Fashion as communication

Chapter 1 Taste, Fashion and The French Fashion Magazine

Sanda Miller

This chapter is about the philosophical aesthetics, art and the history of how fashion magazine have started in France and the way of how fashion magazine have developed and how it function.

First of all, aesthetics is a very personal thing to me, as different people have different aesthetics and I believe there won’t be other person would have the exactly same aesthetics as you but maybe only similar. From the chapter “philosophical aesthetics as a new branch of philosophy emerged during the enlightenment and to its enquiry was the concept of taste.”, I do agree that aesthetics is basically taste, however I don’t agree that it is a new branch of philosophy emerged as I think that aesthetics is something that is already there in your body when people were born, so I don’t really understand why is it a new thing to philosophy.

Then the writer has stated so much history of when and how the French fashion magazine have started, and how its target audience have transferred from upper class to a wider market where working women are also included. but I think the main thing that relates to fashion as communication is where the writer talks about fashion magazine editors’ aesthetics. They have to have a popular taste as they are the ones who directly affect the group of audience of the magazine. If they don’t have the same taste they may lose their audience but maybe will gain new readers as well. People’s aesthetics can easily affect by other, so fashion magazine’s editor is a very important role who can change people’s view on a garment or art piece. Their job is to lead people to like fashion and so they can help to lead a trend. Basically is something like “KOL” in Hong Kong, which stand for Key Opinion Leader, and they have a similar job as fashion magazine editors. The difference between them are KOL is independent, is like fashion blogger, they don’t publish magazine but facebook or instergram posts, and they earn money base on the number of Likes they get on the post. Fashion blogger do not have to have a common taste, they can have a unique aesthetics, however fashion magazine editor and KOL have to have a popular taste to keep their audience.

In summary, I don’t think that the writer had talk so much on the topic of fashion as communication. He stated too much history background but didn’t really discuss how taste and fashion communicate. As I think fashion can really communicate to other. The clothes or the style of you wear shows your personality. In everyday life, I can say that nearly everyone will judge you base on the clothes you wearing. People wear differently for different occasions. That’s why people will wear formally for interviews. He could have talk about fashion magazine shows different clothes and style, which means, reader can always get ideas and inspiration for their own style, and this is what communicant to others in real life, and not just between editor and reader.