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When Tom Ford, the Granddaddy of American fashion porn, grabbed the creative reins of Yves Saint Laurent from the refined Alber Elbaz, it was easy to see trouble was brewing in the City of Light. The buoyant, disturbing genius of Mr. Saint Laurent had brought fashion so far that one could never imagine fashion savvy women without options to choose from among the following looks: a tuxedo, a gypsy ensemble, African princess, Picasso painting or an haute Parisienne gown (and this, of course, is the short list). Who would have guessed that this supremely elegant company would suddenly be prey to disheveled, frankly grimy looks with a whiff of a bad morning after? From the sublime to the ridiculous in one decade—this was the pathetic fashion journey for one of Paris’ most famous fashion houses. However, Tom Ford was no evil misogynist, insofar as I can see--he was simply the high end ready to wear soothsayer for the culture of raunch that was coming quickly into our lives. It was Mr. Ford who first really successfully marketed girls together in provocative ads from the early part of this decade. He was right on target: it is probably more common for the average fifteen year old suburban male to see girls kissing girls today than it was for their 1970’s counterparts to see boys kissing girls. The hung-up, sexually repressed male atmosphere from decades ago which objectified females has morphed into a new version. Today’s girls bare their bellies in shopping malls all over the country and make out with each other to titillate the boys-- and say they find liberation in sexual role play.

Yves Saint Laurent Spring 2003

Ariel Levy, a New York writer and feminist has recently published "Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture." Her book, along with "Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships and Our Families" by Pamela Paul, are hot topics on the talk show and blog circuit. I recently heard Ms. Levy in conversation with Terry Gross of NPR’s Fresh Air. She sounded perplexed but resilient as she spoke of her mother, a body therapist who never wore makeup, and her father, an attorney who advised NARAL, the prominent national pro-choice organization. Raised to be feminist, and having attended college during the late nineties at the height of political correctness, she appears to strike a balance between understanding raunch culture and despising it. This I understand. When a friend told me that her beautiful and brainy college aged daughter had brought a porn magazine home during spring break, I was surprised by my own response. I was repulsed, much the same way I was repulsed by Tom Ford’s runways and ad campaigns. My friend dealt with this issue in the following way. She picked up the casually tossed magazine, put it into a large envelope, and wrote the following note to her daughter: “Please do not bring these kinds of materials into our home. Love, Mom” before replacing it in her daughter's room. Good luck, Mom.

I wondered if other college-aged girls bought pornography. I wondered if I would have bought it. Raunch culture, which began as pornography for primarily white men is now in the hands of some of the most talented young women in our country, who proudly buy porn and kiss other girls, sometimes to excite men and sometimes to excite themselves. In between, raunch is the major marketing tool for fashion. Talking trashy, looking trashy, acting trashy. Black eye makeup smeared and jeans so low they show pubic hair. An adrenaline rush, white blonde hair and long acrylic blood red nails, Gucci ads from 2000, girls in tight pants clutching every Gucci accessory imaginable, sunglasses, handbags, key chains, belts. Hookups, make outs, The Chippendales, strip clubs, shopping malls, Gothic blood vials, Pamela Anderson, restylane injections, big boobs, silicone legalization, Hustler magazine. Before the culture of raunch, discovery of pornography in one’s background might have ended a career. Today, it enhances and enables---look at Paris Hilton. She was just another socialite party girl until her amateur porn movie surfaced. Now she is a bona fide wunderkind of branding. She doesn’t care if people think she’s smart or dumb. She is laughing all the way to the bank.

If people feel freer to express themselves now because raunch culture has opened their eyes and given them permission, good for raunch. I recently saw the excellent movie “Little Miss Sunshine” which satirizes many things, raunch culture included. I sat next to three middle aged women who laughed throughout the entire picture—whether it was funny or sad. I think they came into the theater expecting to see a comedy, and damn it, laugh is what they were going to do. And some teens and adults participate in the culture of raunch because damn it, they see it everywhere and they want to belong. When you come across a teenaged girl or boy in jeans that sink low, or you read this editorial and have your own opinion, you too are participating in the culture of raunch. Raunch Culture is here to stay, and my guess is that the raunch will be dropped in the not too distant future.

suppes@fashionlines.com