Fashion Evolution - What do you think fashion is evolving into?

[honeypiekatie]

“We're a nation that allegedly cares a lot about appearances, but we seem more interested in following the pack than about making any bold statements.”​

-Michelle Lee, writer of A Nation of Sheep​

Is this what fashion has come to? Are we really no longer evolving and no longer creating fashion but clothing? What are your thoughts?? Here are some thoughts to get your juices running and your opinions raging:
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• Due to technological advancements, an increase in migration and communication flows especially in the wealthier nations such as Australia and America the contemporary world has over time been exposed to western media, lifestyle and culture. Western fashion has, as a result, crept its way into every culture and varying lifestyle and in some way has impacted upon them. Fashion, traditionally has functioned as a way of determining ones identity, social status, gender, beliefs and place in society. However, with the influence of globalisation on fashion a sense of uniformity has swept across the world, promoting western fashion as the idea of ‘trendy’ and ‘stylish’.
  
  • Accessibility of fashion has become easier and faster with the increase in popularity of online shopping. Now people worldwide can access the exact product as sold in the wealthy western societies such as America. Not only does online shopping reinforce this but the expansion of massive American retail outlets. One example of this is the retail store GAP. Gap is now established in nearly 50 different countries across America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Some of the most traditionally culturally diverse nations have now been exposed to the exact products available in the western world. Some of these places include Egypt, Slovenia and Quatur.

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What are your thoughts? Is fashion evolutionary???​

 

[BetteT]

Good topic ... but I see that no one has taken on the question on yet, so I thought that a change in title might make a slight difference.

My thoughts ... what people wear is definitely becoming more homgeneous. And it's definintley getting more westernized, I would say. There are not a lot of developing nations that don't know what western clothing looks like and they seem to want it.

As I travel, I've noticed that you see western style clothing everywhere, not just on the tourists. I recently took a trip to Fiji and the native men still wore a sulu (sort of a skirt/ sarong) for special occasions and it was the uniform for the schools ... but very conservative western dress is common for day to day activities.

I think that this is partially because of the spread of media ... TV, movies, and the internet. And it's partly because of western societies colonizing a lot of far flung places like Fiji. Westerners bring their customs and dress ... and their businesses, too. And the big brands, like GAP, can take advantage of all of that ... and open stores in as many countries as they can.


Fashion is evolving, but not into different types of dress ... just the opposite. It's becoming one big planet, with everyone dressing pretty much the same.

 

[ckgirlbr]

I agree with you. I was in Europe last year, then when I came back to my country in South America, I noticed the same. Maybe it takes a while until the trends arrive here, but I noticed the clothes sold in department stores were very similar to the ones I saw in the other continent...And on the streets, the same. And not only women, but men too. It was even scaring; you know the whole globalization phenomenon is out there, but realizing how the world's become uniform kind of freaked me out.

 

[mishahoi]

I was speaking with designer Rebecca Taylor for my job once, and she voiced the same thing "We used to design for each market, but now what's popular in the US is popular in Asia. It's pretty much the same."

 

[Lapin de Lune]

This also reminds me of how I came across a fashion blog written by a Korean girl last week, who wrote about how many Asians are undergoing surgery so that even their faces will become more western looking. This is entirely a different topic, I know, but it does illustrate a similar movement in the direction of sameness.

The dawn of the internet will have propelled this immensely.

 

[The Moon]

The globalization of fashion is all the more reason to interpret clothes and trends in your own way and to express yourself truly as an individual. Anyone can just wear the newest trends, it takes nearly no style or imagination to do that... I'm all for unique personal style.. looking at trends, shapes and architectures and creating something new that expresses your own creativity. I would hope that once it gets to the point where everyone is dressing so much alike all over the world, there will be a big influx of very unique personal style. Think Tavi.