Issue 52, The Pitti Issue - A Note from Will Halbert, the Editor
‘Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.’ - Jane Austen
When you really get down to it, fashion - and with fashion, style - are vanities of sorts. In truth, I’m never really sure if either phenomenon (and they are indeed two entirely separate phenomena) is a question of bold self-expression or contrived self-curation. Are we dressing as we’d like, or simply as we’d like to be seen? Most would proclaim the former, but they’d be lying to themselves if they didn’t admit that the opinions of others come into the equation to some degree.
Pitti is a fine example of that tension. Sure, there are those that will tell themselves (and others) that they’ve arrived at Fortezza da Basso dressed as their authentic selves, that they’re above the peacocking. But those people have still made a more or less conscious effort to stand against Pitti’s infamous theatricality. Which, in itself, betrays a need
