The Significance of fashion Statement in the Provision of Identity - Essay Example

The Significance of fashion ment in the provision of identity The Significance of fashion ment in the provision of identity According to Bennett (2005), fashion provides one of the most ready means through which individuals can make expressive visual statements about their identities. As is suggested from the statement presented by Bennett, fashion is used by most people as one of the easiest and most realistic way through which their personality can be expressed and their real and true identities shown to others in their everyday life. The main reason for this is to show their idealistic attitudes and reflect the values that relate to the kind of people that they are. When most people are speaking about fashion, they tend to narrow down only towards the general meaning of the term, which refers to clothing. However, fashion is to a greater extent a term that refers further than the clothing aspect. As Kratz et al (1998) suggest, fashion can be broadly defined as a cultural phenomenon since it is concerned with different meanings and symbols. It is thus a mode of instant and direct visual communication. They contend that fashion can be broadly used to refer to other aspects such as hair styles, accessories make up and can also include other items that do not have anything at all to do with clothing (1998, p. 195). Therefore, there are a lot of assumptions that can be made about an individual through the mere observation of the dress they are wearing. These include the part of the continent that they are likely to be coming from, the kind of job that they are likely to hold, or even their economic position. However, an important question is still raised as to whether we as the audience are able to make a true assumption of the true character of an individual simply by looking at what they wear. In general, however, fashion is mostly about identity, which is used to define the self as Roche (2000, p. 123) describes it as the “most talkative of all social facts”. On the other hand, identity can be defined as a way through which individuals can represent themselves in a social manner. It is this that mediates the relationship between the individual and the social world within which he lives. There are a number of reasons that push an individual to want to express their identity. These mainly revolve around issues that are related to the social status, the economic class, gender, age, race, ethnicity, religious condition, recreation, sexual orientation and individualism. When fashion is applied in a creative way, individuals are able to confirm or reject most of these aspects about identity and fashion (Barker 2000, p. 58). Consequently, they transmit visual messages about themselves that are coded in a cultural manner. In a simple way, Bennett (2005, p. 98) describes the fashioned body as a component of literal body of the character of the wearer, sexual preference, educational achievement, taste, economic status among others. George Simmel and Thorstein Veblen look at the social aspect of fashion through which it looks at the expression of social class and the financial and economic position of the individual (Enwistle 2000, p. 85-87). Dant (1999, p. 89) indicates that both sociologists describe fashion as an element that that only affects the upper classes as it trickles down to the lower classes. According to Simmel, fashion is concerned with the broader aspect of power and status since it is a visual indication of the statement of class and wealth. Through the use of different items that were fashionable, individuals were able to express their true identity as members of a particular social group and their distance from those groups that were considered to belong to a lower social group or class (Bennett 2005, p. 100). In the same way, Veblen describes the use of fashion in relation to the consumption of fashionable goods as the consumption that is conspicuous. It is because individuals not only showed their awareness about current social trends but also their ability to express their wealth and good taste in a collective manner (Rouse 1989, p. 85). With this, they form an internal bond with other individuals who are in the same social level while at the same time, they distance themselves from those in groups that cannot afford the same type of fashion items, which mainly fall under the working class (Branston & Stanford 1999, p. 111). Among the highly emphasized aspects of fashion are sex and gender. It is these two characteristics that help individuals when they are trying to look at fashion and identity. The main important point to be noted is that in the same way that fashion and identity are quite different from each other; sex and gender are also two distinct components from each other. They are therefore not the same thing since the determination of sex is done in a biological way while that of gender is constructed by the culture of the individuals. It is a widely known fact that men’s fashion tends to change at a much slower pace through one season to the other while compared to the fashion of women. In addition, men are seasoned in a cultural manner to produce goods while being the active sex in the society. Women, on the other hand, are considered the fashionable consumers and hence the passive sex. In this case, men’s fashion has much more to do with functions and the element of practicality as opposed to the aesthetic beauty associated with women’s fashion. It is this that helps and facilitates the men to work and fulfill their roles as the providers in the society. In comparison, women’s fashions on the contrary embrace both function and practicality. However, they also place a much higher vital role on their aesthetic appeal and especially on the design of the product (Braham 1997, pp. 50-78). As Barnard indicates, fashion and clothing play an extremely instrumental role in the process of socialization especially with respect to the different gender and sexual roles (1996, p. 111). Fashion in this case plays an important role of creating both the female and male image. Thus, it determines what is and what is not socially acceptable in the society. As a result, the fact that men took to fashion was deemed to be out of the natural and not effeminate while the dressing of women in many different types of attire was easily accepted socially in the society and in addition referred to as “power dressing”. Nonetheless, there has been a great evolution in the fashion industry that explains the extreme contrast between historical traditions. According to Leopold (1992, p. 102), this can be done through the supply side history of the dressmaking practices for women especially in the twentieth century. Kratz and Reimer contend that fashion has been greatly impacted upon and experienced a lot of change in the postmodern world. With this it has become “more heterogeneous, more unpredictable and more ambiguous” hence a change in the role that it plays in everyday life (1998, p. 195). It is particularly important to focus on the consumer aspect and the gender component of the male identity and the aspect of fashion that relates to masculinity (Craik 1994, p. 60). The key intention in this essay is to explore the numerous contradictions that have arisen in the twenty first century where as opposed to the past, the male character has changed his identity with regard to fashion over the years. Currently, he has become what most people consider as being a man who is more fashion conscious. It is still debatable as to whether this is the case or not. For instance, since the glam rock bands such as Roxy music in the 1980s with artists who performed emerged like Boy George and David Bowie the convectional norms in the society were broken. This is because some of the new subcultures such as the New Romantics featured male artists who evidently wore indicators of feminity. These included items such as nail varnish, skirts, silhouettes, body conscious and make up among other items. Suggestively they played with the convections set for both gender and sexuality (Bennett 2005, p. 107). It is thus clear that the very first judgment that an individual can make about the other whom he immediately meets or gets into contact with is the sex and gender since they can be clearly identified from the attire of the individuals. From this, it is easy to tell whether the individual is male or female, heterosexual or homosexual or even whether the person is simply an androgynous. Oscar Wilde made a speculation that every individual can make a reputation from being civilized simply by putting on an “evening coat and a white tie”. These include even the stockbrokers who were portrayed in his The Picture of Dorian Grey. This is an immense suggestion that an individual only looks and becomes that one whom they have actually worked hard and made numerous attempts to become. As such, he only requires changing his appearance in order to become a different person. In this sense, Wilde explores the idea that it is the appearance and not the identity of the person that defines what has been worn. Thus, he dismisses the initial allegations made by Bennett that individuals form their own identities by the choice of fashion that they make. This is because a man who is considered very simple and not reputable such as a stockbroker is also able to change his identity simply by putting on an additional white tie to his final outfit. Another question thus arises in the sense that whether it is possible for a beggar who is found on the streets to be given enough money to acquire his own tie and shirt in the evening hence ending up looking like a totally different person from what he was in the morning. In this sense, can he become a totally different persona than he was in the morning of the same day? This is a reflection that in the modern media a world of today, most of the people tend to judge others through a mental judgment about who the person we have met is or who the person that is in front of us is likely to be. This is done simply through the use of what the individual is wearing whether they are begging on the street or are dressed in a tie and a shirt at a dinner party. Since currently, people live in a postmodern world that is inhabited by consumers who embody everything in it with their changes and growth at their unpredictable and exponential rates there is a subsequent fierce competition in almost everything in the world. It is in this respect that Miles (1998, p. 90) describes fashion as the area within which the wares of consumerism are highly visible. These include the gender aspect, the social world that is composed of politics of social and identity elements, as well as the struggle for survival. As a result, there is increased and immense pressure for individuals to survive by finding a place in the society and voicing their views out to the society. One of the items that plays a significant if not the most important role in making it possible for individuals to construct, design and express their individual identities. It is most important in metropolitan cities that are often large and where they usually find the opportunity to mingle with large numbers of strangers yet they find very minimal opportunities of expressing themselves. In this town, Bennett shows that they “mingle with crowds of strangers and have only fleeting moments to impress them” (2005, p. 96). In her book, Crane (2000, p. 210) attempts to show that although in the past clothes were considered to make the man or the woman; it is no longer the case in the current world. According to her, the information that is conveyed by clothes has changed over time. Thus the social significance of clothing has greatly changed over time. For instance in France and the United States, the social class was a very salient issue that signified social identity through clothing. In the late twentieth century in America, gender lifestyle, age, sexual orientation and ethnicity gave individuals meaning to construct their wardrobe. Currently, the clothes that are worn at the place of work signify social class while those worn for leisure have a wide range of meanings from political affiliation to tribal links. In the current society that is highly multicoded clothes are a major inhibition while they also facilitate the communication between social groups that are largely fragmented. For example, a king or a member of the royal family would represent their status as lord through the use of gold or white. Currently, the same is represented by people through the use of luxury products such as diamond and fur products to claim their position in the society. In the past, the fashion designers in France created fashions that were most suitable for the elites hence were well adopted outside France. However, today, most of the designers operate in a more global workplace where they are influenced by popular music, film and television. It is because of this that dress does not denote so much more of social class life the lifestyle of the individual (Barker 2000, p. 318). It can be said that fashion makes it possible for people from different backgrounds to identify with and express their culture (Brake 1985, p. 90). With fashion, people are able to make statements about themselves and about their identities. It is largely due to what they wear as well as what they dress in. Thus this is acquired with the use of clothes, accessories in addition to other physical items. In this aspect, it helps people to communicate whom they really are, what they would like to be, they kind of social group that they belong to and the kind of people that they are most likely to be associated with (Eicher 1995, p. 105). However, the aspect of clothing is also used in a lot more meanings that are different from fashion. For instance, it is used to signify functionality, protection and practicality. It is principally used when people are migrating from their countries to other new countries as a means through which they can protect and maintain their cultural identity. Thus as numerous people travel from their own countries to other new places, they acquire a new kind of information that is in relation to the world found beyond their own communities of origin. As indicated by Appadurai (1990), they gain more information about the places that are often viewed from outside as the different ethnic communities. One of the proper examples is the Hindu women who maintain their identity and culture even in new countries into which they migrate through their saris and salwars dress code. In conclusion through the changes and evolution in the fashion industry, it has been able to communicate the different facets of life effectively. These include the economic class, sex, gender, nationality and ethnicity. However, it is still important to consider deeply before individuals can judge people by what they wear. Bibliography Appadurai, A.,1991. ‘Global Ethnoscapes: Notes and Queries for Transitional Anthropology’, in, R. Fox (ed.), Recapturing Anthropology: Working in the Present. Santa Fe: School of American Research Press. Barker, C., 2000. ‘Youth, Style and Resistance’, in, Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. London: Sage. Barnard, M., 1996. Fashion as Communication. London: Routledge. Bennett, A., 2005. ‘Fashion’, in, Culture and Everyday Life. London: Sage. Braham, P., 1997. ‘Fashion: unpacking a cultural production’, in, P. Du Gay (ed.), Production of Culture/Cultures of Production. London: Sage. Brake, M., 1985. Comparative Youth Culture: The sociology of youth culture and youth subcultures in America, Britain and Canada. New York: Routledge. Branston, G., & Stafford, R., 1999. The media students book (2nd Ed.). London: Routledge. Craik, J., 1994. ‘Fashioning Masculinity’, in, J. 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