Newsies Storm the Scene — Newspapers Are Hotter Than Ever in Fashion: On the Runway, Print is Anything But Dead

No, I am not referencing the slightly tedious Disney film, Newsies, of the early 1990s — one of Christian Bale’s first flicks. (Lucky for him he had an agent who must’ve encouraged him to explore more edgy fare like American Psycho.) By newsies I mean the fashion set prancing about in garments emblazoned with newspaper headlines.

First out of the gate was Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2018. An extremely fashionable girlfriend, who will remain unnamed (like most, she loathes being thought of as trendy), met me for drinks wearing denim cut-offs, white heels, and a Balenciaga newsprint shirt tied around her waist in a style reminiscent of the grunge years.

I hadn’t encountered such an “in-your-face Helvetica” print before, and upon flipping through some glossies at my hairstylist, I began to see editorials intimating the coming trend.

My newest obsession is now M2M — Made To Measure. I no longer have to jump through YouTube hoops to find runway videos that are well curated. On a recent afternoon spent perusing the collections, I happened upon Versace Spring/Summer 2019 and found that Donatella’s namesake label was also presenting “news” prints.

Given the renewed interest in the assassination of her brother, Gianni Versace, via some slightly lurid docudramas is she making a statement on privacy?

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Why now the need for “news” prints? I would think that like me, many have become disenfranchised by the two polar spectrums of the media, which are now in a back-and-forth debate over who is telling the truth. This is reinforced by the barrage of Trumpian tweets with accusations of “fake news.”

Is that the sudden fascination with newsprints? Or, are designers predicting that print media will soon be going the way of the dinosaurs and become paper ephemera found at history museums. “Look dad, in the old days people didn’t have iPads.”

In the case of the Balenciaga campaign, the models are staged to look as if they are avoiding the paparazzi by dashing out-of-doors, seemingly to climb in to awaiting black SUVs with tinted windows (perhaps a hulking ex-Mossad bodyguard lurking in their shadow). Is this commentary on the insta-celeb world perpetuated by social media platforms like Instagram and the vulture like throngs of photographers wanting to catch them for the tabloid press?

Through the brand’s choice of well-known model Stella Tennant in the campaign, Balenciaga references the usual style with which those “avoiding” the photogs purport themselves. However, the label makes sure to have their handbags positioned “just so” to block their faces and heads tilted in such a way to showcase their jewelry.

Occurring in the same season as Balenciaga, Helmut Lang’s collection had a few models shielding their eyes with handbags printed in newsprint. The size of these bags even resembled rolled-up newspapers to further the theory of a cyclical nature of the tabloid press, celebrity and the paparazzi love/hate relationship.

One cannot address this topic without a mention of the iconic Dior dress that Carrie Bradshaw wore, not once, but twice on Sex and the City. The dress was from the highly influential years helmed by bad boy John Galliano (who’s bad boy-ness got him in to so much trouble he was exiled for a spell).

Was it a heavy-handed reference to the character’s career as a journalist? Yes, most definitely — but it also nods to SJP’s continued finger on the fashion pulse.

As much as I adore a floral or Chinoiserie print trend, I’m interested in seeing how the zeitgeist might continue as commentary to permeate the runway collections. Another hot-off-the-presses moment may be around the corner.