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“I apologize to all the directors who planned to cast Timothée Chalamet as Prince Calaf in ‘Turandot’. Because he considers opera – like ballet – to be completely meaningless art forms!”
As DN Kultur reported this week (September 3), the actor made the deadly comment in a recent interview, a clip that has since gone viral. Probably because this attack on the performing arts flows directly into a constant renegotiation of the relationship between status, taste and money.
Two other recently discussed cultural phenomena are the TV series “Love Story. John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” on Disney+ and the regular debut of fashion designer Demna Gvasalia as the newly appointed head designer at the prestigious Gucci. They represent two diametrically different approaches to the idea of good taste.
Bessette and JFK Jr is as close to the USA as Diana and Prince Charles. She, a woman from the people with immense charm, he, heir to the throne – with the small difference that John was also incredibly handsome. It makes perfect sense that their love story, which ended tragically in a plane crash, is the latest addition to Ryan Murphy’s television universe. They are an iconic couple, thanks in large part to Carolyn, who is an eternal style icon.
Carolyn didn’t dress to be seen. She dedicated her life to minimalism
Paparazzi photos from the 1990s of the couple strolling through the streets of Manhattan continue to surface on social media and are admired by the public. The fact that these are actually snapshots, street photos, is crucial because Carolyn did not dress to be seen. She dedicated her life to minimalism. Not dressing to attract attention seems particularly appealing in our age of “throw suits,” when an extravagant outfit has become a kind of currency.
Both before and after the success of “Love Story,” countless “how-tos” have popped up online to “copy Carolyn’s style,” but it’s impossible. What made her so insanely chic wasn’t a particular combination of clothes, but that she imposed an ethos on them. Minimalism is not just an aesthetic. It is a way of life that is about moderation, discretion, in other words, taste.
Gucci is a brand that basically always associated with the opposite – vulgarity, tastelessness. In the 1990s, chief designer Tom Ford managed to partially ward off this association through his reduced, luxurious sexiness. But in his first real collection, shown in Milan on February 27, Demna Gvasalia consciously took the opposite approach.
As many have already noted, the Gucci show was a glutton for bucket bags, tight muscle tops and logos. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his dismembered wife were not in the audience at this screening, but were obvious sources of inspiration. No one seems to believe that there should be a contradiction between the upper class and the upper class anymore declassed. The old gatekeepers sitting on the old money have opened the gates wide for tubers Tech brothers.
So it’s no wonder that the mafia longs for the bourgeois finesse of the Kennedy clan.
Gucci has been suffering from declining sales for a long time and Gvasalia wants to appeal to the fashion house’s fans with his Burdusa fashion
Gucci has been marked for a long time with falling sales figures, and Gvasalia wants to appeal to the fashion house’s fans with his Burdusa fashion. But the question is whether it will be a successful strategy, because isn’t the appeal of the Gucci logo that it symbolizes a rather elusive status?
A faux Gucci cap is charged with an abstract money quality, as wealthy people wear the fashion house’s more discreet garments. A bit like opera and ballet, by appealing to a small but educated audience, they infect singing and dancing people like Timmy with a status they have not earned.
But how long will the difference in levels be accepted when those at the top of the social pyramid can no longer even claim that they are superior to the others?
Read more chronicles and other texts by Saga Cavallin
