Upper-class semaphore
Erin from Blackbird Spyplane discusses her decision to skip a Tom Sachs mock-Chanel installation preview, explaining her indifference to luxury brand signaling and her preference for DIY creativity. She introduces the concept of 'C.R.A.F.T.M.A.T.I.C. Mode'—replacing consumption desires with creative making—and previews fall fashion recommendations aligned with this anti-acquisition philosophy.
Summary
Erin introduces this edition of Concorde, Blackbird Spyplane's women's fashion vertical, by recounting how she and Jonah declined an invitation to a press preview of artist Tom Sachs's installation featuring a mock Chanel boutique with painted-plywood merchandise. She cites three reasons for passing: Blackbird Spyplane's California base, the redundancy of covering the same event as other press, and her personal lack of interest in Chanel's aesthetic signaling. Erin characterizes Chanel's visual language—the double-C logo, pearls, and bouclé—as 'rote upper-class semaphore' ranging from boring to distasteful, noting that even recent design iterations under Matthieu Blazy haven't changed her perspective. However, she appreciates Sachs's philosophical framing that 'the desire to acquire things is replaced by making them,' which aligns with her anti-consumption technique called C.R.A.F.T.M.A.T.I.C. Mode: Curbing Rank Acquisitive Feelings Through Making A Thing Instead of Copping. The edition then pivots to feature items that embody this creative ethos: Sachs's painted-wood tributes to a shirt design, vintage-ingredient jewelry from a cult unisex maker, retro-inspired tights, hosiery styling advice, barber-pole stripe patterns, and a short story about clothing anxiety by a 20th-century literary master.
About this episode
Plus a cult jewelry maker, stripes go askew, the anxiety of getting dressed “up” & more
Key Insights
- Erin argues that Chanel's visual language of double-C logos, pearls, and bouclé operates as 'rote upper-class semaphore' that ranges from boring to objectionable rather than aspirational.
- The author claims that recent luxury reinterpretations (like Matthieu Blazy's Chanel work) fail to create genuine desire among discerning consumers even when objectively well-designed.
- Erin asserts that creative making directly counteracts acquisitive impulses, suggesting the two psychological drives are substitutable rather than complementary.
- The author distinguishes between rejecting an installation based on philosophical disagreement (about Chanel worship) versus practical concerns (distance, redundant coverage), demonstrating curated editorial values.
- Erin positions her audience ('Concorde Nation') as largely aligned with skepticism toward luxury brand worship, assuming shared values around anti-consumption and DIY authenticity.
Topics
Transcript
Welcome back to Concorde, Blackbird Spyplane’s “women’s vertical” that the fellas love as well. Every edition is archived here . These are my fall flung fits . Our Cool Mom Style Guide lives here . The B.L.I.S.S. List , our intel-rich guide to “Beautiful Life-Improving Spyplane Staples” for the body, mind, home and pantry is here . Give a gift subscription A couple weeks ago, Jonah and I (Erin) got invited to a “press preview” for a new installation by the artist Tom Sachs, in which he transformed his NYC studio into a mock Chanel boutique, full of painted-plywood skirt suits on painted-plywood hangers, among other faux merchandise. We hit ‘em with a “thanks but no thanks,” largely because Blackbird…
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