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Fashion: A means to define or confine and what does it mean to you?

When we think of fashion, how do we define it? Is fashion something that is currently trending? Is fashion choosing and deciding what looks best on you? Is there one definition of fashion that sits with everyone? How and what has been defining fashion over the decades? Or better yet, how has fashion been defining us?

History of fashion

Image credit: Wikipedia

To understand today’s fashion we need to understand when clothing became fashion. From a functional item of covering for the body to one that was changed on a whim or a fancy, fashion can be seen as a perfect mirror to the growth of civilisations of the world. Clothing was not considered as fashion or something you equip to express your personality and individuality. In India, in fact clothes weren’t even sewn. Many times a long piece of fabric was taken and draped as a saree or pleated into a dhoti giving the wearer the freedom to wrap and drape as they wished – a singularly individualistic and modern concept.

Image credit: Archive.org

Image credit: Project Runeberg

As we transitioned to the times with rulers and kings, clothing became an instrument to exhibit social status. In the Medieval times, tailors and seamstresses were employed at wealthy homes to create “custom” clothing for members of the house, such that every item was fitted perfectly while evoking the personality of the wearer. Often the fabric too was woven in-house.

By the mid nineteenth century, stores began manufacturing and selling ready-to-wear clothing which were a general size but not tailored to fit precisely. Industrialisation led to mechanisation and to feed this, production of garments had to increase to make it profitable to run those machines. Hence giving birth to ready-to-wear clothing and the beginning of mass production. The increased turnover of garments also led to a considerable lowering of prices which fuelled the growth of this process even further, creating more options and choices people hadn’t seen before and generating desire for “more” in the customer. So instead of producing pieces, keeping in mind the likes and preferences of the customers, pieces were now made based on what was popular or more in demand. This eventually led to the redundancy of the in-house seamstresses and even the neighbourhood dressmaker. And the shortage of these skilled workers further made their services more expensive, making the mass produced clothing more appealing.

Image credit: LACMA

This ‘trend’ of buying clothes that were made in bulk and not necessarily for their lasting appeal or quality became the new norm and came to be known as fast fashion. A new model of production was born where clothes were produced en masse every few months based on the need for something new. These days, the lion’s share has shifted to buying these bulk produced clothes. People want to wear what is trending as opposed to wearing what compliments them. Majority of the people believe in the notion of “fitting in” and needing to conform to a popular way of thinking rather than being left out.

Advertising took fast fashion up a notch and with the advent of Social Media we have hit an all time global high of wanting something new, NOW! With the rise of social media, global boundaries have blurred but with that our indigenous strengths of recycling, reusing, repurposing have lost their value in light of a highly advertised latest New Look. The famous New Look of Christian Dior was not so much as something New, but was a completely new silhouette which he didn’t change for many years to come! In fact, although his New Look was still within the realm of couture, it led to many similar patterns being sold in the haberdashery sections of department stores; however it still didn’t denote fast fashion as we know it. The trouble with fast fashion today is that it compromises on the quality of labour and resources to get you the product at a low price which we wear for a short period of time only to be tossed in favour of our next new favourite.

India, although a little late to the game of fast fashion, has suffered less in this regard until the recent trend of social media frenzy which has taken over the Indian fashion scene. Indians have historically been a more cautious society when it came to spending on fashion. We recognise the need to adorn and bedeck the body as is detailed in our ancient rituals of Shringar. We also come from a country that possesses a rich heritage of sumptuous silks, cottons and vibrant prints from different parts of our country but never has the need for any of these things been a matter of “keeping up with the Joneses”. Mothers spent years collecting the perfect paithani or the Kanjeevaram for her daughter’s wedding and hand-me-downs to our younger siblings was a matter of “when will I get it?”.

But today, beautiful photographs and enticing imagery of idyllic lifestyles, have made snapshots of a moment appear as a reality for many. Due to today’s quick upload ability, a new image, a new look can be achieved in record time anywhere and anytime, making people feel under pressure to stay “updated” with the trends. Coupled with the advancement of technology, shopping is now a virtual dream. With ease in accessibility, one can easily purchase clothing , jewelry, shoes, bags and even furniture with a click of a button. With the lightning quickness of buying, returning and refunds, we are able to shop faster than we ever imagined. Which is fantastic in terms of technological advances but it erodes our ability to process our buying decision.

So we need to ask –

While fast fashion gives the shoppers a million choices to choose from there still lies a dilemma. The question being are we really getting more options to choose from or are the numerous choices just confusing us furthermore and we end up buying a lot more so as to not miss out?
And are we purchasing these pieces because it’s a way to depict and express who we are or are we buying them because everyone around us is and we want to mimic them?

The line between need and want has blurred, making us buy things we don’t necessarily need, but want, due to its popularity. Why has fashion become something you want in order to fit in, as opposed to something you need because it makes you, you?

To end this topic, we leave you with these questions –

  1. Who decides what’s in fashion? You or Trends?
  2. Why do you buy the things you do? Because you love it? Because this is your form of self-expression?
  3. Are we buying what we actually need?
  4. Would you wear your mother’s wedding “Joda” for your own wedding?    

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The Love Edit

A Blog by Loveshafali

The Love Edit

A Blog by Loveshafali