In terms of meaning, fashion does not only meet one's clothing needs. It is necessary to evaluate it with a holistic approach. The word "fashion" derives from the French word "façon" and refers to the process of making something, creating a particular shape or style. According to the dictionary of the history of fashion, its use in English is increasingly associated with constant changes and alterations in clothing and personal adornment. In a way, fashion can also be expressed as the prevailing clothing style in a certain period.
We need to look more broadly at fashion, which does not only reflect the flow of clothing and beauty of the period. Considered from both historical and epochal perspectives, fashion exists as a result of a combination of various notions such as cultural structure, personal tastes, art and architecture, geographical needs, political processes and economic processes. Although it offers periodic similarities, it also affects personal tastes in cultural and economic terms.
Fashion is also related to technology. Although textile production processes, sewing and printing processes, fabric technology are the main variables, "future" conceptually affects fashion. Therefore, the point where technology reaches in social life is also included in fashion processes. When we think in terms of climate, many countries today are trying to support the climate movement in a small or big way, both politically and individually. For example, individuals now pay attention to recycled materials when shopping and care about the durability of products.
Although it has manifested itself before, the existence of fashion in our lives in its current sense begins in the 14th century. We see that the clothes worn at that time had both class and cultural meanings, as well as changing styles according to time.
Fashion today is considered in relation to modernity. Modernity is also conceptually defined within the framework of the ideas of three names. Charles Baudelaire, Walter Benjamin ve Stéphane Mallarmé. Benjamin conceives of modernity as a movement back and forth, a movement that connects the present with the past with the idea that there are some aspects that are similar to it. Baudelaire aims to capture the eternal from the ephemeral in modernity. Mallarmé's understanding of modernity is based on a keen grasp of the present.
Today, it is possible to see examples of these approaches actually applied in fashion. When we observe the periodic processes of Chanel, Vetemens and Gucci, we can roughly evaluate them as follows:
- Chanel mostly followed Baudelaire's approach to modernism.
- Vetemens produced collections with Mallarmé's approach, mixing the present and the past.
- Alessandro Michale's Gucci, on the other hand, adopted Benjamin's understanding of modernity, depicting time as "cycles" and "leaps".
Of course, in order to fully comprehend these processes, it is necessary to examine these brands in more depth. But we think it would be a good start to understand fashion from here.