In Christopher Breward’s Fashion Studies he lists a series of aphorisms that he believes in regarding the current world of fashion. Two that stuck out to me were “Fashion is gossip. Never underestimate the power of gossip. Semiologists are driven into ecstasies of supposition by its whispers.” and “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 future foretold.”
The first aphorism resonated with me because when people hear gossip, they feel a rush from knowing something that is somewhat a secret, they feel like they’re “in” on something. I think fashion can give people the same elation. Wearing something that you think is cool or ahead of the trends, makes you feel like you have a piece of information that other people may not have. And when you see another person maybe in the same garment you think is cool, then it feels like they too are in the same little circle of knowledge that you are in, similar to a group of people who may know a piece of gossip.
I agree with the the second aphorism as well because fashion both on and off the runway tells stories both intentionally and subconsciously. On the runway, it is more apparent because we can see a story arc within a collection, and the designer themselves can also specifically say what they were trying to convey. It is also personal in the sense that different fashions resonate and move people in different ways. One collection that I may find very impactful and important could be the same collection that a peer of mine felt nothing towards. The stories told through fashion are also the everyday clothes we put on. Every day we make choices that are personal to us which convey messages that we may not even be intentionally trying to put out there.
