Fashion as a symbol within culture.
Fashion culture has been theorised as being in perpetual motion, always adapting, never to cease. There will be no time that can say that fashion has been completed, like a living organism it has the ability to transform and evolve. This is where the distinction between clothing and fashion becomes evident. While we may have all of the clothing we require, we may be properly fitted with enough to complete each occasion, for each individual over a lifetime; that would not suffice outside of a utopian vision.
That ideal can be depicted in the sci-fi genre, where all people are fitted with a uniform, performing in assigned roles and exist in equal status, but it is against the nature of this world and the human being within.
In ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, Meryl Streep delivers a superlative monologue explaining the trickle-down lifecycle of a garment. We can also include the trickle-across or up as dominant forces in a world where so many people have their own platform to reach out to others. Where the vocation of ‘influencer’ in all fields sees people rise through personal promotion and storytelling.
This may support the belief posed by sociologist Erving Goffman, “that the world is a stage and we are all the actors, casting ourselves in the role for the benefit of others.” We now have the medium to ensure every performance has a stage and audience. This further propels the fashion industry via the product of clothing, accessories and textiles.
Another way to view the influence of fashion was described by anthropologist Grant Mccracken as “chase or flight” surmising that the existence of fashion is tied to the need to make a difference. “This “chase-and-flight” cycle motivated consumption, encouraged product innovations, and facilitated social mobility.” The wealthy chase exclusivity and the lower income status are driven to chase the trappings of wealth.
With the advancement of technology, fast fashion came to accommodate lower-income solutions to trends. As the greater mass obtains the items, they lose their value and intern drive the chase for newer, more exclusive desires. Technology and economic ability in turn drive the delivery of more attainable products, with more pay-later options, which then make the once elusive more obtainable, leading the few to the next object offering further exclusivity. This cycle describes the chase of the masses always seeking the elusive, and the flight of the possessing onto something new once the old is no longer exclusive or different.
The evidence that fashion is ingrained in our society can be found in its role across disciplines, not only in the physical production of garments from fabrics to the dispatch across stores and online platforms. But also the research across the academic studies of psychology, sociology, and anthropology that date back to the 1900s. It can be associated with connotations of culture, history, gender, status and occasion. Value is derived from its cultural context, therefore the perceived value of an item is relative to the social context.
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