Independent brand Simon Cracker denounces the luxury fashion system with elevated parodies

Independent Italian fashion brand Simon Cracker denounced the luxury fashion system with a revised collection during Milan Fashion Week on Sunday that broke away from what they see as the bygone days of quality and creativity.

Wearable looks created from reclaimed and no-nonsense clothing, materials and accessories included a cheeky swipe at Hermes’ highly prized Birkin bag, with designers drawing trade hardware on leather bags or screen-printed images of the coveted bag in sweater. .

Co-creative directors Simone Botte and Filippo Biraghi were delighted that Walmart came up with what was widely seen as a rip-off from Birkin while they were working on this collection.

“People have lost interest in fashion,” Biraghi said.

“It’s been 20 years since they took them around. And with 50 world wars, climate change, we’re all getting poorer. There is no longer a connection between price and value. At a certain point, you can’t go on.

Hallmarks of the collection

The collection pokes fun at the typical Milanese signora, known colloquially as a sciura, by sending her out in quirky tweed, a loose dog and even a small dog.

Each silhouette is unique, constructed from garments the duo reclaims from dry cleaners and other sources, and the models slip into character with edgy drapes and exaggerated catwalk strides.

The brand expanded its collaboration with Doc Martens, embellished with trompe l’oeil ballerina shoes.

Occasionally, decorative skirts, collars, and hems were made of glittering tinsel packing material, and shoes were covered with ribbons.

The show closed with an outfit completely hidden by luxury labels from Biraghi’s own wardrobe collected over the years.

“We are making fun of wealth.

The luxury sector in decline

Simon Cracker’s runway criticism hits the sector when it comes down – and analysts say it needs reform.

A new study by consultancy McKinsey and The Business of Fashion said that leading brands are facing a significant slowdown this year, after a four-year period of exceptional growth from 2019-2023 that allowed the sector to grow by 5% a year , despite the pandemic.

Most of that expansion — a full 80% — was due to price increases outstripping innovation, the McKinsey-Business of Fashion report said.

Bain consultancy has similarly forecast a 2% contraction for 2025, the first since the Great Recession, excluding the pandemic year 2020. It cited a crisis in creativity along with global turbulence.

The findings are not surprising to Botte and Biraghi.

“If a garment is not interesting, it does not tell a story, if there is nothing creative, who cares,” said Biraghi.

“We all have a lot of clothes, a lot. We don’t need more.”

Community building

Italian singer Chiara Galiazzo was in the front row wearing a striped jacket and sky blue plaid jacket and accessorized with royal blue Bermuda shorts and patent boots.

She said she was drawn to the brand by its originality.

“I feel like I’m part of a community,” she said after the show.

“I think that’s something that’s important and a lot of fun.”