By Burt “Time2Killit” Brage

The fashion world loves to sell the illusion of inclusion, but if we’re being honest, it feels like we’re only invited to the party when our presence validates their profit. We watch the flicker of the runway, the influencers curated in the front row, and the heritage houses dropping pieces that no one outside that zip code will ever touch. We are expected to believe this is a reflection of us.

I don’t buy it for a second.

THE THEATER OF THE STITCH

Let’s call it what it is: the runway is a performance. It is high-budget theater. It is a flex of the highest order.

My mother was a seamstress. She taught me the language of the needle and the soul of the machine. Because of her, I don’t just see a garment; I see the architecture. I understand that Couture is a fashion house showing off pure, unadulterated ability. It’s a laboratory where ateliers master craftsmen who train for decades, push fabric, shape, and construction to the absolute limit.

A single couture gown can demand over a thousand hours of hand-stitching. The materials alone often cost more than a mid-sized sedan. But here is the truth: these pieces aren’t built for the rack. They are built for reputation. They exist to maintain a brand’s prestige at a high enough altitude to justify the $500 t-shirts and $900 sneakers they sell to the masses. There is nothing wrong with the art of it, as long as we don’t pretend the art is for us.

THE GREAT DILUTION

The problem lies in the “dream sequence” lie. We are told that what we see on the runway is what we will hold in our hands a season later. But Couture and Ready-to-Wear (Pret-a-Porter) are two worlds that rarely touch.

When you walk into a boutique, the “runway energy” has been bled dry. You aren’t seeing the dramatic silhouettes or the uncompromising tailoring that moved you on the screen. You are seeing the “watered-down,” commercially safe versions. Ready-to-wear is where the money is made. Couture keeps the prestige up; Ready-to-wear keeps the lights on.

It begs the question: If we are the ones keeping the lights on, why aren’t we the ones in the front-row seats?

THE GATEKEEPERS OF THE NUMBERS

The people who keep these brands alive, the ones with genuine taste, brand loyalty, and an actual eye for style, are rarely the ones sitting at the end of the catwalk. Instead, that space is reserved for a rotating cast of celebrities and influencers.

These individuals aren’t there because they love the craft; they are there because they have been paid to appear. They represent visibility, not truth. The industry’s unspoken rule is clear: “You need millions of followers to be allowed in the room.” Not style. Not knowledge. Just numbers.

By default, the industry is saying: “Your presence doesn’t matter. Only your wallet does.”

BEYOND THE “DEVIL WEARS PRADA” LOGIC

I don’t follow the Kardashians, and I don’t care what they’re wearing this week. I’ve never subscribed to the elitist logic found in films like The Devil Wears Prada; the idea that a handful of people in a room get to decide what the rest of us “choose” to wear. That mentality is an artifact. It’s outdated, disconnected, and frankly, it’s arrogant.

Fashion shouldn’t be a gated community. It should be a mirror. It should reflect the people who actually move culture, the people who wake up, get dressed with intention, and walk through the world with a purpose that isn’t for sale.

THE CONS33TED ASK

This isn’t an attack on fashion; it’s a demand for honesty.

Why is the room reserved for those who don’t represent the customer, the culture, or the streets that birthed half of these trends in the first place? Why is the industry more interested in who looks good sitting down for fifteen minutes than who looks good living their real life?

CONS33TED isn’t here to tear the house down. We’re here to ask why the doors are still locked. We represent the real consumers, the ones spending hard-earned money, not the ones flown in for a photo op.

We are going to keep pressing this question until the industry stops selling us a fantasy and starts respecting our reality. This is how we set the tone.