Fashion is dress in which the key feature is rapid changing of style - Essay Example

"Fashion is dress in which the key feature is rapid and continual changing of style." What creates this continual change Though fashion is a term related to many things such as dresses, shoes, hats, purses etc. taken together; people always connect it with dresses. So whenever the question "what's in fashion these days" is asked, the images that come to our minds are of dresses. These days fashion is changing at an all time high speed. So the statement "Fashion is dress in which the key feature is rapid and continual changing of style," is extremely justified. However, " the appearance of a new fashion does not necessarily mean a total change of style; it may be only a matter of details such as trimmings and accessories" ( Sichel, 1979, p.5 ) Irrespective of the degree of change in style; we are going through a phase of fashion revolution. The following factors are responsible for the continual change in fashion. Social Political Media and Technology Economic Growth Growth of fashion industry Social: The change in the society or social trends is highly evident if we focus on the dress of women. Over the years the style of dressing of women has undergone a considerable change. This can be attributed to the emancipation, equality and independence of women. There has been a remarkable change in the attitudes of and towards women and this attitudinal change is directly linked with their dresses. The past century has experienced the change in the dress of women the most. Before 1920's women used to be confined indoors. Slowly they started venturing outside. They started attending social events and their past time included outdoor games in the early part of 20th century. So their dresses underwent changes providing them freedom in movement. Some even started moving out of homes for becoming career women. The outcome was a further change in their attitudes and style of their dresses. Emphasis was given on their comfort as they started spending long hours outside. Ewing (1975) stated that: Another indication of changing times and changing fashions was the vogue for the tangoTango teas and tango parties became all the rage well before 1914slinky dresses with their slit hems were ideally suited to the fashionable contortions of the new dance, for which the traditional tea-gown would have been utterly incongruous. (p.77) While researching the style during 1930's, Ewing (1975) has observed: Where all kinds of women were leading busy, active lives, simple fashions were desirable for ordinary daily comings and goings, with the luxury of long low-cut gowns reserved for evenings. At this time evening dress were worn very widely in Britain on a great variety of occasions and by the working girl and the middle class housewife as well as by the Duchess and debutante. (p.111) With the advent of beach custom, fashion changed again as the favorite past time drifted from games to sun tanning on the beach. During the 1950's the most remarkable change in the swimming costume was the introduction of bikinis. The new independent superwomen of the 21st century, with their jobs, their money and secure futures are following new fashion with leaps and bounds. They are choosing dresses that enhance their personality as well as enable them to carry out the responsibilities of their jobs with ease. Since they are financially strong they are always in look of something different and this is one of the reasons why fashion is changing rapidly and continually. Other social trend that brought a change in fashion was the growing self-sufficiency of the middle class and men's interest in looking better. Gone are the days when fashion was considered to be the domain of only rich and famous or those belonging to the fairer sex. Today fashion has no barriers. Rich and not so rich, men and women, young and old and even children are becoming fashion conscious. So whatever style, the rich are following, are being followed by the poor also. The same designs are being copied on shoestring budgets by compromising a little on the quality of the fabric. Therefore it can be concluded that a new style is established not when a few hundred people are following it but when the entire society follows it. However change in style is always led by the rich and famous. Earlier the social trend was to follow what people belonging to the royal families were wearing. Now the focus has shifted to models and film stars. Since new films are released every week, the change in fashion is rapid and continual. Men have also started paying attention to how they look and what they wear. They are willing to adopt new styles to maintain their status in society. The modern man is in no way inferior to women as far as fashion is concerned. In fact, men and women are wearing similar dresses or in other words unisex dresses. Sichel (1979) has stated that "the back view of unisex styles made it difficult to distinguish between male and female as both wore their hair long, wore similar tops and usually jeans, which became the mainstay for both sexes from the late 1960's." (p.57) Political: The mood of the government or the ruling class has effect on fashion too. If we take the example of China we find that each dynasty had set rules in clothing. The style always depicted the mood of the politics. According to Yang Lu: There were many dynasties throughout China's history, each having it's own unique style of dress. And each style would change or disappear as its dynasty changed, declined or was replaced. With the advent of each new dynasty and the progression of time costumes were revolutionized. The style was classical and conservative in the Qin and Han dynasties, luxurious and glamorous in the Tang dynasty, delicate and exquisite in the Song dynasty, graceful and magnificent in the Ming dynasty, and very intricate in the Qing dynasty. (The History of Chinese Clothing section, para. 2). Another example of change in style of dress due to political reasons was the change in the dress of British women during the 1914-1918 wars. According to Ewing (1975) The prevailing style of fashion with narrow skirts either worn alone or under full tunics, was transformed by the tunic being lengthened and the inner tube dispensed with..The great number of semi-evening dresses, tea frocks and even the coats perhaps reflected a feminine world whose men were at war. (p.81) Media and Technology: Media and technology has tremendous effect on fashion. Technology is traveling fast leading to the continual change in fashion. Today fashion changes with every film that is released. Before cinema people went to the theatres to catch up on fashion. Then they experienced cinema, which dictated tremendous influence in all aspects. With the advancement of technology came the telly, which brought fashion to the doorsteps of people. People need to just press a button and they get a plethora of information on fashion. There are special fashion channels, which provide programs featuring latest clothing and accessories round the clock. The advertisements also teach consumers about what's new in the market and influence them to adopt the new style making them a part of the continual change. Thanks to media and technology the world has become a global village. The distances between people have decreased. People have started predicting when fashion will change. Events like fashion shows unveiling autumn or winter collections are common. People have started looking out for new fashion during different occasions. For example they look for something new during the spring season or Christmas time, special events like the world cup and even the wedding season. Each year something new is designed for the bride to be. What is in style in one season becomes outdated at the onset of the next season. The print media has influenced the rapid and continual change in fashion. In newspapers there are special pages or sections dedicated to fashion news. Many journalists are specializing in the field of fashion and are known as fashion journalists. They make people aware of all the aspects of fashion and what's hot and what's going to be hot, making the whole society a part of the change. The glossy, trendy and highly sophisticated women's, youth and fashion magazines contain all the information related to the world of fashion with colored illustrations and interviews of celebrities who follow fashion or make fashion happen. With technical advancement the scope of advertisement has increased. We see advertisements in all kinds of media. The information today is so free flowing that change has become a continual process. People get restless with the same thing because of the fast lives they are leading and media has enormous influence in changing of styles either through media icons, news or advertisements. Haye (1996) has observed "the fashion press proliferated and fuelled the vogue for built-in obsolescence, by constantly redefining consumer tastes." (p.20) Media provides lot of information about the public figures and makes his/her life accessible to the masses. One classic example is that of Princes Diana in the 1980's and 1990's. The media followed her constantly. So Diana, Princess of Wales made the dress of designers common to masses. Hence, whenever there was a change in the style of her dresses, there was change amongst the masses too. It is needless to say that a person of her stature was continually changing her style. Due to technical advancements traveling from one place to another is also not a problem. Fashion designers are well traveled and well informed and they keep adapting designs from different cultures. One classic example of how we are following the Italian culture is as follows. Ewing (1975) observed that "a particularly strong influence exerted by Italy on fashion from the fifties onwards was the introduction - or rather revival - of the chunky sweaterFrom about 1954 the 'Italian' sweater was a much followed fashion - and with endless variations it still is." (p.171) If we go by the predictions of the futurologists we will witness yet another change soon. According to Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia " 'Smart' clothing will incorporate electronics. Clothing may incorporate wearable computers, flexible wearable displays (possibly leading to fully animated clothing, and some forms of invisibility cloaks), medical sensors, etc." (Future trends section, para. 2) Economic growth: Haye (1996) has observed "an economic boom, profound social change and full employment gave rise to a relatively affluent teenage market to whom fashion clothing was highly desirable." (p. 20) The consumers are becoming more indulgent as far as fashion is concerned and are demanding change continually as they buy all round the year. They are willing to pay anything if a particular dress makes them look trendy and different. Teenagers have more buying capacity when compared to their counterparts few years back. They are spending a great part of what they earn on clothes. Their demands are so high that teenage fashion has become a new and most important market. As air travel is within the reach of the consumers, they are getting aware of the latest in fashion from all over the world. Consumers are part of a multicultural society. Haye (1996) has found that "India, Turkey, China, Japan and North Africa are not only exciting places to visit but also has become a series of vast bazaars to plunder for decorations and dress." (p.96) Various fabrics are available cheap these days, which help in promoting change in fashion irrespective to the economic strata one belongs to. Due to mass production of clothes, cost per unit is relatively low. Since dresses are available cheap, it becomes easier for the masses to buy new clothes now and then and each time a consumer visits market his eyes search for something new from the last time he visited the market. Growth of fashion industry: Gone are the days when people used to doubt whether one could make a living if he chooses fashion as a career. The fashion industry is at an all time high. New fashion designers have changed the scene altogether. They are continually changing the styles of dress to maintain exclusiveness and be ahead of others. Fashion schools are churning out fresh designers each year. These fresh designers are well informed and well trained and brimming with fresh ideas. Apart from a good pay packet, those related to fashion also get fame and recognition and even awards as bonus of presenting new and unique styles. This is the reason why they get the motivation to work for ushering in the new style as often as they can. Now dresses are being designed for all occasions and for all kinds of people. So those who are fat have a huge choice today in comparison to a few years back. So do those who are old or pregnant. There is no dearth of option for anyone. New concepts like fashion festivals and fashion shows which focus in changing style are determining the continual change. In the past too new concepts accelerated continual change. Boutiques with aesthetic interiors and good background music played the tricks in 1950's. One of the pioneers in bringing in this concept was Mary Quant. She named her boutique, 'bazaar'. Haye (1996) observed that: Bazaar caused a fashion revolution. Its short production runs of youthful ready-to-wear clothes were a far cry from the established formula for formal, structured and highly accessorized styles. In comparison to haute couture prices, Mary Quant's clothes were considerably cheap. Rejecting the conventional categories of day and evening wear and seasonal collections, she produced new designs all year round. (p. 20) Another significant example that was detrimental in bringing about a change in the 1950's was the Japanese craftsmanship. The Japanese went to Paris - the traditional fashion capital of the world and combined the Japanese designs and French showmanship to establish a new style of fashion, which later traveled to other parts of the world too. Related to the above example is the next example that illustrates how designers keep on adapting, reviving and reworking old styles in order to meet the demands of continual change in style. Haye (1976) has found that "Ethnic clothing came to the forefront again in 1980's when top designer level and subcultural styles coincided to create an environment where 'The New Orientalists' could don original and fashion - inspired Rajah coats, Turkish embroideries and Chinese tunics." (p. 97) To conclude talking about the revival of designs Fox has rightly stated "everything comes around in circles if you wait long enough." (as cited in Haye, 1996, p. 148). Hence if fashion is dress in which the key feature is rapid and continual change of style then what was fashion yesterday will get revived and become new again, tomorrow. Word Count: 2465 'References' Ewing, E. (1975) . History of 20th Century Fashion. London : B T Batsford Ltd. Haye, A. D. L. (Ed.). (1996) . The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion. London : V&A Publications. Sichel, M. (1979) . 1950 to the Present Day. London : B. T. Batsford Ltd. Foundation, Wikipedia. (2006) . Retrieved June 11, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing Lu, Y. (2004) . CAMLA. Retrieved June 12, 2006 from http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/yanglu/ECC-CULTURE_CLOTHING.HTM Read More