Seeing so many Pierrot details on the FW24 runways - little skull caps, ruffle collars and cuffs, extremely oversized clothing, little slippers, big buttons, head-to-toe white - filled me with child-like delight.
Pierrot is Fool adjacent. And I love The Fool. “Be the fool” is a motto often repeated around Chez Chacon. The Fool card would come up in my tarot readings constantly in my younger days. I decided to make it my sweet spot. It’s a totem I invoke to counter self-doubt, blockheadedness, deviousness, suspicion, and hubris, an emblem to bring me back to The Four Agreements, my north star for living my life by WWMRD (What Would Mr Rogers Do?) and a less cliche refrigerator magnet reminder along the lines of “follow your bliss” or “don’t worry about what others think” or “you do you”. It’s how I assure myself that if I step naively off that cliff just ‘cuz I wanna, I’ll be okay no matter what. I’m not a good strategist, no good with ambition, or foresight. Or followthrough. I’m a butterfly. I’m not good at trusting people. But I love them anyway. Sure I’ve had a lot of fails, been a hack (highly recommend it), and taken a lot of Ls, but it’s how I’m personally fated to experience the world, glean wisdom and learn about myself. And so I have trained myself to “trust the universe” through the symbol of The Fool. I guess it’s a symbol of faith for me. Not obtuse like a clown or sly and clever like a jester or a silly trickster like a harlequin, but innocent and trusting….and rewarded for it. I definitely relate to Pierrot’s mercurialness. But mostly, I think Pierrot has sick style.
Here are some of the runway looks that lit me up. These are from Couture Week, NYFW and LFW. By the time photos of collections shown in Paris and Milan were up, I was exhausted by the whole circus and stopped paying attention. I shouldn’t feel this way about something I supposedly love. On a positive note, it made me want to appreciate what I have and not long for something new for once. Or maybe just find some steady ground for a minute.
There were a few harlequin prints, more ruffles of the romantic kind and more literal clown / carnival moments, but those didn’t speak to me. But I did like seeing so many looks styled with skull caps - there were so many I lost track.
I have been trying to clear out more old clothes from my storage space (which inspired me to kick off a chat section with the question “how long do you keep your clothes?” ). I have so many good things I just want to keep forever. I came across my old Osho Zen Tarot deck and pulled the “clinging to the past” card.
Queue the sad clown :’(
So I decided to lean into the past and scroll all the way back to like 2020-2017. I loved when I used to wear a lot of all white & cream looks, oversized trousers, balloon sleeves, big buttons, ruffles and orbs. If everything is now “something-core” or “something era,” then I think I was sartorially peeking in my Pierrot-core, Pierrot-era.
I’d love to wear these pieces again today. I don’t think it means I’m clinging to the past to admit I’d still feel happy and very much like myself in these sorts of looks. I guess you’ll just have to follow my Depop to see if I decide to hold onto them or jettison them and start fresh.
Back when I was styling, I would incorporate The Fool or Pierrot theme into my work as well, using ruffle collars and cuffs and harlequin print tights and skull caps.
And then when I was sick as a dog all week and unable to finish this newsletter and deciding everything I do, am, have ever done sucks and I should just disappear, this gem popped up on my feed. And it felt apropos to what I’m trying to express here.
Total honesty with ourselves, total honesty. If we make a mistake, admit it and get on with it. Don't cover errors. The whole spiritual journey is a continuous act of falling on our faces. And we get up, brush ourselves off and get on with it.
If we were perfect, we wouldn't even go on a journey. We can't be afraid of making errors.
-Ram Dass
And to be totally honest, today I’m still getting over a cold and there is nothing I would rather do less than add shoppable links. Maybe next time.
Lastly, here’s a little bonus material, never to be spoken of again.
May include some affiliate links. I may make a small commission if you make a purchase.
I have a Pierrot Clown piece of magic in my show. I love the inspiration here. Thank you, I see some wonderful pieces here!
🃏♥️
You are so cool as a young Pierrot. Me and my highschool bestie used the Pierrot to indicate how worthy a person of interest was. There was an elaborate rating staircase, but the sad clown was the highest score one could receive. When it was attributed, you would become silent, open your eyes widely for dramatic eye contact, and you knew: wow! Like WOW!