Upon watching and reading the reviews of the New York Fashion Week that was held this week, I have to admit that most of those ‘tip-top’ designer outfits are not retail ready. Yes, they look fancy on the runway. And more than likely a renowned designer’s name is etched on to it. It probably costs all our lunch money for the year, combined. Well, okay, maybe not that expensive but you get the point.

In the world of fashion, great emphasis is always placed on the freedom of expression and designers are always encouraged to give their pieces their all. We see all kinds of stuff on the runway. Sometimes little is left to the imagination while other times, we as onlookers can add our creative bit to the collection from afar.

Yes designers, you all ought to be creative. But while in the process, please bear in mind that persons don’t just turn up to these fashion shows to warm benches. People want to see clothes they can take “off the rack” a few weeks later.

Take 38-year-old rapper and “designer” Kanye West: both seasons of his Yeezy collection look a bit laughable. I can’t imagine anyone other than his family wearing his collection. I mean sure, a few of his pieces look like the perfect pajama suit.  57-year-old actor Ice-T says his second Yeezy collection which was just featured in NYFW looks like “future slave gear” and I’m sure many others are also of that view.

The average individual cannot wear 90% of the displayed collection we often see on runways. We all agree that we want to be entertained, but how will our eyes light up if there is nothing on the runway that we can see ourselves wearing. This is the 21st century so it’s clear that fashion designers are trying to bring more life to the industry and also influencing people to take a different approach in selecting their personal styles.

Designers should cater more for the patrons of the fashion show, rather than trying to make a big staging for the media. People want to see a great show yes, but at the end of the day; we’d also like to know that we can wear some of what we saw to that special upcoming event.