What is Fashion?

         

Fashion is something we undoubtedly encounter each day. Even those whom insist that: "they don’t care what they wear" or that they choose their outfits to mirror who they are, their personality & their mood of the day. Not to say that these claims are erroneous, but they have a lot more to their background story...

One thing is for certain in the world of fashion - change, is the omnipresent variable. We are overwhelmed with new-style on a most daily basis. 

In today's day & age: music, bloggers, designers, videos, books, celebrities, television, technology and art, all have an immense impact on what-we-wear-where. Sometimes a trend is small-scale, even localized, but often times they reach global acceptance.

Who dictates fashion?

•Musicians & other cultural icons, political figures and royalty.

• In the 1700s, women scoured fashion magazines to see the latest styles.

•Women & dressmakers outside the French court relied on sketches to see what was going on. The famous French King Louis XIV said that "fashion is a mirror". Louis himself was known for his distinguished style, featuring extravagant laces and velvets.

Clothes separate people into groups.

•Fashion is revealing. Clothes can even share things with others before you speak, like what groups people are in in high school. Style is who you are, despite the the created stereotypes and distance between groups. If you saw a boy with pink hair and multiple piercings/tattoos and labeled him as a freak or an outsider, you have interpreted his clothing in accordance with your views. Style, personal or not, is always up for interpretation, judgement however, walks that fine line. Just as that same boy, through the eyes of someone else, is a strict conformist. Dressing a certain way to achieve the delivery of his style-message: rebellion and separation, yet the look is quite uniform.

“A little of what you call frippery is very necessary towards looking like the rest of the world.”

-Abigail Adams, letter to John Adams, May 1, 1780

Fashion is a language which tells a particular tale about the person beneath the textiles. 

“Clothes create a wordless means of communication that we all understand,” 

- Katherine Hamnett, a top British fashion designer.

There are many reasons as to explain WHY we wear what we wear.

• Protection from cold, rain and snow: mountain climbers wear high-tech outerwear to avoid frostbite and over-exposure.
• Physical attraction: many styles are worn to inspire “chemistry.”
• Emotions: we dress “up” when we’re happy and “down” when we’re upset.
• Religious expression: Orthodox Jewish men wear long black suits and Islamic women cover every part of their body except their eyes.

Identification and tradition: judges wear robes, people in the military wear uniforms, 

brides wear long white dresses.

“The apparel oft proclaims the man.” -Shakespeare, Hamlet

"Fashion is big business. More people are involved in the buying, selling and production of clothing than any other business in the world." 

Everyday, millions of workers design, sew, glue, dye, and transport clothing to stores. Ads on buses, billboards and magazines give us ideas about what to wear, consciously, or subconsciously. Then, forecasting occurs and the environmental scans tip-off what's what in the upcoming runway season.

*Style Take-Away: Clothing can even be used as a political weapon. In 19th century England, laws prohibited people from wearing clothes produced in France. During 20tg century communist revolutions, uniforms were used to abolish class & race distinctions.

Is Fashion is an endless popularity contest?

High fashion, the world of Haute Couture, is the style of a small group of both men & women who possess a certain taste & authority in the fashion world. People of wealth & position, buyers for major department stores, editors & writers for fashion magazines are all part of Haute Couture (literally meaning, "High Fashion” in French). Some of these expensive, outlandish and often artistic fashions, may triumph & become the fashion for the larger majority. Although, for now, most stay on the runway or on a fancy hanger in a fabulous walk-in.

"Popular fashions are close to impossible to trace. No one can tell how the short skirts and boots worn by teenagers in England in 1960 made it to the runways of Paris, or how blue jeans became so popular in the U.S., or how hip-hop made it from the streets of the Bronx to the Haute Couture fashion shows of London and Milan."

“In the perspective of costume history, it is plain that the dress of any given period is exactly suited to the actual climate of the time.”

James Laver (noted English costume historian) 

Bell-bottom jeans faded into the designer jeans & boots look of the 1980s, then the baggy look of the 1990s? Nobody will ever truly know.

Of course, once identified, fashions begin to change whether we like them or not.

"International Fashion Editor Cynthia Durcanin answers the question, 

what is fashion...

Fashion is a state of mind. A spirit, an extension of one’s self. Fashion talks, it can be an understated whisper, a high-energy scream or an all knowing wink and a smile. Most of all fashion is about being comfortable with yourself, translating self-esteem into a personal style.

Why is it important?

Fashion is a means of self-expression that allows people to try on many roles in life. Whether you prefer hip-hop or Chanel-chic, fashion accommodates the chameleon in all of us. It’s a way of celebrating the diversity and variety of the world in which we live. Fashion is about change which is necessary to keep life interesting. It’s also a mirror of sorts on society. It’s a way of measuring a mood that can be useful in many aspects, culturally, socially even psychologically. At the same time, fashion shouldn’t be taken too seriously or you lose the fun of it.

How do you know what will be hot in the future?

The collections in Paris, New York and Milan, and now London, typically set the stage for the industry one year in advance. Though, I think the street is the real barometer of style. More and more designers are drawing their inspiration from life on the street. So once again, there is a link to personal style and fashion. A teenager can throw something together without thinking about it and it can trigger a new trend.

How do you choose what to wear in the morning?

It depends on my day, mood and what’s clean. If I have an important meeting or presentation, I put more thought into what I will wear. But on my most days, I dress to my mood which can range from funky to retro to classical. Then again, there are days when my laundry basket dictates what I ultimately wear."

{Cynthia Durcanin works for Elle Magazine} An amazing Article from PBS: "What is Fashion?" was the source of the inspiration and quality information regarding how to define fashion. 

Check out this video on YouTube from the Fashion Show I co-produced recently which featured styles from 70's --> present day trends! 

•Fashion: always changing, slightly elusive, extremely seductive.

•Fashion has the power to transform an image and make a social statement.

What is fashion anyway?

Dictionary.com's definitions: The prevailing style or custom, as in dress or behavior: out of fashion. Something, such as a garment, that is in the current mode: a swimsuit that is the latest fashion. The style characteristic of the social elite: a man of fashion. To some, fashion is an art form. To others, it is almost a religion. But for most people it is a method of utilizing clothing, accessories and hair to show or hide something about yourself. You can use fashion to express yourself, to serve as an extension of your personality: goth, skater, soccer mom, professional. Or you can use fashion to disguise your true self:a conservative in vamp clothing, a vamp in conservative clothing. Fashion statements can be made with clothes, accessories, shoes, hair, makeup, even your cellphone.

Who decides what's in?

Designers can greatly influence what direction fashion will go in.

Miuccia Prada of Prada and Miu Miu, Marc Jacobs of Marc by Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton are considered directional designers (Prada for remixing classics, Jacobs for vintage-inspired styles).

Working five or six months ahead of the season, the press attends fashion shows presenting designer collections; the media will then give editorial coverage to trends they think their readership is interested in. Store buyers work many months in advance of the season to place orders with manufacturers for styles they think their customers will want to buy. Celebrities and other opinion leaders (socialites and other glitterati) are usually the first to sport new looks, spurring the buying public into accepting emerging trends. So everyone from big-name designers to celebrities may be behind influencing the direction fashion will go in. But ultimately, it is you, the consumer, who will decide what is "in" when you choose whether or not to buy into a trend.

Where are the world's fashion centers?

New York, Paris and Milan are considered the major hubs for designers and manufacturers of fashion apparel and accessories.

London, Los Angeles, Toronto, Hong Kong, Sydney and Sao Paolo, in addition to hundreds of other smaller market areas are host to excellent designers and manufacturers.

How can I work in fashion?

Depending on what you want to do -- from designing to retailing -- there are many paths you can take to get to your destination.

Education is a vital ingredient: many universities offer excellent fashion merchandising courses.

Work experience is another necessary step to working as a professional in the fashion industry. Experience at the retail level (as a sales person in a store) is a great way to get a feel for how consumers buy, mix or reject clothing.

Many students are initially attracted to fashion because it seems like a glamorous business:to some degree it is.

But the majority of clothing and accessories that are designed, manufactured and sold have absolutely nothing to do with the glitzy shows associated with famous designers.

The majority of people working in fashion have behind-the-scenes jobs at less-than-glamorous wages. Regardless, most who work in the industry are charged by its vibrancy and creativity and get rewards other than fame and fortune (a fun job, creative outlet, etc.).

Even if you say you don't care about fashion and don't dress to make a statement, you are making a statement (that you don't care about fashion).

Why care about fashion?

Most people pay attention to fashion in small doses which is a very healthy way to approach it. They make sure wardrobes are in step with the times and even indulge in a trend or two each season.

Even if you say you don't care about fashion & don't care about fashion and don't dress to make a statement (that you don't care about fashion). Most people pay attention to fashion in small amounts, which can be a very healthy way to approach it.

A few reasons why fashion is still relevant:

It shows your thinking is modern and flexible (I.e. willing to accept and process new ideas). Fashion has escapist qualities; ultimately these truly help us to deal with the pressures of the world and everyday life (For example: your country may be at war, but you've "escaped" by dressing in the season's finest frocks that make you look like you don't have a care in the world).

Everything you put on sends a message. Why are most designer clothes so outrageous? Fashion has virtually nothing to do with taste: it is a force that is beyond rational and practical guidelines. The clothes that we see presented each season on the runway at designer shows are often exaggerations of a theme or inspiration that the creative director decides to share through his or her clothing. A story of their vision through garments and accessories. Some designers such as the legendary John Galliano or Karl Lagerfeld go to almost extreme measures to present extravagant, outlandish styles. When people see these fashions, it's perceived that they could never be worn and yet they're the epitome of high fashion. While they might not be worn everyday (for the average person) the world of haute couture, et cetera, provides the blueprint for the rest of the industry to follow suit. These collections are part marketing, to grab media and consumer interest and part artistic expression. By the time they reach the stores, most looks have already been further translated and morphed per buyers request in order to increase the opportunities to intrigue potential customers (hemlines dropped an inch or two, elements of the original look are put onto more understandable pieces, etc.).

    

 

 

 

  

Stay Tuned For More on 'Fashion Is ____.' - The Theme for the 35th annual fashion show at Genesee Community College. We've been so lucky to have become both the largest and longest running show in Western NY. We're hoping to make the show this year extra special and if you have any comments, ideas or just a fun response for Fashion Is ____. please share them with us! Comment below or send an e-mail, we're also beginning the planning stages for clothing and models if you know any brands that we should work with OR beautiful people who'd like to walk in our show! xoxo check out more with this video created to give everyone some inspiration with responses to the fashion is fill in the blank. 

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