Task 7/8- Reflective Writing

I focused on the extract named ‘Etymologies and Definitions of Fashion and Clothing’ from the book titled ‘Fashion as Communication’ written by Malcom Barnard. I chose to focus on this chapter as I find the strong mirror image of society in fashion interesting and would like to investigate it further.

The chapter gives an overview of the definition of fashion in terms of the etymology, related terms and it’s prevalence in various societal structures. The etymology of fashion was explored through the word being used as both a noun and a verb as well as the salient link to the latin root of the word fetish (suggesting fashionable items are fetishised items for consumerists).

One particular phrase, of Marx, in the article struck me;

“Every day we make decisions about the social position and role of people we meet based on what they are wearing: we treat their clothes as social hieroglyphics”(Barnard, 1996)

The metaphor of clothing being like hieroglyphics I find to be a very accurate depiction of fashions place and importance within society.

Flügal put forward concept to distinguish whether clothing being worn is fashion or not, he called these modish (fashionable) or fixed clothing. He believed the difference between these types of clothing lay in their relation to time and space. For example modish clothing is widespread but changes rapidly overtime, whereas fixed clothing is in fixed places but changes very little over time. Modish clothing can be exemplified by the current trend of belts being used to pinch the waist of silhouettes that is currently featured in the 2017 AW/W collections of fashion houses globally. In contrast fixed clothing can be exemplified by the traditional Malay dress known as the ‘baju kurong’ the same style of which has been worn for generations in Malaysia and surrounding countries alone.

However, Flügal stating that the modish costume ‘predominates the western world’ (Barnard, 1996) I believe to be outdated and inaccurate. It is a location-bias statement from a western perspective that has not taken the increasingly fast speed at which the Asian market is growing into account. Seoul, South Korea is an ultimate example of a thriving leader in fashion today, as demonstrated by the coverage of 2018 Spring Fashion Week by Vogue. An article by Business Insider also confirms Asia as a growing market through Mulberry expanding to Asia and experiencing an increase in profits. These prove that modish clothing is not exclusive to the western world but is growing elsewhere.

Another criticism of Flügals theory may be that it does not take reoccurring fashion trends into account or the use of vintage clothing. For example the style of the Teddy boys in the 1950’s was partly inspired by American Stars but also used old Edwardian suits. The inspiration of American stars means that the aspect of ‘space’ can be applied as however the use of Edwardian suits from decades previously means that the teddy boy style choice, according to Flügals theory, may mean that their clothing was not modish despite it being a renowned movement in fashion today.

Despite my criticisms of Flügals theory I do believe the general concept is perceptive, interesting and generally applicable when distinguishing between modish or fixed clothing.

Bibliography:

Barnard, M. (1996). Fashion as Communication. 1st ed. London: Routledge, pp.7-24.

Vam.ac.uk. (2017). History of Fashion 1900 – 1970 – Victoria and Albert Museum. [online] Available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-fashion-1900-1970/ [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].

Aris, G. (2007). The Power and Politics of Dress in Africa.

Pithers, E. (2017). The Autumn/Winter 2017 Trends. [online] Vogue.co.uk. Available at: http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/autumn-winter-2017-trends [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].

Profits, A. (2017). Asia is turbo boosting luxury bag maker Mulberry’s profits. [online] Business Insider. Available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/rise-in-mulberry-profits-following-asian-expansion-digital-sales-2017-6 [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].

Vogue. (2017). The Best Street Style From Seoul Fashion Week Spring ’18. [online] Available at: https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/seoul-fashion-week-spring-2018-street-style#9 [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].