot (Figure 1), setting this show's rushed, stressed-out overtones. The AVAVAV Show presents a Menippean sartorial discourse of the fashion industry. The brand, which has gained a reputation throughout its launch, has always aimed to use satire to draw attention to the faults of the fashion industry.
This presentation can be compared and concluded as a form of Menippean Satire. A Menippean satire is an intellectually humorous work characterised by prose, miscellaneous actions, and commercial but intellectual discussions (Oxford Reference, 2024) that attack a mindset or way rather than an individual. The AVAVAV fashion show is an avant-garde event that challenges the status quo of conventional fashion shows. One of the primary objectives of this fashion show is to subvert societal norms using exaggerated silhouettes. The show aims to stimulate meaningful discussions around the prevalent culture by employing Menippean satire. The clothing the show highlights incorporates unique materials and textures, further accentuating the caricature silhouettes. Additionally, the show boasts diverse model representation, promoting inclusivity and diversity. The AVAVAV show is a masterful display of Menippean satire due to its innovative use of caricature silhouettes, unique clothing materials, and diverse model representation.
Using caricatures within the AVAVAV Show is a visual weapon to critique the pressures on the fashion industry. Caricatures are exaggerated designs, typically portraits, often used as a visual satire to criticise political and social culture, most prominent in the 18th century (McPhee, 2011, p.3). Here, the idea of the caricature is twisted within the AVAVAV Spring/summer 2024 Show as it works within the garments, but it serves the same purpose. The caricatures are presented through simplistic, exaggerated silhouettes (figure 1), using ironic phrases written across them. AVAVAV masterfully juxtaposes elements within the performance, such as high fashion garments paired with unconventional materials or avant-garde staging, challenging viewers' expectations and highlighting the inherent absurdities of fashion norms (Iddeng, 2000, p.6). This drives home how AVAVAV utilised incongruity humour to address the natural absurdity of the fashion industry.
In the AVAVAV Spring/Summer 2024 fashion show, the theatrical performance serves as a multifaceted vehicle for satire. The models are seen running and rushing down the runway (figure 2), desperate to reach the deadline. Leveraging the theory of Relief Humour, the show skilfully alleviates tension associated with the industry's fast-paced nature by presenting exaggerated and absurd scenarios that elicit laughter and introspection (Critchley, 2002, p.10), by seamlessly integrating these humour theories into the performance AVAVAV constructs a Menippean satire that entertains and prompts critical reflection on the industry's values, practices, and power dynamics (Highet, 1962, p.141). In doing so, the AVAVAV Spring/Summer 2024 fashion show not only entertains but also provokes a critical examination of the fashion industry's values, practices, and power dynamics, inviting viewers to engage with the complexities of contemporary fashion culture.
Audience reception of the satire presented in the AVAVAV Spring/Summer 2024 Show must be considered. Younger viewers, those more immersed in digital culture and social media, are more receptive to the show's satirical elements, appreciating its subversive take on industry norms and its ability to spark conversation. Conversely, older audiences, especially those with a more traditional view of fashion, may interpret the satire as disrespectful or frivolous, failing to grasp its underlying critique. It can be argued that this show was made for the digital age, as they know the performance and theatrical nature of the show will hit with the algorithms and the newer generations' awareness of reform. However, it is crucial to point out that these older generations have been the ones who created such problems within the fashion industry. Furthermore, the younger and newer generations are still encouraging and consuming it. Understanding these diverse audience perspectives is crucial for assessing the impact and effectiveness of the fashion show's satire.
The context of our modern time is fundamental to understanding AVAVAV’s intentions further. In the modern age, social media is a crucial tool for all, and it does not mist fashion brands, especially newer ones. Part, if not most, of this show has been designed to go viral on social media platforms such as TikTok. The videos have been shared and spread online, with each model and look being developed into a 60-second bite and an image size to fit our phones. The show appeared to me through this medium, with people sharing it for its comical effects and discourse. This is how the show creates dialogue and representation for those suffering from the stress and pressures of the fashion industry.
Industry insiders may approach the satire with amusement and discomfort, recognising the truths it exposes about their profession while also feeling defensive of their livelihoods. Because of this, the workplace theory proposed by Janet Holmes (2000) analyses workplace humour into two categories: repressive and contestive humour. The superiors use repressive humour to maintain power. In contrast, contestive humour is used to challenge authorities in power (Billing, 2005, p.202), which is what we can see happening in the AVAVAV show. There is a challenge between the workers and producers of the fashion industry and the people placing deadlines on the fashion weeks and shows. In Taking Laughter Seriously, Morreall discusses how ‘Laughter can serve as a social corrective to get wrong-doers back in line;’ (1983, p. 5), which emphasises the importance of addressing the failings of the workplace to create an environment that is causing a heightened level of stress and lack of joy for staff in the fashion industry. The show itself is more impactful for those inside the fashion industry. Yet, the use of humour to address these issues deeply impacts those experiencing this pressure, but the creation of empathy has reached a substantial audience, hoping to enforce change.
The model of Figure 2 can be seen with flowing mascara running down, black and smudged from tears. This depicted the harsh treatment of models and the stress they face during fashion week and from working in the fashion industry. The model is meant to serve as a mannequin within the show, acting as a standardisation through size, shape and walk (Evans, 2013, pp.11-13). There are many known issues within the fashion industry that affect models, from labour exploitation to eating disorders. This manifestation of them breaking down on the runway at their final limits publicly displays their criticisms. Freud suggests that we use humour to relieve us of the thoughts and opinions society has forced us to suppress (Morreall,1983, p. 28). So, it can be interpreted that most people are crying for help. The theatrical nature of this enforces the Menippean satire as it attacks the mindset that a model should be standardised in this way and gives a voice to the working models.
In conclusion, the AVAVAV Spring/Summer 2024 fashion show is a remarkable example of how satire, humour theories, and the tradition of Menippean satire can intersect to offer profound insights into the complexities of the fashion industry and broader modernism societal dynamics. AVAVAV effectively critiques the fast-paced nature, consumer culture, and power dynamics within the fashion world through its theatrical performance and strategic use of relief and incongruity humour. By prompting laughter and critical reflection, the show challenges viewers to reconsider their perceptions of fashion and encourages a deeper examination of the industry's values and practices. AVAVAV's innovative approach to satire demonstrates the potential for fashion to serve as a medium for social commentary and cultural critique, highlighting the transformative power of art in interrogating and reshaping contemporary norms and ideals.