Minimalism v Maximalism

Fashion is a very complex artform. Although, it can be simplified into two categories, minimalistic fashion and maximalist fashion. Minimalistic fashion or minimalism is the idea of having a minimal approach to your wardrobe, having simple, high quality garments, that is mostly colour coordinated. Maximalist fashion is about loud prints, graphics, bursts of colour and adding extra accessories, embellishments and layers.

Maximalism has reigned supreme over the last 20 years or so, but minimalism has really started to catch up over the last 3 or so years. In 2019, there was a growth in the selling of luxury labels according to the latest luxury study, Marc Bain (2019) also states that majority of these luxury labels have begun to push ‘refined, understated minimalism’ clothing. Since this is neck and neck in the modern day we may as well debate which style is preferred.

Factoring in the statistics that Bain brought from the latest luxury study, the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York argues that ‘recent collections have shown that this is not the time for quiet clothes’ (2019). There is friction between the two, both are right, that we need more maximalist fashion and that minimalist fashion is on the cusp of taking over. At the end of the day, fashion is subjective. You will fall into one of the two categories depending on how you dress that day, obviously you are allowed to dress minimalistic one day then take on a maximalist the next. It just depends on which you prefer, and in my opinion it’s a very difficult tug-o-war of which I prefer.

I wear both, and understand why someone would wear either one. A large part of this debate is the type of person you are, and how you use fashion to express that. Are you loud and proud, and want to display that to the public? Are you sleek and elegant? Spontaneous and a little crazy? Or subtle and simple? If you fall into any of these descriptions, you may be able to see what fashion movement you belong to.

Myself, I belong in minimalistic. I have dabbled in maximalist fashion throughout my years but ultimately I want to present myself in a sleek and simple manor. But again, there is no one that is better than the other, and I hope one movement never dominates the scene more than the other. It will always be minimalism versus maximalism.

References

Bain & Company 2019, ‘Personal Luxury Goods Market Grey By 4 Percent in 2019 To Reach €281 Billion’, Cision PR Newswire, viewed 21 October 2020, <https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/personal-luxury-goods-market-grew-by-4-percent-in-2019-to-reach-281-billion-300966450.html>.

Bain, Marc 2019, ‘The battle between minimalist and maximalist has reached a new equilibrium’, Quartz, viewed 21 October 2020, <https://qz.com/1762078/growth-of-fashion-minimalism-has-caught-up-to-maximalism/>.

Fashion Institute of Technology 2019, ‘Minimalism/Maximalism’, State University of New York, viewed 21 October 2020, <https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/minimalism-maximalism.php>.