what is fashion?
the inevitably kramtopian blog about fashion
What is fashion?
Concepts diverge across humanity, splintering people into different classifications; fragments of ideology.
Belief in God is mono-, pan-, panen-, heno- theistic. Government shall reign by democracy, oligarchy, monarchy, autocracy — or by communism, socialism, dictatorship. Money is hard, soft, paper, dependent on credit lines, digitized, inflated, deflated, normalized, accepted, a figment of the imagination. Love is real and love is at first sight and love is dead and love is beauty and love is a lie and love is all that matters and love thy neighbor and love thyself and love hurts and love, love, love.
Fashion is whatever you think it is.
What is fashion?
A popular trend?
2023 is the year of red, cargo pants, sheer clothing, reimagined denim, shine, maxi skirts, and cobalt blue, according to Refinery 29.
A form of self-expression and autonomy challenging the status quo?
Flappers come to mind, the subculture of western women in the 1920s who had the audacity to wear short skirts and bobbed hair. They listened to jazz and flaunted disdain at their foremothers, certain they could combine what was and what could be into a better now for women.
A manner of doing something?
The Island of Murano, the translucent sister to Venice, the Island of Canals, is known for its glass-making. The master craftsmen of Murano can be traced back to Rome and the Byzantine Empire, where archeologists say the production of glass began in the late 1200s. I recently visited Murano and saw the glass-making occur in person, wherein sand, a raging forge, and years of experience were combined to fashion a beautiful racehorse that now sits stridently atop my counter.
Fashion is an outlier the masses love.
What is fashion?
Fashion is a dichotomy; blending when notice must be escaped and masking when confidence must be conveyed.
Imagine a large room, a party. To escape notice, leverage fashion via muted colors and understated apparel. The introvert is safe, secure, invisible — wrapped inside a cocoon of their own making.
Imagine a large room, a party. To mask discomfort, leverage fashion via loud colors and a vibrant ensemble. The introvert is playing the extrovert game — hiding behind a facade of their own making.
Fashion is the armor of an introvert.
What is fashion?
Something that worries me about ~our society~ is math, the maker of ubiquity.
The world is a smarter, more efficient place than it was 100 years ago and with that ~progress~ comes sameness. You see this everywhere as companies, people, and systems converge upon a single ~fashion~ that yields the most efficient set of results.
Cars look the same because auto manufacturers must appeal to a broad audience, meet certain engineering standards, and bring in as much profit as possible.
Instagram models are all maximizing for Kardashian cheekbones and bronzed skin. Purse those lips, accentuate the jawline, lashes long. Beauty is in the algorithm.
Sports are losing the sameness battle too. Football teams throw. Baseball teams maximize for dingers. Basketball teams only shoot threes.
Fashion is the outcome of worldwide math.
- kram