Fashion is not always experienced on a physical, external level, but also on an emotional and
internal one.
There is also an innate sense of comfort in art and fashion that possess elements of art
that provides a space for belonging in the world through knowledge, understanding, and
acceptance that shapes the visual narrative of life.
In the words of Ralph Lauren, "I don't design clothes.
I design dreams."
Clothing and its presentation is a creative expression that is produced by a designer's
creative vision and passed to another through a nonverbal dialogue with much meaning, symbolism,
and purpose within each piece.
Fashion is an universal language that affiliates people, which is an ingrained need as it is
natural within human nature to long for to emotionally align with one another.
At times this is very much needed for individual expression and community.
Fashion provides a medium that can embrace people or alleviate cultural anxieties, hence
providing a safe haven for those who connect with it through aesthetics of unity that shape
the individual and collective cultural personality through subjective interpretations.
To understand how fashion designers from the past and present shape your life and look
as well as understanding of fashion as an art along with why people are drawn to certain
aesthetics, the origins of these concepts, and how these shape our style and lives we
will be looking into the semiotics of fashion.
which is the study of fashion and how people signify specific social and cultural positions
through dress.
It holds a symbolic and nonverbal communicative role that holds the capacity to express meanings
through aesthetics, design, and symbolism.
This is not only applied to garments but also fashion brands along with other channels of
fashion communications such as publications for instance.
Just as societal standards change due to time and cultural values the perceived meanings
of clothing change, but the fundamental meaning at its core formed at its origin will remain
unaltered.
Motivation on an individual level behind fashion can be semiotically broken down into four
categories.
Fashion as function for example protection, fashion as status that relates to symbols,
fashion as personal values which is where personal style is developed through self-expression,
and fashion as socialization which is acceptance or not.
Fashion is a form of non-verbal communication, hence rhetorical meanings are interlaced into
the design because of its artistry.
There is an inherent emotional response to visual arts and commercial stimuli.
This is understood through Neuroaesthetics which is a field of experimental science that
combines (neuro-)psychological research with aesthetics by investigating the "perception,
production, and response to art, as well as interactions with objects and scenes that
evoke an intense feeling often of pleasure."
-Due to the impact on brain wave patterns and emotions, this is due to regions of the
brain being activated by intense aesthetic responses.
Fashion -in the tangible sense is a visual form therefore take part in this due to the
elements of art.
But this is only a variable of fashion.
ARE WE TALKING CLOTHES?
ARE WE TALKING FASHION?
BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH, DO YOU KNOW THERE’S SO MUCH DIFFERENT LEVELS.
As Raf Simons states, “There is a very different kind of psychology going on in the fashion
scene than in art.”
On his own work he stated, “ I don’t want to show clothes, I want to show my attitude,
my past, present, and future.
I use memories and future visions and try to place them in today’s world.”
So by the act of not just wearing, but experiencing fashion, there is an impact on your mind and
well-being.
The same way that music, film, paintings, etc can produce feelings of hope, comfort,
and security- fashion also provides this on not only a physical but also a mental level
as well.
Clothing can be very motivational, a sartorial visual therapy that can aid in establishing
purpose, personality, and concentration.
Enjoying fashion does not always mean physical garment, but also the creative skills and
meanings behind fashion.
In regards to the world’s narratives, fashion is often deemed frivolous, but It’s social
scope that can capture an era and be a marker of societal change aside from its aesthetic,
physical, and visual offerings.
The fashion industry has shaped society and helped propel movements forward within areas
such as power distribution, identity, sexuality, and social or cultural debates.
FASHION TO ME, IS A REFLECTION OF CULTURE.
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT IF EVERYONE IS WEARING A TRENCH COAT- IT’S THERE TO REPORT ON THE
WORLD AT LARGE.
Although recognition is needed to refute this claim, there are times when fashion challenges
cultural anxieties- Fashion possesses elements of Art and art can change a person's outlook
and the way they experience the world, usually when something contradicts this people will
generally have bad responses as it challenges their world view.
Mass outrage and backlash may occur as a differing style holding alternate roots grows in popularity
and begins to be adopted into mainstream media and culture despite the well-meaning and intent.
WE HAD A LOT OF VINTAGE KIND OF CLOTHES WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT NEVER APPEARED IN AMERICAN
VOGUE.
THE FASHION WORLD DISCOVERED GRUNGE.
IT WAS THE FIRST TIMES I EVER RECALL OF HAVING STREET FASHION IN IN VOGUE.
I REMEMBER THAT THINKING THAT IS SO AMAZING TO SEE STREET STYLE- A SUBCULTURAL STYLE REPRESENTED
IN VOGUE.
THAT WAS SUCH AN IMPORTANT SHOOT, AND YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING THAT IS GOING
TO REALLY MAKE PEOPLE THINK AND BE SHOCKED.
The context and original meaning is often lost in translation when it departs from the
origin- people take it through their own perception, hence it may create tension and produce a
threat to traditional values along with the beauty or fashion standards of a cultural
era.
This is often when looks in fashion are considered to be extreme and are often demonized or blame
is cast onto someone in order to be able to pinpoint the issue, despite the issue not
rightfully being placed.
For example, Kate Moss and the Heroin Chic era.
PERFECTION MAY HAVE BEEN THE WORD AMERICAN MAGAZINE HARPER’S BAZAAR USED TO DESCRIBE
SUPERMODEL KATE MOSS, BUT SOME MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH PRESS WEREN’T QUITE SO COMPLIMENTARY.
This same narrative around Kate Moss who is a visual opposition to the glamazons of the
80s is the same fire underwent by Twiggy who’s fame opposed the ideal full traditionally
feminine figure of the 50s.
As German philosopher Walter Benjamin stated, “Fashion is the eternal return of the new.”
Trend cycles often come back with direct opposition over a period of time due to rejection of
previous ideals and a need for new visual offerings that will better align into the
cultural climate.
This is why what is usually opposed begins to be embraced.
This is often when the industry is viewed in a more shallow, vain or frivolous way due
to stylized visuals that aren’t always easily digestible to the general public due to a
lack of acceptance on a social level since it disturbs what is traditionally covered.
Typically high fashion is quite ahead, we see trends from the runway appear in next
year’s personal style.
There are times when personal preference does not align with what is “IN” as fashion
is often very personal due to personal style development and the connections one may form
within this journey of finding what they like.
It is important to be open and understanding to still appreciate, respect, and see value
in these moments as there is so much history, work, time, and people behind fashion.
Designers create a long-lasting impact that forms a safe haven through their clothing
while giving through innovative fashion that is not only visually captivating but also
emotionally as well.
This contributes new imagery, ways of dress, and messages to the world that shapes people’s
lives.
With more on this, today our guest High End Homo will speak on Queer and LGBTQIA+ Clothing
that shaped history:
This display highlighted around 100 articles of clothing, from eighteenth-century menswear
styles related with an arising gay subculture to 21st-century high design.
This was the primary historical center presentation to investigate inside and out the huge commitments
to design made by LGBTQ people in the course of recent years and won three huge honors.
The presentation won the 2013 Award of Merit from the Museum Association of New York, the
site won a silver MUSE grant from the 2014 American Alliance of Museums, and the distribution
won the 2014 Millia Davenport Award from the Costume Society of America.
Display guardians Fred Dennis, senior custodian of the outfit, and Valerie Steele, chief and
boss caretaker of The Museum at FIT, went through two years exploring and curating the
presentation.
They worked with a warning panel of famous researchers, including teachers George Chauncey,
Shaun Cole, Jonathan Katz, Peter McNeil, and Vicki Karaminas, just as FIT personnel and
other style experts.
“This is about honoring the gay and lesbian designers of the past and present,” said
Dennis.
“By acknowledging their contributions to fashion, we want to encourage people to embrace
diversity.”
“We also hope that this exhibition will transform our understanding of fashion history,”
added Steele.
“For many years, gays and lesbians were hidden from history.
By acknowledging the historic influence of gay designers, and by emphasizing the important
role that fashion and style have played within the LGBTQ community, we see how central gay
culture has been to the creation of modern fashion.”
From Cristobal Balenciaga and Christian Dior to Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen,
a considerable lot of the best style planners of the previous century have been gay.
Coordinated in generally sequential request, the show investigated the historical backdrop
of present-day design through the perspective of gay and lesbian life and culture, tending
to subjects including hermaphrodism, dandyism, glorifying and offensive stylish styles, and
the impact of subcultural and road styles, including drag, leather, and uniforms
The exhibition traced how the gay vernacular styles changed after Stonewall, becoming increasingly
“butch.”
Lesbian style also evolved, moving from the “butch-femme” paradigm toward an androgynous,
anti-fashion look, which was, in turn, followed by various diversified styles that often referenced
subcultures like punk.
The AIDS emergency denoted an essential mid-point in the exhibit.
Garments by various planners who passed on of AIDS, including Perry Ellis, Halston, and
Bill Robinson, were highlighted, as will a wide scope of lobbyist T-shirts for ACT UP,
Queer Nation, the Lesbian and Gay Rights March in Washington and the notorious Read My Lips.
Stressing that gay rights are basic freedoms, the show closed with a part on gay wedding
styles as the fashion articulation of the issue of marriage equality.
These designers go on to live in the hearts of many, they shape the look of people’s
lives even if people are unaware of the designer.
Their work both conceptually and physically goes on to be timeless with a lasting impact,
comes about in new ways, and exists in new forms as we take visual cues by integrating
these concepts, garments, and looks into our style.
Historical influences are not just inspirations to designers, but to all people.
Art is meaningful and fashion at times is a very powerful art form for us, even those
who designed long ago still dress us today.
Those who create fashion imagery are capturing an era in a still moment or sharing a message
in a beautiful manner that has been elevated to elaborate on topics visually.
This is accomplished in many ways as beauty is subjective.
The cultural effect of fashion being produced in this state is that it has the power to
destabilize many regulations and ideals of dress which allowed for a new market growth
while following the precedent of very influential high fashion designers down to the common
market.
Designers provoking cultural norms often pave a path in a time where it might be difficult
for people to speak out, be themselves, or have someone to connect to.
This is conceptual and lives on through the real lives of people.
Collections can be more time-oriented though and are a commentary of the current social
climate.
As Miuccia Prada states, “What interests me most is when a work of art is no longer
just an object, but also touches reality and life.
I want to make clothes that are beautiful of course, but also clothes that are interesting
and considered and intelligent and not out of place.”
In the spirit of the times, there are a lot of cultural anxieties that cloud people’s
minds, and quote-unquote normal fashion has altered to suit the needs of people.
This doesn’t mean fashion has come to a halt, but that it has adapted to provide differing
meanings than what is typically thought of.
Many dress differently and the images of fashion in the present times do still hold much power
and designers are contributing to the conversation of the world we live in while providing clothing
and words of wisdom to get us through these times.
For instance, Celine women's winter 21 Titled “Parade” was inspired by three French
decadent, libertine poets whose words of the excess pain of misspent youth are applicable
today.
Specifically, these lines are noted for the collection.
Paul Verlaine, who wrote “Her gaze is like the gaze of statues”; Arthur Rimbaud, who
penned, “I alone have the key to this savage parade”.
And Charles Baudelaire, who said, “My youth has been nothing but a tenebrous storm, peered
now and then by rays of brilliant sunshine”; Designer Hedi Slimane has taken the state
the world is in today and translated this poetry into the garments, atmosphere, and
emotions of the collection.
It’s a very chic collection that combats traditional standards through a balancing
act of elements and codes of dress.
Something that is very much needed and sought after now since fashion is taken differently
at this point in time.
Overall the collection is stylish in appearance as the image of the celine woman is but, with
laid back undertones that are almost mellow but still aware and hopeful.
This puts the themes of words of the poets in practice, relating it back to those who
view the collection through the emotions and messages of the garments.
With fashion containing many visual languages, the symbolism and meanings are easily misconstrued
due to the multiple perceptions of the subject, but when received well fashion is a place
of refuge or security where one can express themselves and feel a place of community or
belonging.
Each person will be drawn to an aesthetic or a few to suit their dimensions as an individual
and by default connect with others visually who also covet, sport, enjoy, and appreciate
the fashion especially in times of crisis fashion can bring us together on a larger
scale while providing relief through visuals that can align with one’s dream of who you
are, where you are going, where you belong, and what we identify with in terms of aesthetics.
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Thank you so much for watching.