Blaze TV host Allie Beth Stuckey has expressed her concerns over what she perceives as unsettling trends in high fashion, particularly criticizing Paris Fashion Week for embracing what she characterizes as “diabolical” and “grotesque aesthetics,” suggesting there’s little focus on genuine beauty.
Stuckey remarks, “The theme is obviously demonic. And I don’t know what kind of statement they’re trying to make, whether it’s some kind of critique of society or the demonic people themselves, but it’s pretty frightening. It’s obviously not about beauty.”
She also critiques the attendees, suggesting that their motivations are more about self-promotion than enjoying the artistic expression. “I think they’re all thinking about being noticed, how the world will interpret them, what statements they’re going to make, and what opportunities and attention this will bring,” she says, chuckling.
She elaborates, “I think they’re all just thinking about themselves. I don’t think they’re there to enjoy the art or enjoy the spectacle. I think they’re there for the art, to be the spectacle.”
One collection from designer Kei Ninomiya was described by Vogue Runway as transforming “melancholy” into “concrete,” featuring gothic horror elements like bondage and unsettling animal carvings. Stuckey comments, “Because we’re all thinking, ‘How can I get rid of my blues?'”
Reflecting on the collection’s soundtrack, she humorously notes, “The collection’s soundtrack was labeled ‘the aural equivalent of a nervous breakdown.’ Again, I always hoped that my nervous breakdown would become an aura that I could somehow swim through.”
Another brand introduced at the event, Enfants Riches Déprimés (French for “depressed rich kids”), showcased a model chained to a sculpture of a man’s head. Stuckey explains that the brand’s inspiration came from the designer’s encounters with elite children in a rehabilitation facility.
Notably, designer Henri-Alexander Lévy had allegedly remarked, “If you were going to commit suicide, wouldn’t you do it with a $7,000 cashmere rope?” Stuckey comments on the troubling mental states she perceives in the fashion industry, saying, “I think people underestimate how many people in Hollywood, in the fashion world, in the film industry, are really just disturbed people who are trying to release trauma and demonic possession through entertainment and fashion.”
Another brand, Matière Fécaret (translated as “feces” in French), claims its collection critiques “wealth, power, corruption, and inequality,” to which Stuckey responds, “For some reason, I don’t think that’s being achieved.”
“There’s something very dark about the devil’s praise that we see among many in Hollywood and the music industry,” she adds.
