What is Fashion?
Fashion is a cultural phenomenon that covers clothing, accessories, hairstyles, and makeup. It reflects individual tastes, societal norms, and historical influences. It also has the power to shape how people perceive and interact with each other.
The word “fashion” has many synonyms including style, mode, vogue, and craze. Fashion is generally considered to be a form of socially acceptable self-expression that can convey a sense of sophistication or up-to-dateness. It is closely related to trends, which are essentially short-lived fads that quickly become popular and then fade out of favor.
It is important for people to express themselves through their fashion choices and styles. Throughout history, fashion has been used to reflect personality, social status, and even moral values. For example, a woman wearing a miniskirt in the 1960’s symbolized feminist freedom and emancipation. While nuns wearing cassocks symbolized renunciation of vanity. Fashion is a way of life and a form of self-expression that is constantly changing and evolving.
While tailors, dressmakers and the textile industry were responsible for many innovations in clothing styles earlier, the professional designer is usually considered to have created modern fashion. The development of a new trend in clothing is often precipitated by events in the world or in society, such as political upheavals, wars, natural disasters, or new inventions. These trends may be popularized through media such as movies, magazines, and television shows.
A person who follows trends in their personal style and demonstrates a knowledge of current styles is considered to be fashionable. Developing a great fashion sense is not easy, it requires a good eye and a keen understanding of what shapes, colours & textures suit you best. It is often easier to follow a well-known fashion icon who has already figured it out for you, but a good stylist can help you develop your own personal style that will become a reflection of who you are, not just what’s popular right now.
The best way to stay on top of the latest trends is to get a stylist who knows you, your lifestyle and your body type. Your stylist will guide you to a unique, sophisticated style that is uniquely yours.
It is hard to determine when a trend becomes fashion because it depends on the time and place that the wearer is in. A certain look can be a fad that is swept up by the culture or it can be an artistic expression that appeals to the elite in a particular country. Fashion can also be influenced by the popularity of a movie, sports team, or music genre. The newest trends are often seen on the runways of high-end designers. Then they can be translated into the mass-market through advertisements, retail stores, and online. For something to be a fashion trend, it must be widely adopted. This can happen in a linear fashion (“trickle-down”) or it can occur more gradually through a network of individuals (“bubble up”). The latter occurs when an idea is spread from person to person through viral memes and media.