The New American Look

Americans may be finally dominating fashion

For the first time in fashion history, Americans are dictating the trends: Virgil, Rihanna, Kanye, Todd Snyder, Teddy Santis, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner.

Sure, before them, there were Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan, Anne Klein, Halston, Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows and the famous Battle of Versailles. And they were all influenced by Bonnie Cashin and Claire McCardell, who created the American Look that feels as breathlessly modern today as it felt when it first appeared.

They all inspired and influenced the fashion system. But they didn’t change it.

The change happened only recently when the fashion system was first forced to stop ignoring popular culture, and then to put this pop culture in its center. When Vetements made post-Soviet punk its aesthetic, it was really riffing off on the urban American looks (hoodies, sweatpants) that Soviet teenagers were copying and making their own. When Dior launched its ‘“political knits,” it was really reflecting Cashin and McCardell’s designs that, 70 years earlier, freed women to move and work and live their lives unconstrained by Dior corsets. Cashin and McCardell’s made their clothes practical, functional and versatile through separates, layering and day-to-night looks. Other brands soon followed, turning…