From the reading Forward by Christopher Breward, there are two aphorisms stated in the passage that stood out significantly to me. First being “Fashion is gossip. Never underestimate the power of gossip. Semiologists are driven into ecstasies of supposition by its whispers,” and the other being, “Fashion is intensely personal, in the same way that poetry is intensely personal. It is a medium through which personal stories can be told, memories are relived and future foretold.”
My interpretation on the first aphorism, is that fashion is similar to gossip in that it has the power to trigger such emotions from people, in spite of it being a supposition – a belief that cannot be proved. I strongly agree with this statement because just like gossip, fashion is disseminated widely from one source to another, but many have their own way of telling it. Repeating the same story does not mean that it is told in the same fashion. A person’s tone of voice can easily sway one’s opinion – alike the many outtakes of clothing people manipulate from ‘trendsetters’ (comparative to the ones starting the gossip) to fit their own taste.
The second aphorism says fashion to be ‘intensely’ personal in the same way poetry is. Interchangeably stating that the two media are used to express one’s story. I also agree with this statement because fashion is a way of expressing one’s style, despite how different it can be from others. Likewise, fashion can also be copied when one is afraid or unsure about how to embrace their true self (just like how poem-styles/format are repeatedly used when one struggles to come up with a style of their own).
Prao,
Good work on this assignment! I liked your interpretation of the aphorism that “Fashion is gossip” and how you explained fashion’s dissemination.