Fashion month musings Backstage access and beautiful clothes. But what else is fashion week about?

Living the dream - that’s what fashion used to sell on. Impeccable taste, classy manners, buckets of wealth and a god given rite to show off in style. In 2018, the ‘dream’ is rubbing up with reality as we all ask ourselves what sits in accord with our lives and personal values, our communities and - here’s the tricky one - our commitment to the future of planet earth and the generations that will inherit it.

Issues of diversity, individuality, and gender have driven the fashion debate for the last few years and now one hopes that sensibility and responsibility have settled at the core of the business. With that grist lessened, where does fashion move now? How is it motivating our desire?

There’s a lot to be said for the taste of freedom, for sheer prettiness. Yes to the ‘après-midi’ print chiffon dress that starred at Markus Lupfer, Attico and Burberry; yes to elevated functionality in the shape of Off White’s neon athletic wear; yes to those great Stella McCartney & Isabel Marant boiler suits in bleached out denim; and, yes to the wafty, sunny pareo and pleat skirts that appeared in silk scarf prints at Chloe, in a blown out floral abstract at Sacai and in cheery pink at Petar Petrov.

We also say yes to tailored trouser suits with cuts that give one a sense of confidence and sense of completeness, at Gabriela Hearst, at Celine, at Alexander McQueen and more. We increasingly want our clothes to be relevant for a good many years. Flash in the pan trends are not sustainable.

The month of fashion shows has born witness to vociferous debate that at least demonstrates how passionate we are about fashion. Hedi Slimane’s debut at Celine triggered a social media tornado concerning brand loyalty and relevance. To note: the hyper exaggerated 80s cocktail dresses on the runway are just one slice of a vast collection including Breton sweaters, great leather jackets, exceptional tailoring and a myriad of accessories that fulfill many a sartorial desire.

One clear message is the expression of joy. At Valentino one witnessed beauty and exuberance in those Fellini like feather trimmed lamé baby dolls and voluminous floating black and signature red dresses that easily shift one away from the little black mode. Ditto Richard Quinn’s bubble skirted leopard print gowns and Peter Pilotto’s peach melba hostess gowns.

There’s a real invitation to see on social media that the teams that designed the collections had a grand time in doing it. We so need that ‘assurance’ of joy before splashing out.

What was once deemed ‘impeccable taste,’ is now a sensibility better redefined as a respect for clothes brilliantly executed and with care. See that in Chloe’s neo boho collection of gorgeous tapestry knit tabards and fringe trousers, in Loewe’s fabric artistry and in Paco Rabanne’s slithery chain link slips and neo hippy woodblock prints.

The inwards and outwards push pull proves a thread. Do we dress to make a statement to the world, or continue an intimate dialogue with ourselves? The grabby, shouty style that was fired up by influencers on social media is thankfully calming down. Simone Rocha made a good essay in the joys of being private with her veiled headpieces and lovely layers of tulle and lace.

That private/public presence is something Sarah Burton excels in with her collusion of pannier-hipped gowns fashioned from poppy motif silk jacquards and chiffon delicacies wrapped with swaggering leather belts and capes. It’s both intimate and ready for the world.

The discussion we all have with ourselves, our bodies and our sense of self in the world has become less show off and a little bit more intimate. But the biggest shift is in designs that move with the wind, reflect the sun in lustrous fabrics and keep us standing upright shoulder to shoulder.