Ghosting Parallel
Words by Stacy Stewart Smith

There is much to be said about edgy color absence (black and white) in fashion this season. In nature, pure black manifests when there is absolutely no light. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there is pure light (white), solely when uneclipsed by darkness (black). Both light and darkness can appear in the midst of one another. We observe this in the form of midday shadows on concrete or firelight, such as a single candle in a completely darkened room. The dark and light as transformed to color science do their best job when they possess balance and boundaries.

The most recent use of the term “ghosting” by millennials refers to ending a relationship suddenly and without communication, especially when someone unfriends another on social media and blocks their phone number, etc. Another use of ghosting that people other than millennials are familiar with refers to apparitions. The term as intended here speaks of seeing doubles of the same image.

Lest we wander down a path that has you thinking about diplopia or that last hangover you experienced, allow me to reel you back to attention. We are referencing the absences of color, a combined presence in everything visual. For example, the human eye is a magnificent organ. Still, we can only encounter a fragment of our reality because darkness and light work in ghosting parallels (in boundaries, mixed or in contrast) to balance the color spectrum.

Ghosting is the appearance of shadow or the negative thereof when we think that we see something that does not exist in our dimension. It is a trick of the eye produced when light is suddenly withdrawn, and darkness prevails. This phenomenon also occurs in reverse. Perhaps you have been so fortunate to experience walking through a snow-covered meadow when the sun is shining during the day? Maybe you have had the pleasure as a child to play “hide and seek” where you hid from someone in a dark room, musty attic, or nearly airless closet?

The outcome of these activities is similar, for if you were in pure light or a dark space when you returned to standard lighting—ghosting images appeared. Well, if they did not appear—then you are probably dead and don’t know it yet.

Fact: A sudden move into the light from darkness or a focus on a dark object in pure light will both produce ghosts in the eye.

Understated style power is the art of dressing in black and white apparel and accessories that leave memorable images in the mind of the beholder. A white cotton shirt is timeless, but if an underarm seam is opened, as in the case of Valentino’s studded collar button-down offering—a ghosting parallel is created earning honorable mention. This look is classic chic with a twist of daring that makes you recall the first instance that you noticed the purposeful slit revealing a glimpse of the wearer’s armpit; it’s unforgettable.

Speaking of memorable style and pure ghosting parallel, the yin and yang is present in all the photography, props, and garb on the pages of this editorial, including the model himself. Another notable idea, as basic and simplistic as it may appear, is exampled in the careful attention to optical illusion and styling of an Emporio Armani windowpane checked jacket beneath a black cap.

Moreover, a true style connoisseur will always stand at attention and take notice of living sculptures like those here in the form of ethereal black blazers and slim pants by Prada. It is an old but new again trick of fashion. Finally, the purest form of ghosting parallel is sometimes personified in all-black ensembles. Tom Ford’s black leather shirt paired with black pants by Jil Sander is both quintessential and unforgettable. Black leather has a reflective nature offering inverted glimpses of every light and color in a room, as observed through the drape of the skin and the metallic reflection of the snap closure.