What is Fashion?
Fashion is a multifaceted concept that describes clothing, footwear, accessories and cosmetics. It can also refer to the latest trends in a particular society or culture. In general, fashion changes more quickly than the culture itself, and it can be influenced by major events such as wars, political unrest, social movements or discoveries. Fashion is often considered to be the most powerful form of expression, because it is a way to display one’s individuality and a sign of belonging to a certain group.
In the past, fashionable clothes were expensive and only available to a small number of people. They were a status symbol, a sign of wealth and distinction. The rise of mass production has made these dresses more accessible, and people can now buy designer clothes at a fraction of the cost of originals. Nevertheless, high-fashion designers like Chanel and Dior can still charge a lot for their clothes, and they have a significant influence on the style of popular clothing.
Clothing has always been a cultural phenomenon and an important indicator of identity. Clothes can convey a sense of time and place, such as the miniskirt in England which was inspired by youth culture and feminism in the 1960’s. They can also express values and beliefs. Judges wear robes, soldiers wear uniforms, and brides wear white dresses. Fashion can even be used as a political weapon: In nineteenth century England, laws prohibited women from wearing clothes imported from France; during the twentieth-century Communist revolution in Eastern Europe, fashions moved from Paris to Moscow.