In the beginning of the semester I defined fashion purely as a form of expression. I said that fashion is a manifestation of self and encompasses one’s history, upbringing, religion, culture, sexuality, gender etc. My definition in the beginning did account for the complexities of one’s aesthetic and sense of fashion but I didn’t think of fashion as a system that is not just personal but effects cultures and societies as a whole. Over the course of this class, I’ve found that fashion isn’t really the projection of internal feelings but more the application of external trends and movements. Like in the article “Rise of the fashion hipster” the movement of trends the use and throw attitude towards clothing clearly show that clothing at this point isn’t too personal.[1] This same attitude gave rise to fast fashion which has become one of the root causes for pollution and human rights violations around the globe. I think seeing fashion as something beyond just the visual element is important because there was a time when fashion was personal, clothing was cherished and the hands and lands that made the clothing were not abused. Fashion today is a world within a world, on the outside it is glamorous and luxurious but inside it rots, on its hands are the lives of thousands of people, millions of acres of wasteland and the lives of towns and villages in developing countries. Fashion’s social abuses creep on even its customers, with magazines promoting toxic body ideals, gender norms and roles, the industry as a whole has a lot of growing to do. Therefore, Fashion is a nuanced concept that effects the lives of every person in some way or another and this is why it is important for Fashion to be an art form that does no harm.
[1] Rabkin, Eugene. “Op-Ed | The Rise of the Fashion Hipster.” The Business of Fashion. April 22, 2016. Accessed May 01, 2018. https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/opinion/op-ed-the-rise-of-the-fashion-hipster.
