Verified Document

Fashion Industry Answers A Need Term Paper

Related Topics:

Fashion industry answers a need and does not make consumers buy unnecessary items. Fashion's primary purpose is to distinguish members of different cultural groups. In this way, fashion has existed as part of society since prehistoric times. While modern fashion appears to take cultural differentiation to an extreme, an examination of previous trends shows that some fashion choices have always been extreme. Therefore, the fashion industry answers an existing need.

While fashion may have many purposes, its primary purpose is to distinguish members of different cultural groups. Whether discussing different tribes in Africa or different cliques in a modern American high school, sociologists can use fashion to determine group membership. More importantly, people inside the various groups can determine group membership by observing an individual's choice of fashion.

In addition, this use of fashion predates written history. Drawings and other artistic renderings make it clear that people have long used clothing and other adornments to help establish group identity. From the toga to the miniskirt, fashion has helped people establish their individual roles in larger groups.

In addition, while some modern forms of fashion may seem so extreme that they cannot be fulfilling an inner need; this view does not take into consideration worldwide historical fashion trends. Tattooing, body piercing, and dramatic makeup are only three ways that people have used fashion to dramatically alter personal appearance. No matter how outrageous and commercial modern fashion trends may appear, they pale in comparison to trends like neck stretching or foot binding.

Because fashion serves a legitimate purpose, which is to distinguish the members of different cultural groups, the fashion industry answers a need. Furthermore, fashion has fulfilled this same need since long before the industrialization of fashion. Finally, while some aspects of modern fashion may be aimed at encouraging people to purchase different items to signify their group membership, such a goal is relatively benign compared to earlier fashion trends. As a result, it is clear that fashion answers a unique human need: the need to belong.

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Fashion Industry the Decline of the Department
Words: 1367 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Fashion Industry The decline of the department store has been ongoing for a number of years. I agree with the general statement that department stores in struggling in part because they have facing a more competitive environment. Not only do department stores compete against each other, but they also must compete against discount stores, specialty stores and category killers. In essence, the department store is a generalist in an environment full

Gender and the Fashion Industry:
Words: 1943 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Also, all women must be pressed to ask why they seek to embody the female ideal of beauty, and are willing to sacrifice so much to do so. Even if the fashion industry were to ban all models wholesale beneath a BMI of 18.5, while male chauvinists might delight in the curves of the models gyrating on the catwalks of Milan, the ideals held up for women to fulfill

Career in the Fashion Industry Knows, There
Words: 571 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

career in the fashion industry knows, there is a lot more to designing clothes than simply having and executing a vision in fabric. There is a lot of paperwork involved in getting a design made in the professional world, and not just drawing paper. There are specific expectations that manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and others have in regards to what they will receive from designers and design companies, and if

Fashion Buyer Brand Own Branded Labels Include
Words: 2662 Length: 8 Document Type: Essay

Fashion Buyer Brand Own branded labels include the labels that the stores themselves go on create. Store brands or own products are an array of products that are sold by the retailer less than one marketing identity. The retailer itself designs, produces, packages and markets the goods. All of this is carried out such that there is a strong and a profitable relationship created between the customer's base and the products. On

Fashion and Its Influence on Identities
Words: 2123 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

Fashion Lifestyle&Consumption and it's influence on identities Fashion, lifestyle, and consumption and their influence on identities Fashion plays a huge role in presenting visual images of a person and some even relate to fashionable objects such as garments as though they were humans able to represent them. Direct contact and intimacy with fashionable objects such as garments influences how a person's image is presented and especially the intimacy of the garment with

Fashion When a Woman Walks Down the
Words: 1348 Length: 4 Document Type: Research Paper

Fashion When a woman walks down the street carrying a Louis Vuitton handbag and strutting in her Jimmy Choos, what does she say about herself? Her lifestyle? Where she is from? When a man walks down the street carrying a fake Louis Vuitton handbag and strutting in her cheap plastic pumps, what is he saying about himself? When Trayvon Martin walked through his neighborhood wearing a hoodie, George Zimmerman instantly thought

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now