"Designers continually persuade the public that their new ideas, however shocking they may seem, are in fact everything that a stylish wardrobe requires."
This is the greatest capability of fashion- the ability to make people feel like they need the newest trend. This drives the fashion cycle. This article brilliantly contemplates the Sociology behind this cycle.
"Are we really duped by such duplicity? Or are we willing participants in the cycle of fashion? And perhaps more significantly, what relevance does the cycle have today in Western society’s culture of mass consumerism?"
Metaphor: fashion cycle is like waves.
"Perhaps sheer boredom inspires the continual search for something new. Or can novelty be related to ideas of sexual allure and attraction? Do competing market interests in the fashion industry play a role in animating the cycle? Or could changes in dress function as markers of class differentiation?"
This is interesting. There are so many possibilities as to what drives the fashion world. Could it be a combination of all of the above? Our world has become so fast paced. When something new surfaces we are already ready for the next big thing. Are we bored or are we just numb to the sensation of discovering something new? We know America is a society where sex sells. That is also what can drive fashion. Fashion is about art, about collaboration, about inspiration, abut it is also about sex appeal. And ideas about what is sexy are continually changing and transforming. Competition also drives the cycle. Designers are constantly at war with each other to create the newest trend. While they feed off of each other to create these trends, there are always those with an edge.
"The apparently random, rapid overlapping of new fashions is not restricted to changes in dress, but can also be noted in areas of modern culture as diverse as painting, music, architecture, entertainment and systems of health care. In Western society’s media-based culture of mass consumerism and against a background of globalisation, fashion appears to serve reactionary purposes that both structure and affirm the identities of groups and individuals. From surfers and students to alienated middle-class youths and married working women, weekly changes in fad like styles give a sense of belonging whilst also distinguishing them from the masses."
Media and consumerism drive the fashion industry. Fashion becomes a lifestyle, and identity that has influenced, whether consciously or unconsciously, every aspect of American society.
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