Aphorism 1: Fashion studies has always thrived, as many disciplines do, by positioning itself between borders and at the periphery. Its apparent lack of respectability provided energy. Now there are many journals and conferences to serve its purposes. They give more space for multiple points of view, but the field must strive to avoid cooption and exhaustion.(1)
I interpret it in two parts. The first talks about the position of fashion in the world. Because fashion is or can be a not so serious topic with a lot of rules that limit its creativity, it can grow freely and fearlessly to thrive. The second part is the effect of the increasing space for fashion. If a topic is put on to the stage, it is exposed to more audience. It’s a double-edged sword. If fashion is my friend who is going to perform. I will be thankful if more people come to the show and pay attention to her. No matter they give her positive or negative comments, she will learn something and grow. But if she gets too much exposure, she doesn’t have private space to develop her talent for the future performance. She may get nervous and be restrained by audience’s reaction.
Aphorism 2:
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 re-lived and futures foretold.(2)
I agree with Breward that “fashion is intensely personal.”(3) A lot of art forms are very personal, but they all have to be presented or performed publicly. No matter how private the art work is, it need to be understood by the audience. Otherwise, there is no use. Then, the incorrect communication is the point that often separates the maker and the user/audience. Fashion cannot live without the actual body. Then the whole context behind that medium is brought into fashion. With the context of the maker, it becomes personal.
Footnotes:
1) Heike Jenß, Fashion studies research methods, sites, and practices (London: Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016).
2) Ibid.
3) Ibid.
Bibliography
Jenß, Heike. Fashion studies research methods, sites, and practices. London: Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016.
