They are the off-key singers in a chorus. The too-loud guests at a dinner party. The fashion industry is populated by more than its fair share of aesthetic louts. Marc Jacobs shuns combs and arrives at formal events with his hair artfully arranged in an unkempt mop, for instance. Part of this dishevelment seems to reference rock-star cool.
Stardom is the only frock one ever really needs.
True, it is the role of fashion aficionados to make daring style suggestions - among them the possibility that the time has come for denim to be embraced by the denizens of diamonds, duchess satin and cummerbunds. But there are more imaginative and refined ways to incorporate denim into formality than by simply painting on a pair of skintight jeans and topping them with a corset. Fashion can speak in eloquent ways, but that combination borders on cacophony. At best, these abrasive ensembles are crude ways of reminding the most well-mannered soul not to dress by rote. But one wishes that these valuable examples were a bit easier on the eye.