The book ‘Fashion as Communication’, written by Malcolm Barnard discusses key debates within the concept of fashion.

Primarily, Barnard discusses the difference between ‘fashion’ and ‘anti-fashion’. Within this, Simmel believes that for fashion to be established, there are ‘two social tendencies’: being in union with society but maintaining your social identity. The text then includes explanations from Polhemus and Procter about the definitions of ‘anti-fashion’ in contrast to ‘fashion’; ‘anti- fashion’ is a ‘symbol of continuity’ whereas fashion is constantly changing with each season. Moreover, Burnard discusses how fashion is seen by some as ‘trivial pursuits’ and that ‘serious-minded people’ see it as an unimportant subject. Braudel’s disagree with this, stating that fashion ‘touches on every issue – raw materials, production processes…’ (Braudel 1981:311). Furthermore, the text discusses how the word ‘design’ is perceived to have a lower status in European culture than ‘art’. Some believe that in order for fashion to have a higher status, it would have to change its name to something with the word ‘art’ in such as ‘applied arts’.

The understanding of the difference between ‘fashion’ and ‘anti –fashion’ is agreed upon by James Laver (1899) and Charlies Baudelaire (1821) in ‘Fashion Media: Past and Present’. Laver stated that fashion is contemporary in comparison to costume and Baudelaire explained that fashion is modernity; ‘the transient, the fleeting, the contingent: it is one half art, the other being the eternal and the immovable’ (Baudelaire 1972: 403)

Elise Leveque disagrees with Art having a higher rank than Design and states they have equal ranks; ‘both designers and artists create their own visual interpretations and compositions with the skills and knowledge set they have’. Leveque concludes the two are equal but have ‘a different set of aesthetic values’. (thedeependdesign, 2013)

I agree that art and design are two separate subjects so they can’t be compared so closely as to give one a higher rank than the other. I believe that design is important as it makes up everything around us. From a table we sit at to an artist’s canvas, everything has to be designed first. Furthermore, Fashion Design, which is just one area of design, is a huge contribution to the economy and society, as Braudel stated. The United States congress stated that ‘Fashion is a $1.2 trillion global industry’. (The Economic Impact of the Fashion Industry, 2015)

I disagree that fashion is trivial. Burnard writes that ‘serious-minded’ and intelligent people are uninterested in fashion. Although I agree there are important issues to worry about such as the starving populations in Africa or global warming, I believe fashion shouldn’t be devalued as a subject. Fashion allows economy to thrive and society to identify themselves. I believe it is contradictory for serious-minded, intelligent people to say fashion is trivial as I think it’s less intelligent for them to agree with each other rather than having their own opinions. The importance of fashion is highlighted by Gerda Buxbaum in the opening of ‘Fashion in Context’. Buxbaum states that fashion embodies a large variety of topics such as ‘myth, lifestyle, gender, bodies in consumer culture… uniformity, identity (and its loss).’

I believe the first chapter of ‘Fashion as Communication’ brought up key issues within fashion which was interesting to acknowledge and reflect upon. It is clear that fashion and the place it has in the economy and society is vitally important.

Bibliography:

Barnard, M, (2002), ‘Fashion as Communication’, 2nd edition, Routledge

Buxbaum, G, (2009), ‘Fashion in Context‘, Springer Vienna Architecture

Bartlett, D, (2013), ‘Fashion Media: Past and Present‘, Bloomsbury Academic

Leveque, E, (2013), thedeependdesign.com, Available from: http://thedeependdesign.com/art-vs-graphic-design-the-debate-rages-on/

Maloney, C. B, (2015), Joint Economic Committee: United States Congress, Available from: https://maloney.house.gov/sites/maloney.house.gov/files/documents/The%20Economic%20Impact%20of%20the%20Fashion%20Industry%20–%20JEC%20report%20FINAL.pdf