Fashion and its importance - Essay Example

? Fashion: Is fashion important? of of due: Karl Lagerfeld the fashion icon s that Fashion is a language that creates itself in clothes to interpret reality.  The fashionista views fashion as a language that is reflecting life and reality through the garments that have been designed. When seeking to define the term “fashion” from a dictionary, it is instantly deduced that the meaning is in reality different. In the Oxford Dictionary, fashion is defined as a popular trend of clothing, and manner of behavior, (2013). Some people take fashion more seriously, to them it is more than a trend; fashion is a lifestyle. Fashion designers’ lives revolve around fashion, they start outfit trends and people follow them based on their taste. People may use fashion for many different reasons, some might use it for self-expression; the way they dress and appear might seem extreme and that might be what they personally feel about life. Also, other people might use fashion to communicate and present their status. Apart from personal usage, the economy uses fashion to grow. Some might think that the fashion industry is not important and does not need to be taken serious or be interested in. They might see it in a negative way that can be offensive to the fashion icons. Fashion is an important aspect in the day-to-day life in society because it defines a person’s personality; it is used as a way of communication and benefits the economy. Fashion does define a person’s personality in the way an individual dresses. The phrase ‘you are what you wear’ that was made famous by fashionistas has been proven to be correct. (Darnell, 2011) says that a person’s fashion personality defines who they are, and it is shown in the way they dress. People will always classify others according to the clothes that they wear. One can be said to be classy, elegant, decent or indecent depending on how they dress. Most of the people do not pay attention to others outfits, while some who are interested in fashion tend to complement their outfits. These could be simple things like color clashing, accessorizing and making sure that clothes are a perfect fit and not a size bigger. Fashion also helps in the identification of a person’s career, attitude towards certain things and personality (Ingram, 2000). This is more obvious in careers like police service, nursing, doctors and pilots among others that require their professionals to have a specified form of dressing/uniform that can be used to identify them easily. Fashion is a major tool used to express ones personality. This is evident in most communities in Africa and the various religions of the world. The Maasai of Kenya have a distinct way of dressing, which shows that they value their tradition that has stood the test of time for centuries. This community in Kenya is famous for its red shukas that have even been imitated by some designers in the west for their uniqueness, (Werlin, 2011). The Gothic community is yet another example of fashion been used to express attitude, and to show personality. These people often prefer to wear dark colors mostly black with black make up, and accessories. Fashion does not only represent personality but also defines people’s status in the society. Important people in the society, have defining dress codes that distinguish them for the general public (Ingram, 2011). The Royal family of the United Kingdom has expensive, elegant clothing that are custom made and not many can afford. Status of a person is shown in the way they are dressed, not only the status but also a person’s inner expression. Fashion has been used as a form of self-expression in many occasions. Valens (2013) says that “colors have meanings and we often express the same feeling as the colors that we wear on our clothes”. Fashion used in dull occasions is utilized in such a way that the mood of the people in that occasion is brought out in the fashion used during the occasion. In sad occasions, dull colors are used to express the mood of somberness through decorations, clothing and even accessories. This is different when fashion is used in happy occasions in that bright colors are usually the theme of these events. Fashion is also used in body art to expresses deep feelings and emotions. People usually put art on their bodies for things that have sentimental value to them. The question of what one wants to say about them, i.e. how they feel can be either subconscious or deliberate. We always spend some time trying to figure out what to wear for the day special event or not. The difference comes in if the decision is deliberate and has been influenced by external reasons or we simply just went with our mood for the day. Things like job interviews always require prior preparation for the day and the outfit of choice needs to be carefully thought about as it could determine the outcome of the interview (Nina, 2013). Fashion is benefiting in the economic circle and is promoting the creativity in people. It is not easy to design clothes that will not only be appreciated, but also bought; a lot of work will have to be done to accomplish that. The fashion industry is a huge industry that is controlling many aspects that contribute in the economy and the benefits of it. Modeling agencies photographers and designers are all that make this benefit, but designers especially. Modeling agencies are benefited when they give out the models to the designers so they can show their garments to the world on the runway. Mears (2011) states that “models in specific do not benefit as much as the agency and the designers; this is because modeling is a free-lance job”. “Fashion week is not only benefiting the designers but also hotels, restaurants and retail stores that are attracted by the tourists and people that come to attend the fashion shows” (Harress, 2013). As the benefits of the fashion week is increasing according to Christopher Harress (2013) the annual events that occur in New York for a week named as “New York Fashion Week” an overall economic advantage is about $850 millions. Not only does the fashion industry help keep manufactures, distributors and retailers of clothing and footwear in business, it also helps economize shopping money for most of us. This is because we are able to wear our clothes until they wear out completely as is the case with majority of the world’s population. This helps save money for other basic needs like food and shelter (Wiki Answers, 2013). People communicate every day for various reasons in many ways, and one of them is through fashion. Fashion can communicate to the general public whom you are without much being said (Minnesota, 2013). (Examiner.com, 2010), a musician has a more fancy style in fashion than a lawyer who will dress in a more reserved way. A well cut suit in a dark color like black or navy blue will be enough for the lawyer without any other accessories apart from a watch. The dress code is different for the musician who will make the most of bright colors like yellow, red, white or green. He will have multiple accessories on him like chains, rings, sunglasses and the like. This is because he is not restricted to a level of fashion and so he maximizes on fashion. According to (Jannson, Mathilde, 2010), clothing and fashion are significant and very efficient mediums of communication because they use nonverbal communication and yet they send clear silent messages. They communicate cultural phenomena by showing the various societal experiences, artifacts and institutions. Examiner.com (2010) also says, Religious people like monks, nuns among others have a defined dress code that sets them apart from other people. Muslim women wear hijabs or burqas while Jewish men wear yarmulkes and Christians may wear a cross a round there necks to show their faith. This is because cloths are usually not only used to cover up but also to communicate our lifestyle. The same applies to professions that require their staff to wear uniforms like policemen, doctors, nurses e.t.c. and these communicates whom they are in the professional and social arena. Cloths are also used to show ranks some professions. For example, in the courtroom the judge wears a different artier from the one worn by lawyers; to differentiate their ranks and to show that he is in charge of the courtroom. The same applies to the police profession where the various ranks wear different uniforms. Fashion has often been said to be a bad influence mainly to the youth mainly because of the people they call role models in the fashion industry. (Gold, 2010), the existing models who do runway modeling for famous designers are usually very thing to the extent of being considered to be malnutrition. The message passed is that for you become a model you have to be as thin as they are or thinner than they are. Critics have gone ahead to call them walking hungers. The young women who want to become models do their best to achieve the body size of existing models leading to dangerous dieting and eating disorders. The young generation has always been quick to follow anything that is seen as ‘hip’ or trending because they want to be just like the young generation from other parts of the world. They want to be fashionable in their own right making them quick to follow anything that is new without much of a thought. Their kind of fashion is not just limited to clothing but it extends to taste in music, way of talking, hairstyles, drug-taking and moral values. With the world being a global village, new trends in fashion are spreading faster than they can be controlled or analyzed as bad or good, (englishforums.com, 2004). Charlie (2003) critiques that the fashion industry is also famous for the number of gay men it accommodates. Most fashionistas are gay men this is because they are knowledgeable about fashion and the industry is quite favorable to them. This creates a problem sometimes when a young man wants to get into the fashion industry, he is more often than not seen to be weak or very artistic which is not a quality that is usually associated with men in most societies especially in the African setting. Fashion is also seen as a way of wasting money. This is because the best labels and best designs are usually very expensive, yet most of us do have the money to spend on expensive labels that are worn by celebrities or musicians. Fashion has been blamed for the most influential items on impulse buyer’s list of items bought on impulse (Wikianswears.com, 2010). According to, Chantha (2012), we have been brain washed in to believing that fashion and its products make us more beautiful, cool and boost our self esteem. We have forgotten about character and we now use fashion to judge and respect people. Despite all these negatives associations to fashion, Cinnabelly (2005) “fashion is a necessary platform where people get to showcase their talents in design, fabric making, modeling, art among others as professionals”. Any industry can be abused and misused so it all depends on the individuals in that industry. It would be wrong to condemn the fashion industry just because of a few people who use it in the wrong way for their own benefit. It is important that we support and encourage talented people for the role they play in our society; because every aspect of life is important and life would be different without it. The economical benefits to fashion are the most important to us in society today because if there was no fashion, millions of people who are successful in the fashion industry would have a different lifestyle and would probably be poor thus affecting the economy negatively. It is because of the success and wealth of this industry that we have not suffered a great economic depression (Debate.org, 2012). Governments also benefit from the fashion industry as said by (Hartman, 2013), in that the fashion industry relies on import and export of raw materials and finished goods. The government collects revenue from the items that have been imported and also those that are being exported. Apart from these,” the fashion industry has contributed to the change in the way people do thing to faster more convenient ways. This is because it has contributed to the development of new technologies leading to the invention of new textiles, colors, materials, designs among others leading to various economic benefits from the various job opportunities for people in the various disciplines” this is according to (Wikiansnswears.com). It is through fashion that we are able to learn of current trends and modern ways of doing thing and not just the new ways of dressing. Fashion keeps us up to date with what is going on in various fields like medicine, education, media e.t.c. because all of them have entered in to technology and they keep changing. Fashion has been in our society for many years. In the older days, it is only the rich and the respectable people in society could afford the best kinds of clothes made from fine materials and a variety of colors. This has changed today thanks to the advanced technology used in cloth making that makes it possible for everyone and anyone to afford decent clothing. There is now an outburst of new colors- to help communicate the various moods and for self expression-, new fabrics and new designs that are making the fashion industry the liveliest industry in the world, (Wikianswers.com, 2010). The designs of the olden days were quite exciting, and they show the long journey that fashion has made over the centuries. It also shows that the fashion industry has been providing employment and contributing to the economy since time immemorial. The clothing from the ancient Greek and Roman times was based more on function rather than style. (Broeckelman, 2003) “The dressing trend at the time consisted of loose garments that were flowing and never tight or fitting, and people covered their hair”. This trend changed later with the beginning of the Renaissance period that also contributed to fashion in that long trains that were popular in the medieval times were lost. Women began showing their hair again which were adorned with jewels and veils. The sleeves were adorned with high standing collars, and this remained for quite some time but, changes were made in the Edwardian Era. (Broeckelman, 2003), says that “the shape of women’s dresses changed and was now designed with an ‘S’ curve. This came as a relief to women as they could now cast off confining corsets and wear healthy corsets that supported the spine and abdomen and it also allowed for the accommodation of women who were entering jobs that had been male dominated by providing appropriate official wear for them”. Thought history, fashion has focused more on women than men. The female clothing is therefore, the backbone for the fashion industry; in that if the designers were not designing clothes for women then there would not be much to do in the fashion industry. (Geneva, 2008) Supported this notion and said that she gets a pleasant feeling while strolling the streets of the rich quarters and seeing the colorful crowds of women, whose taste in fashion has been the topic of criticism yet it is, according to her the most dynamic/creative creation in the whole city. Women are now able to contribute in their countries’ economies. (Cunning, 2003) says that, “clothing is not only essential in the denoting of groups membership in society, but it in many ways express women’s sense of self-worth, and it also evidently fulfills the common fantasy of achieving the American dream of wealth and success”. She also goes on to say that “for women, fashion was the occupation that transformed a woman in to a ‘modern woman’ who is said to have rejected old values and roles that were associated with home keeping”. It is therefore right to say that the fashion industry has given the world a medium of communication, a source of income and a form of expression through clothing and fashion. References Broeckelman, Valerie. (2003). Brief history of fashion. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/anitonita/fashion-8453290. Cannaberry. (2005). Why is fashion important. Retrieved from http://www.teenink.com/opinion/all/articles/511574/why-is-fashion-important/ Chantha. (May 1, 2012). Fashion all day every day. Retrieved from http://www.fashionalldayeveryday.blogspot.com/2012/05/01-negative-effects-of-fashion-industry.html Crane, D. (2000). Fashion and its social agendas: Class, gender, and identity in clothing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Cunning, P.A (2003). Reforming women’s fashion, 1850 – 1920: politics, health, and art. Kent State University. Press. Currid – Halkett, E. (2007). The Warhol economy: how fashion, art, and music drive New York City. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Debate.org, (2010). That fashion is harmful and has negative impact on society. Retrieved from http://www.debate.org/debates/that-fashion-is-harmful-and -has-negative-impact-on-society Englishforums.com. (2004). Young people are slaves to fashion. Retrieved from http://www.englishforums.com/english/YoungSlavesFashionDiscuss/hlkr/post.htm Examiner.com. (October 8, 2010). Clothing is a ‘mode’ of non-verbal communication too! Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/clothing-is-a-mode-of-non-verbal-communication-too Fashion (2013). In Oxford Dictionaries Online. Retrieved Nov 1, 2013, from http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/ Geneva, M. (2008). Women in Weimar fashion: Discourses and Displays in German Culture, 1918 – 1933. 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