When talking about the word ‘fashion,’ what do you think of?
Many people may think of beautiful clothes, high fashion on the runway, the decorations of the celebrities on the red carpet, or the shop windows of the leading department stores.
Some people may think of aristocratic toys. The entertainment of the elites that ordinary people could not access. Sounds extravagant!
Some people may think of many trends that have passed on the Instagram feed page or various social media.
Not strange, if you have a question as to why we are still interested in fashion since this world is full of various problems, including politics, environment, poverty, and hunger.
There are times when fashion may not be the answer to many problems in the world. And sometimes people see other people who are interested in fashion as being shallow.
But if an industry with an economic value of more than a trillion dollars drive consumption, culture and creates over a million jobs on this planet, then it would not be quite shallow to be thoughtful.
History and fashion
In the long history of humans, fashion has played an essential role since the day humans began to live together as a community.
With weaving fiber dresses and creating one’s own culture, clothing and accessories are the closest evidence of human skin and indicate the race, age, and status of the person.
A matter of style
Every day the question that we all have to answer is, ‘What should we wear today? Which is a difficult query to retort. We may have a full wardrobe but don’t know what to wear. It is because today, fashion has come a long way to go beyond just clothing to protect the body, tact, or even social status.
To be more accurate, it has become a matter of ‘style’ and personal taste. In short, if fashion is a modern and fast movement, style is the timeless root. These two things don’t just mean clothes but are ‘self-expression.’
Your fashion is your personality
Be it fashion or style; what we wear is the first thing that people will see and judge. It is an opportunity for the first impression. That we can tell a story about ourselves, including attitudes, beliefs, sexual orientation, and artistic taste, political positions, ethnicities, subcultures in which we live, or even our favorite artists.
All of these are symbols. It works like a secret language that people in the group know without having to say even a word.
This part of the feeling, responding to the deeper self that we all seek growth and the meaning of existence. We are always ‘choosing’ who we want to be on this earth, whether wanting to be different or to blend in with the crowd that surrounds us.
A form of expression.
As social media and games, the fashion industry is thriving. It is because it produces things that help meet the fundamental needs of the identities in societies that may not be exposed to fashion diversity.
Give us ‘choice’ to express ourselves, although that choice may not always be genuinely ours because we are always influenced by society and fashion.
On the contrary, just like fashion, rejection is another expression like ‘I don’t care about fashion.’ Not everyone follows fashion trends. Some people tend to go by their own principles, not caring about what others might think. And that is my friend, another form of expression of freedom!