Student Essay on Fashion

Fashion

Summary:   Examines the world of clothing and fashion design. Describes the influence of art on fashion. Concludes that fasion is an interactive art form where the wearer is an essential element of the art.

Fashion

Art, Clothing, and Fashion; when talking about fashion it is hard not to discuss clothing; and when speaking about clothes, it is hard to omit the influence of art. Thus, these three words go hand in hand to give meaning to each other. Art, clothing, and fashion influence each other and provide basis for us to understand each one. Anyone who has ever visited an art show or art museum can easily see that art comes in various forms. Art ranges from an oil painting hanging on the wall to a statue made out of diamonds. In the same way, fashion may be presented through different clothing each falling in different categories like; evening, gala, night, beach wear, etc.

Well fashion does not coordinate only towards clothing. We also have hair styles, make up, music and now a days even underwear. Each of these depends on the type of clothing chosen. Nevertheless in each category art is present and this criterion has been a debate argued for decades.

Let me first make clear that the fashion to which I am referring is high fashion. It isn't the sort of fashion meant for high street consumption, made by machines and propelled by mass production. The fashion I refer to is made through a creative process involving inspiration, vision, presentation, and a need by the designer to express a message through his or her chosen art form. I don't believe a t-shirt is made in this manner.

Secondly, what is art? Well this is probably the oldest question in cultural life. I've always been interested in the process of making a work of art - the act of creating and how the artist feels the need to communicate through art. So early on I defined art as any act of creation intended to convey a message through a process and/or a finished work. But how does fashion fit into this definition I hear you ask?

Fashion is a creative process that results in a finished garment. Fashion has always borrowed from other art forms whether they are textile patterns of ancient cultures or sport. Taking these insights, designers recreate a new language of art in the form of an item of clothing. They are artists working within the medium of cloth.

Allow me to explain how I got this idea of arts; Simply Renaissance and Baroque art. My Systems of Knowledge lecturer's first comment - and clearly intended for high impact - was "nothing in art is new, everything has been done before and all that can remain is interpretation." It sounded somewhat interesting! Surely the intentions of artists and art were to be totally innovative, totally fresh from previous thinking and design. Wasn't the role of the artist to invent and stimulate new ideas? My lecturer continued: the role of artists (and humans in general) was threefold: to contribute to life, to reflect life and to improve life.

As my now infamous lecturer stated, throughout history art's role has been to reflect the society in which it was created. Likewise, fashion is indicative of the era in which it exists. Images from historical art utilized clothing to assist in the narrative, conveying a message to the viewer. I can't imagine Van Dyck's ornate portraits without those epic, layered fabrics and costumes indicating social position; or the Angelic Musicians in his Ghent Altarpiece wear robes that could easily have been worn on last seasons Italian style Gucci models. His was a study in fashion as much as pose and painterly techniques. Fashion was essential within his artistic narrative.

Something interesting is the recent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York entitled "Bravehearts: Men In Skirts" examined the skirt as a male equipment throughout history. Hip-hop and other modern clothes - which wouldn't actually be considered skirts - also showed evidence of the outfit. Such multi-cultural references directly reflect our modern and ever changing society in the West. Fashion, then, is an interactive art form where the wearer is an essential element of the art.