Attending Fashion Week can, on the outside, seem like a mysterious, exclusive affair. But ask any attendee, and fashion shows are often far less glamorous than they seem. Sure, it’s a cliché for editors and media to complain about Fashion Week, but behind the eye-catching street style photos and glitzy runway looks are things like sleep deprivation and very tired feet. It’s for precisely this reason why the internet couldn’t get enough of Larry David’s misery at a recent fashion show. Frowning with his hands clapped over his ears, he is doing perhaps the most Larry David thing he has ever done. And while the best humor is unintentional, he explained the mundane reason reason why he looked so pained.
“It was very noisy!” David said on an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! while a million fashion editors nodded gravely in agreement. Kimmel suggested that David looked like he wasn’t having a great time, and David told him how he ended up at the Staud Spring/Summer 2022 fashion show to begin with. “My friend’s fiance is a great fashion designer, her name is Staud [Sarah Staudinger], she’s a wonderful gal. He said to me that my presence would be helpful. I said, ‘My presence has never been helpful anywhere!’”
Indeed, David was instantly memed once the photos hit the wires, but it tapped into something deeper: fashion shows are very noisy. There are tons of people crammed into very small spaces, sitting on benches that feel as wide as a gymnastic balance beam, with music so loud you feel it in your internal organs. And while the shows typically only last around 10 minutes, the music can be punishingly intense; some fashion shows even provide earplugs to attendees.
“Wherever I am, it’s wrong,” Larry continued. “Everything is better if I’m not there. Believe me.” Personally, we disagree — Larry David makes everything better, and maybe his presence will be helpful if it convinces fashion designers to turn down the volume. It’s a fashion show, not Berghain. No need to jack the music up to 11! Check out David’s interview below.