WHY FASHION ISN’T AS SUPERFICIAL AS YOU’D THINK IT IS.
“There’s always fashion. It’s a basic human instinct. And it’s very much about humanity and freedom, and it’s not very superficial at all.” Vanessa Friedman
Cape Town is a hub of some of the most stylish and eccentric people on earth. The city’s pulse is beating with an unfathomable amount of colour that I can’t help but consistently stand back and be mesmerized by it. It is Cape Town who has empowered me to appreciate the beauty of fashion– and it is Cape Town who has revealed to me that fashion isn’t as superficial as I’d first thought.
Fashion is dumbed down as an industry of smoke and mirrors — and while I agree that indeed its depth is certainly not that profound, I acknowledge that it’s much more than merely a concoction of trend forecasts and colour sheet predictions. The industry’s impact on society in general is long lasting and shockingly distinctive. To be honest I used to be embarrassed to be so interested in fashion because I knew that the automatic assumption would be that I was therefore shallow, narcissistic and inauthentic. After getting over myself, I’ve since recognized that fashion is a form of humanity that is instinctual in all of us and more significantly is very much part our freedom of thought and self-expression.
While I admit that my love of clothes makes for an expensive retail therapy habit — I acknowledge that fashion is a form of creativity and expression that goes far beyond what meets the eye. I don’t always intend to heavily analyze people’s dress sense too seriously (okay I’ll be honest I do find myself looking people up and down in a much too obvious manner) but I can’t help but perceive the correlation between one’s personality and their style.
Fashion is a powerful entity that marks society. It’s even traceable through history — from the Egyptians, the Indians, the Incas and the African’s and their tribal-wear. Adorning the body is therefore an insurmountable human need — proving to be nothing superficial at all unless of course you’re excessively materialistic.
What’s more is that fashion as an art form in itself has the intense power to evoke social transformation and experiment with ideas surrounding sexuality and body image. The thing that really bothers me though, is that people are very supercilious towards fashion. The industry consists of many hard-working, talented and highly intelligent people who take what they do very seriously. There is a huge amount of responsibility that goes into sending clothes down the runway season after season. The ordinary person sees nice clothes, but the industry professional sees a myriad of talents and languages sewn together to express an underlying message.
When I look at labels such as Lanvin, Louis Vuitton and Givenchy I appreciate the power of fashion because these labels have empowered not only a select few women, but generations of them. This is apparent even in the logomania of the millennials, where the Louis Vuitton ‘LV’ symbol became an international symbol of class, success and style. This is significant because even though the House of Louis Vuitton was founded all the way back in 1854, its resounding impact is still fathomable in the industry and the world today. Even though I personally think that power brands such as Louis Vuitton encourage society to become somewhat more materialistic and potentially superficial — it’s evident that the consumer of these brands feels differently. The ordinary (well-endowed, might I add!) consumer of fashion powerhouses often satisfies themselves in the untold empowerment and confidence that these expertly made clothes give them. Whether it is rich unemployed housewives seeking comfort in the therapy of shopping or independent women who work hard for their capital — it’s undeniable that there is a certain power that all people seek through clothing.
In all honesty, it is disappointing to see those who are too caught up in the industry and are drastically affected by materialism. When I look at people such as Anna Wintour and Victoria Beckham I almost want to tell them to stop taking themselves so seriously. This disappoints me because fashion ought to represent freedom and individualism because it’s essentially a form of art that’s a mesh of creativity and personality.
Fashion has also transformed into a hybrid of technology and art — with houses such as Hermes merging with companies such as Apple for their new iWatch. That’s groundbreaking because it’s a testimony to the power of fashion: fashion is no longer merely what we wear anymore. It’s what we see, what we do and most importantly: how we do it. The fashion industry in the UK alone is worth over 28 Billion pounds — making it bigger than even the automotive industry!
Ultimately, fashion is an elevated form of art that speaks of society far more than perhaps we give it credit for and this is why it’s not as superficial as you’d perhaps first thought.
