If you know me, you would know that I am a fashion guru. I applied to be on Project Runway two seasons ago, only to be one of the final cuts before casting (By the way, Christian Siriano is a hot mess). Needless to say, I’ve been around the industry long enough that fashion trends really don’t shock me anymore.
But last year, while I was in Spain attending the 080 Barcelona Fashion Show with our intern Jordanna, I came across a little bit of a shocker while reviewing designer Gunhyo Kim’s new collection. Kim, who studied fashion in Antwerp, was inspired by the local Hasidic community for his collection.
The truth is that I wasn’t as shocked as I was bothered. No, I wasn’t offended from a Jewish standpoint, but from a fashion standpoint. Did he give credit to the Almighty One for writing the Sh’ma? Did Gunhyo say “Gee, thanks God for demanding that your people wear four cornered garments. It really helped put my collection together.” Of course he didn’t. He just ripped God off.
Or did he rip Jean Paul Gaultier off? Hmm…
Hasidic
Pronounced: khah-SID-ik, Origin: Hebrew, a stream within ultra-Orthodox Judaism that grew out of an 18th-century mystical revival movement.
