As day-night, week and end merge into each other unrecognizably, it is difficult to battle within the constraints of accepted forms of measurements such as the idea of 24 hour regularity, divided up into the realms of accepted divisions of life. As I have to work in a "normal" environment tomorrow, I should be sleeping now. Instead, I find my fellow workers asleep and myself very much awake and browsing the pages of the world book from the click of warmth in bed.
And then I came across the coat on
netaporter.com. Instead of pressing the usual "low to high" button I misjudged the mouse click and pressed the reversed only to come across a
£28,660 Alexander McQueen coat that has been sold out. So I'm wondering... is this a one off? What could possibly allow a piece of wear to amass such levels of value?
As I was arguing earlier on, and McQueen certainly is great proof, fashion can be art. And in this case, for that price, surely the coat is no longer utilitarian but a collection piece, historic, intricate and detailed. More an object to be admired, framed if possible, than worn as an everyday piece of clothing.
The question remains, however... is this a one off? You tell me. Because art, as far as my personal value is concerned, needs to be unique. And I don't mean limited, I mean unique. That's where fashion as art gets it wrong, and the distinction should be clearer, allowing the artists to escape the stigma of utilitarianism. Not that there is anything wrong with the latter. In fact, it's an art unto itself, but not what I am talking about here. What do you think? Is £30K an apropriate amount for this coat?
