As another Fashion Week season draws to a close, the industry has given us a taster of what we can expect to see in our wardrobes in six months’ time. Whether it’s the New York, London, Milan or Paris Fashion Week, it’s not always the clothes that everyone is talking about. You can usually expect a designer arranging a controversial stunt on the catwalk, or a celebrity guest misbehaving on the FROW (front row).
A frequent talking point at the bi-annual shows is cigarettes being smoked by models on the catwalk. Smoking’s relationship with fashion can be traced back to the 1920s when women started to embrace the traditionally male pastime. With notions of rebellion and independence all the rage, flapper models were often pictured in advertorials with a cigarette in hand. By the 1960s, Yves Saint Laurent even designed a women’s tuxedo apparently for smokers, entitled ‘Le Smoking’, which featured satin lapels to repel ash.
Throughout the 20th century, smoking continued to appear in fashion advertorials and photoshoots. The industry is known for its rebellious spirit and its intention to provoke so it’s no surprise that cigarettes are still linked with fashion.
Many magazines are moving away from smoking imagery. International Fashion and PR Consultant Chimere Cisse has seen a gradual shift in the big American and British glossy magazines, although she concedes smoking is still popular with their French counterparts.
The whole smoking thing in photoshoots has become boring. Every other image you see has a cigarette. It’s a lazy way of adding atmosphere.
While many of the mainstream magazines are moving away from cigarette imagery, it appears more of the edgier, alternative or niche fashion publications are still using smoking as a ‘prop’ to create atmosphere in a still image. Kwei believes using cigarettes as a prop is a tired concept, and those that do it need be more innovative. She explained: “The whole smoking thing in photoshoots has become boring. Every other image you see has a cigarette. It’s a lazy way of adding atmosphere. The industry needs to come up with more creative campaigns, more creative shoots. We need to create the atmosphere through using other props.” Kwei admitted she is so committed to the anti-smoking message that she’s had to step away from shoots when the photographer or editor has insisted on including smoking.
While some of the industry’s names and brands are moving away from smoking, there’s still some way to go. Following the latest series of Fashion Weeks, will any big brands or publications be championing lifestyles without cigarettes in the coming months? Critics will be hoping the industry as a whole is finally ready to move on and embrace a better future.