I’ve been experimenting with allergen-free baking (a temporary experiment, hopefully) and have been reminded that in order to break the rules, you have to learn them first. This is a lesson that applies just as much to making fashion as it does to making baked goods.
My baking goal has been to adapt some recipes by substituting the ingredients I’m supposed to be avoiding. Some have turned out quite decent, while others – like the zucchini bread I tried – were a literal flop. I can alter the rules of the recipe, but I can’t break the rules of chemistry.
I still need an ingredient that fills each purpose in the recipe – one that rises, one that binds, one that adds some acid, etc. (As it turns out, some recipes really do need actual eggs to work.) Without understanding how the rules of baking work, I can’t make the right substitutes.
Fashion is like this too. You can break the rules in creative ways, but only when you know what those rules are and why they are there in the first place. I like to break rules when it comes to clothing. For example, making garments that are typically made in one type of fabric in a totally different one or combining materials or design elements in unexpected ways.
What differentiates the successful rule-breaking fashion experiments from the total flops is how they break the rules without defying the physics and structure that is needed. You still need the proper support, seam types, and internal construction to make the garment work.
If you throw all the rules of construction out the window without knowing why they are there, the garment will end up a sad, sloppy mess instead of the delectable luxury you were hoping for.