Fashion as an Art and Capitalist Commodity - Essay Example

Fashion – An art or a capitalist commodity. Prajakta Kanegaonkar Introduction It is said that fashion was born when a tailor made a mistake while stitching a garment. Today fashion industry is one of the highest turnover industries of the world. What could be a trend today may not be a trend tomorrow. It is one of the most volatile and dynamic industries. Creating and breaking its own rules, it has ruled the mindsets of generations. When we look at the set up of this industry we are astounded by various factors involved in the being and success of it. Marketing and sales, manufacturing, retailing, etc all the factors are working simultaneously to give the speed and dynamism to this industry. Amongst the patrons of fashion however there are distinct trends to be observed. One can observe various groups and opinions formed in favor or against the fashion. There are several who would follow the trend of global or local fashion without any hesitation. The atrocious money that goes into purchasing any garment or any fashion accessory is not botheration for the recognition that comes with it. Some would like to follow their own trend and style rather than follow what’s going on around. Some would not like to follow the trends at all. But this certainly raises the fundamental question about the views in which fashion is regarded. Do we consider fashion as a form of art or is it just another “must-have” thing to exhibit money and status? Does our societal recognition depend so much on the fashion we follow or have we really attached an undue importance to it as a display? In other words we need to ascertain the value of fashion in our lives. Do we look at it as a form of art which engulfs our very being from morning to midnight or is it just another arrogant tool of displaying the wealth and money to convert it into a capitalist commodity? Let us look at both these aspects carefully to ascertain if fashion is just another capitalist commodity or fashion is a form an art. Fashion as an Art: These are the prominent styles of 1900s. It is extremely difficult to trace the origin of fashion and trends in clothing. If we go back to the times when communication was not easy between continents and countries, fashion could have been difficult to trace but certainly not non-existent. However later on with the increased level of visual and textual literacy, improved means of transportation and communication fashion started travelling regularly in the circuits. Men’s fashions however took cues from the wartimes. Cravat is the most famous example to prove this. Renaissance era changed the perspectives of many arts and art forms all over the world. Merely cutting the garment to size and making it wearable no longer defined the fashion. Now creation of fabrics, weaves, colors and coordinated wearing took a lot of importance in the society. Fashion started from the royal courts and then percolated in the masses or the general public. It was not only about clothing, the awareness also seeped into accessories, hairstyles and all. Classic example is given of the designer in the court of Marie Antoinette, the famous French queen. Rose Bertin, the designer took full advantage of her premier client to advance the trends she wanted to set in the world of fashion. And this is how comes the role of designers who transformed fashion into an art in picture. There is a lot of debate if fashion needs to be called as an art or not. A piece of cloth would be a plain piece of cloth unless it is transformed into apparel that catches the eye of the wearer. If this logic is to be applied then fashion would certainly be termed as an art rather than plain simple clothing. Like every other art fashion would also have its own Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Pablo Picasso and all. The person who can see a garment with great style, to make the wearer feel beautiful needs to be termed as an artist and nothing else as it is simply seeing the creation out of nothing. Rose Bertin: French Queen Marie Antoinette’s designer From long gowns, heavy fabrics, layered structures, tall hats, feathered hats fashion travelled to a more chic and elegant look. Even today the elegance in the garment stays but the styles and cuts have come a long way. Paris has played a prominent role in determining trends in the fashion industry for more than a century now. Today fashion is more worldwide and there are a lot of prominent designers who come from every part of the world. Let us have a look at some of the prominent designers and the famous styles they created, which continued to rule the fashion scene for a long while: Charles Worth: One of the initial designers of the “Beautiful Era” Paul Poiret: Made clothes a woman could independently wear. Brought oriental elegance to clothes Coco Chanel: revolutionized the women’s line completely. She brought the women out of sweaty, heavy, layered, padded clothing into simple cuts, basic designs and comforts. Short skirts, jackets, and an independent woman shone through her designs. Coco ruled the fashion industry for decades and set trends not only in clothing but also in perfumes, accessories etc. Christobal Balenciaga: Designer who defied current tends to set his own. He eliminated the waist from his designs initially only to reinstate it later. He designed his clothes in true artist spirit. 1960s saw the rise of Mary Quant, Pierre Cardin, and Yves Saint Laurent, people who changed the silhouettes, played with geometric patterns, introduced miniskirts, launched ready to wear range for women. These names rule the fashion industry even today. Later Giorgio Armani, Diana Ross carried the torch forward. From dark sober colors Donna Karan brought the urban chic into light colorful range of ready to wear. The 90s saw the minimalist look. Simplicity became the watch word. Prada, Louis Vuitton, Gianni Versace and Dolce and Gabbana brought simplicity along with the minimalist look which set new trends in the fashion world. Even today as we watch the trends they keep changing taking into account the political, societal, economical changes in the surrounding. We have artists like Coco Chanel who kept her boutiques closed during wartime as she thought war was not the time for fashion and designer wear. Fashion industry is often termed as a frivolous industry. However this art has ruled humans far more time than any other form. Desire to look good and socially acceptable has ruled the hearts of humans in every society. Fashion started with this basic instinct of “I need to look good”. It can only be compared with creation of huge artistic churches and temples or places of worship. A simple stone structure with no carvings and fresco glasses can also be termed as temple or a place of worship, but the art of sculptures, architecture, glass paintings and paintings started from there. Art never could isolate itself from the transformations of the society. For ex. the revolution featured in all the art forms. The changing times saw the changes in fashion industry as well. Even when we compare this one perspective we can term fashion as an art. The progress of women in the society can also be depicted in the styles and dresses they wore over a period of time. From the times when movements were difficult in the heavy attires to today’s elegant business suits worn by the men and women alike, depict the change or the transformation and revolution that took place in the thinking and trends in the society. Even when the culture of hippies came along who defied whatever that was established had to set their own “Hippie Culture” fashion trends to prove their point. Art and its rebels have always given a new transformation to the thinking pattern of the society and even if we apply this one parameter of art to fashion industry we can easily state that fashion is an art that has proved itself for centuries. Considering fashion as a form art gives one side of looking at the creative industry, but today fashion is a phenomenal industry. In such situation can we define fashion as a capital commodity? To understand this perspective of fashion we need to know the basics of capitalism first. Capitalism is defined as economic system, dominant in the Western world since the breakup of feudalism, in which most of the means of production are privately owned and production is guided and income distributed largely through the operation of markets. Going by the definition can we really fit the fashion industry into it? Capitalism talks about monopolies, economic domination of certain groups etc. We can consider capitalism in two perspectives; one in which fashion or garment industry as a capitalist industry and two fashions a capitalist commodity. Isaac Meritt Singer: Man who made the sewing machine What is termed as sewing machine revolution changed the way clothes were made and accelerated the industrialization of the garment industry further. The original idea of making a sewing machine was to ease the laborious work the woman of the household had to put in the task of the inevitable sewing. The hired seamstresses went out of work with the coming of sewing machines. Lady of the house could further take up sewing as an activity to earn extra income. These inventions intended to save the time of the otherwise buried in the housework housewife, who later stepped out of the family to earn more. This would seem like a very simple instance to describe but it revolutionized the making of clothes. Apparel industry could outsource the work to these women and even mechanized workforce could be hired in factories to make garments on a mass scale. Going by the definition of fashion this was not exactly trend setting for the wearer but mechanization helped reduce the costs, look at more compatible and cheap fabric options, and increased availability of the garments. Off course later it would follow with the monopoly of the production but that was inevitable in the process. This also added an extra dimension for various designers who further could monitor the quality of the production made under their own brand or label. Interestingly stepping out of the household sparked the independence in the women all the more. In such case their clothing styles also changed considerably. They were now more conscious of their appearance and demanded more stylized garments. The industry set new trends for these independent women. So the fashion industry benefitted doubly from the mechanization. Today there are big brands and labels which dominate the fashion industry world over. It is considered to be a part of social status or recognition to change the appearance as per the changing fashions. Acquiring and flaunting a designer brand of clothes and accessories is considered as the “IN” thing in the society. What we have to understand that orientation towards money is definitely a trend of capitalism but we also have to note that this industry has created employment, has promoted cultural integration, and creatively taken wearing of clothes further. Fashion in certain perspectives can be termed as a capitalist commodity. For ex. When we talk about creating monopolies, we talk about creating brands that are monopolistic in nature (Adidas – leader in sportswear, Tiffany’s –leader in jewelers, Jimmy Choo – leader in footwear etc). But these big houses owe it to the creativity domain they have. Today the reason for their monopoly lies in the creativity and innovation they bring in their products which enjoy a worldwide patronage. The monopoly can be said to be dominated by the name of a single person who is responsible for the creation of the brand value for the product. The distribution, the manufacturing, the branching of manufacturing outlets in various economies is by no means a small scale job undertaken. Even as we observe the local level tailors who undertake a dress making job, we can see that the industry has percolated deep into the local market as well. Fashion cannot be restricted to only few upper class elite today. If we consider the size and the depth of the industry, branding and pushing it away as a capitalist commodity would not be a very wise idea. Creating class specific market or niche market is done by every industry. Fashion industry cannot be termed as an exclusive one to this point. Today the market is aware of products which are not meant for masses or are not made on mass scale. These products could be very class specific and customized. These trends are however observed in every industry. Even when we take into account the effervescent automobile industry, we have the same Mercedes-Benz making class specific vehicles, hotels like Ritz, Hilton, Sheraton and Taj catering to a particular class. Fashion industry cannot be ostracized as a capitalist industry nor can the products be termed as capitalist commodities. The desire of looking good and attractive has dominated the dressing up of a human being since the stone ages. Today we see the manifestation of the same in various forms of fashion around us. We cannot isolate fashion from our everyday life. One needs to however anticipate the difference between a fad and fashion. An opportune sales guy would take advantage of short term spurs like fads to gain a short but high profit and are often instigated by sales people themselves. However fashion has more substance to it and is long term in nature. The creativity is seeps from big fashion houses to even street smart shops. Apart from the glamour that is associated with this industry one needs to know that it is an art that suits the taste and palate of every wearer. This is the best form customized art applicable in everyday lives. The colors, creations, designs, everything finds a suitable taker and that too as per the nature, liking, habits and societal surroundings of the individual. Hence even though we term fashion as flaunting of money and capitalist tendency industry it is in reality an art that touches our everyday life. Bibliography: 1. (Ingrid Sischy (1998-06-08). "Coco Chanel". TIME 100 - The Most Important People of the Century) 2. (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/93927/capitalism). 3. http://www.answers.com/topic/capitalism 4. http://www.crosswalk.com/finances/11602703/ 5. Fashion Buying 2nd Edition: Helen Goworek, Blackwell Publishing 6. Oxford History of Art: Fashion: Christopher Breward, Oxford University Press 7. Big Ideas : Jonne Cesserani, Kogan Page 8. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/chanelcoco/a/coco_chanel.htm 9. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/287086/Industrial-Revolution 10. http://www.moah.org/exhibits/virtual/sewing.html Read More