Anthropological perspective

 From an academic lens, the sporting of various fashions has been seen as a form of fashion language, a mode of communication that produced various fashion statements, using a grammar of fashion.This is a perspective promoted in the work of influential French philosopher and semiotician Roland Barthes.

Anthropology, the study of culture and of human societies, examines fashion by asking why certain styles are deemed socially appropriate and others are not. From the theory of interactionism, a certain practice or expression is chosen by those in power in a community, and that becomes "the fashion" as defined at a certain time by the people under influence of those in power. If a particular style has a meaning in an already occurring set of beliefs, then that style may have a greater chance of become fashion.

According to cultural theorists Ted Polhemus and Lynn Procter, one can describe fashion as adornment, of which there are two types: fashion and anti-fashion. Through the capitalization and commoditization of clothing, accessories, and shoes, etc., what once constituted anti-fashion becomes part of fashion as the lines between fashion and anti-fashion are blurred, as expressions that were once outside the changes of fashion are swept along with trends to signify new meanings.Examples range from how elements from ethnic dress becomes part of a trend and appear on catwalks or street cultures, for example how tattoos travel from sailors, laborers and criminals to popular culture.

Kate Moss embodying cultural shifts in beauty standards, body image, and identity, blending grunge with high fashion.

To cultural theorist Malcolm Bernard, fashion and anti-fashion differ as polar opposites. Anti-fashion is fixed and changes little over time,varying depending on the cultural or social group one is associated with or where one lives, but within that group or locality the style changes little. Fashion, in contrast, can change (evolve) very quickly and is not affiliated with one group or area of the world but spreads throughout the world wherever people can communicate easily with each other. An example of anti-fashion would be ceremonial or otherwise traditional clothing where specific garments and their designs are both reproduced faithfully and with the intent of maintaining a status quo of tradition. This can be seen in the clothing of some kabuki plays, where some character outfits are kept intact from designs of several centuries ago, in some cases retaining the crests of the actors considered to have 'perfected' that role.

Anti-fashion is concerned with maintaining the status quo, while fashion is concerned with social mobility. Time is expressed in terms of continuity in anti-fashion, and in terms of change in fashion; fashion has changing modes of adornment, while anti-fashion has fixed modes of adornment.

From this theoretical lens, change in fashion is part of the larger industrial system and is structured by the powerful actors in this system to be a deliberate change in style, promoted through the channels influenced by the industry (such as paid advertisements).

Fashion industry

Fashion industry, multibillion-dollar global enterprise devoted to the business of making and selling clothes. Some observers distinguish between the fashion industry (which makes “high fashion”) and the apparel industry (which makes ordinary clothes or “mass fashion”), but by the 1970s the boundaries between them had blurred. Fashion is best defined simply as the style or styles of clothing and accessories worn at any given time by groups of people. There may appear to be differences between the expensive designer fashions shown on the runways of Paris or New York and the mass-produced sportswear and street styles sold in malls and markets around the world. However, the fashion industry encompasses the design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, retailing, advertising, and promotion of all types of apparel (men’s, women’s, and children’s) from the most rarefied and expensive haute couture (literally, “high sewing”) and designer fashions to ordinary everyday clothing—from couture ball gowns to casual sweatpants. Sometimes the broader term “fashion industries” is used to refer to myriad industries and services that employ millions of people internationally.

 In its most common use, the term fashion refers to the current expressions on sale through the fashion industry. The global fashion industry is a product of the modern age.In the Western world, tailoring has since medieval times been controlled by guilds, but with the emergence of industrialism, the power of the guilds was undermined. Before the mid-19th century, most clothing was custom-made. It was handmade for individuals, either as home production or on order from dressmakers and tailors. By the beginning of the 20th century, with the rise of new technologies such as the sewing machine, the rise of global trade, the development of the factory system of production, and the proliferation of retail outlets such as department stores, clothing became increasingly mass-produced in standard sizes and sold at fixed prices.

Although the fashion industry developed first in Europe and America, as of 2017, it is an international and highly globalized industry, with clothing often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold worldwide. For example, an American fashion company might source fabric in China and have the clothes manufactured in Vietnam, finished in Italy, and shipped to a warehouse in the United States for distribution to retail outlets internationally.

The levels of focus in the fashion industry consist of many separate but interdependent sectors. These sectors include textile design and production, fashion design and manufacturing, fashion retailing, marketing and merchandising, fashion shows, and media and marketing. Each sector is devoted to the goal of satisfying consumer demand for apparel under conditions that enable participants in the industry to operate at a profit.

The fashion industry consists of four levels: the production of raw materials, principally fibres and textiles but also leather and fur; the production of fashion goods by designers, manufacturers, contractors, and others; retail sales; and various forms of advertising and promotion. These levels consist of many separate but interdependent sectors, all of which are devoted to the goal of satisfying consumer demand for apparel under conditions that enable participants in the industry to operate at a profit.

The fashion industry has for a long time been one of the largest employers in the United States,and it remains so in the 21st century. However, U.S. employment in fashion began to decline considerably as production increasingly moved overseas, especially to China. Because data regarding the fashion industry typically are reported for national economies and expressed in terms of the industry's many separate sectors, aggregate figures for the world production of textiles and clothing are difficult to obtain. However, by any measure, the clothing industry accounts for a significant share of world economic output.The fashion industry consists of four levels:

1.The production of raw materials, principally fiber, and textiles but also leather and fur.

2.The production of fashion goods by designers, manufacturers, contractors, and others.

3.Retail sales.

4.Various forms of advertising and promotion.

The levels of focus in the fashion industry consist of many separate but interdependent sectors. These sectors include textile design and production, fashion design and manufacturing, fashion retailing, marketing and merchandising, fashion shows, and media and marketing. Each sector is devoted to the goal of satisfying consumer demand for apparel under conditions that enable participants in the industry to operate at a profit.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION

 In the past, fashion designers had a tough time finding work. Today, there are more opportunities than ever before! Fashion is all about showing off who you are, and it’s different depending on where you live, what time period it is, and even the weather! It’s not just about clothes either. Shoes, jewelry, makeup, hairstyles – all that stuff is part of fashion too. The Best Fashion Designing Colleges in Kolkata ensures that designers can get the benefits out of their talents and developed skill in today’s time. Fashion reflects our culture and can even influence society. Now, with fancy computers, designers can create clothes that are exactly what you want, made from special materials. Let’s take a trip through time and see how fashion design has changed!

Evolution of Fashion Designing:

Fashion has been around for ages, and it’s always changing! Back in the 1700s, men and women wore different clothes, and the styles varied depending on where you lived and what people saw in nature. Clothes weren’t just for keeping warm, they also helped people show off their culture and way of life. Even things like jewelry and hairstyles were part of the fashion scene.

The very first fashion designer we know of is Charles Frederick Worth, who opened a fancy fashion house in Paris way back in 1826. Fashion Design Courses often start by teaching students about this history of clothing.

Here’s the interesting part: Even though the content mentions architecture colleges, learning about fashion design history can be valuable for anyone! It shows how fashion reflects the times and how creative people can be in expressing themselves through clothing and accessories.

Evolution of Fashion Designing:

Fashion has been around for ages, and it’s always changing! Back in the 1700s, men and women wore different clothes, and the styles varied depending on where you lived and what people saw in nature. Clothes weren’t just for keeping warm, they also helped people show off their culture and way of life. Even things like jewelry and hairstyles were part of the fashion scene.

Roman Era:

Back then, what you wore showed how much money you had. Rich people, called aristocrats, got to wear fancy, expensive clothes. Poor folks couldn’t afford those nice things, so there was a big difference in how everyone dressed. Women wore long dresses called stolas, kind of like what we wear today, and men wore big draped sheets called togas.

Ancient Egypt:

Ancient Egyptians loved their jewelry! They believed they could use it in the afterlife, so they often buried it with them in their tombs. This tells us that Egyptians wore jewelry and used different colors in their clothes to show how important they were. Because it was so hot in Egypt, they liked to wear clothes made of linen, a cool and light fabric. Women wore long, pleated dresses, while men wore kilts.

Middle Ages:

In the Middle Ages, clothes were like a big sign saying how wealthy you were. Rich people wore fancy wool clothes, and the better the material, brighter colors, and longer jackets you had, the richer you looked. Rich men wore a whole outfit: a jacket, a skirt or a pleated tunic (kind of like a long shirt), and even a long coat on top. Women wore amazing dresses with all sorts of decorations, like butterflies and hearts, on their headpieces. Since kings and queens were the richest people around, they set the trends for everyone else. Even your hat mattered back then – the fancier it was, the higher your social rank!

Beginning of the 20th Century:

Fashion got a big shakeup around the 1900s! Paris became the center of fashion, and a new style called “haute couture” became popular. This meant clothes were one-of-a-kind, made especially for rich people. Designers would draw up patterns exactly how the customer wanted, kind of like getting a custom-made suit today. Then, in the mid-1900s, things changed again. Factories started making clothes in large quantities, so more people could afford new styles and trends. This meant people could finally choose clothes they liked and felt comfortable in, instead of just wearing what the rich people wore.

Fashion design today:

There are more fashion design jobs than ever before! IIFD the Top Fashion Design College in Kolkata or other universities in India come with the Fashion Courses that actually give value to the students to start their career in this field. These days, designers can create all sorts of things, not just clothes. Swimsuits, wedding dresses, clothes for men, shoes, purses – you name it! They can work in factories that make clothes for lots of people, or even help create new career paths in fashion, like stylists, makeup artists, or fashion photographers.

History of Fashion

The history of fashion design begins in Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt. In these cultures, clothing and fashion were status symbols. Those who were wealthy would wear expensive and stylish garments that were colorful, while the poor would wear neutral colors and their garments were cheap but useful. However, the poor would make their garments by hand, so they had to be for practical use like working, not for lounging. In the early ancient Roman Empire, women wore modest long dresses, and men wore togas. A toga was a symbol of Roman citizenship.

History of fashion refers specifically to the development of the purpose and intention behind garments, shoes, accessories, and their design and construction. The modern industry, based around firms or fashion houses run by individual designers, started in the 19th century with Charles Frederick Worth who, beginning in 1858, was the first designer to have his label sewn into the garments he created.

Fashion started when humans began wearing clothes, which were typically made from plants, people and your bones. Before the mid-19th century, the division between haute couture and ready-to-wear did not really exist, but the most basic pieces of female clothing were made-to-measure by dressmakers and seamstresses dealing directly with the client. Most often, clothing was patterned, sewn and tailored in the household. When storefronts appeared selling ready-to-wear clothing, this need was removed from the domestic workload.

The design of these clothes became increasing based on printed designs, especially from Paris, which were circulated around Europe, and eagerly anticipated in the provinces. Seamstresses would then interpret these patterns as best they could. The origin of the designs was the clothes devised by the most fashionable figures, normally those at court, together with their seamstresses and tailors. Though there had been distribution of dressed dolls from France since the 16th century and Abraham Bosse had produced engravings of fashion in the 1620s, the pace of change picked up in the 1780s with increased publication of French engravings illustrating the latest Paris styles, followed by fashion magazines such as Cabinet des Modes. By 1800, all Western Europeans were dressing alike (or thought they were); local variations became first a sign of provincial culture and later a badge of the conservative peasant.

In the 20th century, fashion magazines and, with rotogravure, newspapers, began to include photographs and became even more influential. Throughout the world these magazines were greatly sought-after and had a profound effect on public taste. Talented illustrators – among them Paul Iribe, Georges Lepape, Erté, and George Barbier – drew attractive fashion plates for these publications, which covered the most recent developments in fashion and beauty. Perhaps the most famous of these magazines was La Gazette du Bon Ton which was founded in 1912 by Lucien Vogel and regularly published until 1925.

Fashion

Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience's attention.Although people's attention is held by different things, because individuals have different preferences in entertainment, most forms are recognisable and familiar. Storytelling, music, drama, dance, and different kinds of performance exist in all cultures, were supported in royal courts, developed into sophisticated forms and over time became available to all citizens. The process has been accelerated in modern times by an entertainment industry that records and sells entertainment products. Entertainment evolves and can be adapted to suit any scale, ranging from an individual who chooses a private entertainment from a now enormous array of pre-recorded products; to a banquet adapted for two; to any size or type of party, with appropriate music and dance; to performances intended for thousands; and even for a global audience.

The experience of being entertained has come to be strongly associated with amusement, so that one common understanding of the idea is fun and laughter, although many entertainments have a serious purpose. This may be the case in the various forms of ceremony, celebration, religious festival, or satire for example. Hence, there is the possibility that what appears as entertainment may also be a means of achieving insight or intellectual growth.

An important aspect of entertainment is the audience, which turns a private recreation or leisure activity into entertainment. The audience may have a passive role, as in the case of persons watching a play, opera, television show, or film; or the audience role may be active, as in the case of games, where the participant/audience roles may be routinely reversed. Entertainment can be public or private, involving formal, scripted performance, as in the case of theatre or concerts; or unscripted and spontaneous, as in the case of children's games. Most forms of entertainment have persisted over many centuries, evolving due to changes in culture, technology, and fashion for example with stage magic. Films and video games, for example, although they use newer media, continue to tell stories, present drama, and play music. Festivals devoted to music, film, or dance allow audiences to be entertained over a number of consecutive days.

Some entertainment, such as public executions, are now illegal in most countries. Activities such as fencing or archery, once used in hunting or war, have become spectator sports. In the same way, other activities, such as cooking, have developed into performances among professionals, staged as global competitions and then broadcast for entertainment. What is entertainment for one group or individual may be regarded as work or an act of cruelty by another.

The familiar forms of entertainment have the capacity to cross over different media and have demonstrated a seemingly unlimited potential for creative remix. This has ensured the continuity and longevity of many themes, images, and structures.