FORGET FASHION, ITS ALL ABOUT TRASHION

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

Trashion. The word tells you what it is. But does it? If you'd asked me a month ago I would have told you the word conjures up images of TOWIE laydeez and girl chavs out on the pull of a Saturday night wearing cheap clothes and fake Angel by Thierry Mugler. These women want to look trashy, but they could not be called fashionable by any stretch of the imagination. Still, Trashion was what they seemed to be, and when we talked about it, Bethan (Fashion Junior at Large) said this is what she thinks of as Trashion. When I googled "Trashion" to see what the popular conception of the word is, Wikipedia told me it was a movement in which followers made clothes out of trash.

Trashion, or just trash? Chloe Sims from TOWIE (via Sabotagetimes.com)

Oh bejeezus!

In the last week, though, I've begun to sense a whole new life for the word Trashion in that it has become a genuine anti-good-taste fashion movement that is alive and kicking in popular culture, and WARNING!! its about to rear its head as a major fashion look this Autumn.

Being from the fashion school that treasures edgy, attractive chic (my other classmates include Kates Moss and Bosworth), I do appreciate good taste but sometimes bad taste is good, as a palate refresher if nothing else, and that time is now.

Having watched Grayson Perry's excellent recent three part Channel 4 show "In the Best Possible Taste" (watch it on iPlayer here) I've seen how relative the concept of taste actually is. Grayson made me realise how boring and predictable having good taste or the "right" taste can be. It seems the next generation down have realised this and the more experimental and fashion aware among them have been embracing what I would tern the true meaning of Trashion for most of this year, namely the gilt laden, fucked up hip-hop inspired sportswear meets animal print clad sex vixen look so beloved of girls like Rihanna, Jessie J and Rita Ora.

Their influence is, I reckon, one reason why for Autumn fashion designers from Dolce Gabbana to Gucci and Meadham Kirchhoff have opted for more gilt, heavy Christian Lacroix inspired beading and tacky baroque styling than Gianni Versace In his heyday. In fact, Rihanna and to a lesser extent Rita Ora, Jessie J and scary Nicki Minaj have become the recession fashion pin-ups - every young designer I meet has dressed or wants to dress them, and their look is the currency of now for young fashionistas.

So, for the time being I'm embracing it, and kidnapping the word Trashion for the fashionistas.