Fashion Studies test

Plato’s idea of imitation

All objects are imperfect copies of ideal forms

Copyright and clothing

Clothing is considered a useful article so ideas and forms can be copied

Thorstein Veblen’s concept

Conspicuous consumption — people buy clothes to display wealth

Why the upper class changes fashion

To stay exclusive after lower classes imitate their styles

George Simmel’s view of fashion

Balances imitation and differentiation — belonging and individuality

Gabriel Tarde’s key idea

“To exist is to differ” — individuality comes from difference

Actor-Network Theory

Both humans and objects have agency to influence fashion networks

Veblen Simmel Tarde connection

Fashion evolves through imitation class difference and individuality

Definition of modern/modernity/modernism

Modern = now

Modernity = era

Modernism = mindset

Phases of modernity

Feudal (500–1500) Early Modern (1500–1789) High Modern (1900–present)

Feudal modernity

Fixed classes and slow social change

Early modernity

Capitalism trade and urban growth

High modernity

Industrial capitalism and fashion as commodity

Fashion in modernity

Mass-produced and profit-driven

Main ideas of modernism

Self-expression fragmentation ambiguity and loss of unified self

Two meanings of culture

Standard of excellence and way of life

How fashion expresses culture

Represents appearance tradition and shared values

Subculture definition

Group separating from mainstream culture

Bricolage definition

Reusing ordinary materials to create new meanings

Confrontational dressing

Clothing that challenges mainstream norms

Cycle of incorporation

Subcultural styles absorbed into mainstream through media

Subcultural analysis idea

Cultural meanings are constructed and resisted through fashion

Bustle dress

Volume at the back symbolizing wealth and leisure

Paisley significance

Colonial trade and wealth symbol

Synthetic dye discovery

William Perkin 1856 — allowed bright colors

Why clothing wasn’t thrown away

It was expensive and often altered or redyed

Fashion as performance

Social events were used to display class and manners

Dress order and decorum

Wearing different outfits for each occasion and time of day

1920s silhouette

Boyish shape with dropped waist

Why tanned skin became popular

Showed wealth and ability to travel

Orientalism in fashion

Western designers borrowing “exotic” non-Western styles

Ethnocentrism/Eurocentrism

Viewing European culture as superior

Cultural appropriation

Taking cultural elements without consent or credit

Flapper fashion meaning

Symbol of women’s independence and rebellion

Interbellum period

Between wars — women gained freedoms

1970s shirt creators

Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren

Slashing technique

Cutting fabric to reveal layers beneath

Punk fashion traits

DIY deconstructed bright hair dramatic makeup

Counter-bricolage

Commercializing rebellious subcultural styles

Punk ideology

Anti-establishment individuality and rebellion

Fashion and music link

Punk identity shaped by bands like the Sex Pistols

Definition of taste

Learned cultural judgment of good vs bad style

Industrial Revolution fashion impact

Mechanization made clothes cheaper and faster

Post–French Revolution change

Sumptuary laws ended — freedom of dress

Gender in fashion

Men’s and women’s clothing began diverging

Department store impact

Made ready-to-wear clothes accessible

Haute couture and copies

Cheap imitations drive fashion innovation

WWI and women’s roles

Women gained independence and comfort in dress

Flapper meaning origin

Originally meant a rebellious young girl (negative)

Simmel’s trickle-down theory

Upper class sets trends that lower classes copy

Trickle-up fashion

Lower-class styles influencing upper classes

Coco Chanel’s innovation

Simplified designs for comfort and practicality

1920s production changes

Faster production synthetic fabrics practical trims

1970s fashion movements

Punk disco and reggae

Neoliberalism meaning

Minimal state interference — corporate dominance

Postmodernism in fashion

Rejecting single truths embracing individuality

Globalization effect

Offshoring and faster cheaper production

1970s individualism

Subcultures and rejection of conformity

Trickle-across theory

Fashion spreads horizontally across social groups

Connection between Veblen Simmel and Tarde

Fashion shaped by imitation class and individuality

Bricolage vs counter-bricolage

Bricolage = reuse

Counter = commercialization

Fashion and politics

Fashion expresses resistance power and identity

Fashion as commodity

Produced for profit under capitalism

Cycle of incorporation theory

Subcultural styles lose meaning when commercialized