Every time that someone asks me what my degree is on, and I answer 'Fashion Design', I feel their expression changing. People still having the concept that fashion is something futile and, studying it just means that you love going to shop. I mean, yeah I do love it, but this has nothing to do with my 4 years in college.
At the end of my career I needed to choose between: making outfits for a runway; creating a photoshoot for a magazine; or writing a monograph. After all those years in a school of design, I felt that some writing would be welcomed to close this chapter in my life. Not because I haven't really write during my classes, but because would be a straight message for both who thinks that fashion is something superficial and, also, for people from the fashion industry that believes only a runway can really express our work.
So, there I was, searching and reading and writing for so many hours and months, trying to better explain my perspective about HOW FASHION IS IMPORTANT IN OUR SOCIAL LIFE - and how every single person in the world is affected by it, even without noticing it. In my thesis I choose the Counterculture movement to be my scenario of how fashion can be used far away of the runways and still be important.
For those who don't know: the Counterculture was a social movement, initiated by the young people from the 50/60's, who were against all the patriarchy culture + politic s+ art and music - and basically everything - that was in their lives from their parents. They were middle class +up, in the university, with access to study and with a strong political opinion. You can think that, they all were hippies, but you are wrong. They had different groups, but almost only one thought: change the world that they were living in.
Their clothes were one of the most important symbol of their rebellion, based in each group and their own style. These young adults could know if they were from the same tribe just looking at each other in the streets and, most important, the older generation could also identify them by the way that they look: the complete OPPOSITE from their parents.
Clothes are more than just some fabrics that we use to cover and protect our bodies. Fashion is more than a superficial subject that people can just ignore. It is history, sociology, philosophy, psychological and, definitely, political. It is because what we wear that we show to the others who we are (or who we want to be) in less than 5 second - without saying ANY word. It's with the right outfit that we go to that job interview, or to a date. It's wearing the uniform that we convey confidence from patients or clients. A judge would not be respected if he wore ripped jeans and a T-shirt saying 'I love weed' in the court. And, also, for the history of the humanity, to study and understand the civilizations, their customs... we utilize the clothes, fabrics, accessories of that time.
It is scientifically proven that, every single person thinks (subconsciously) about what he/she is going to wear, every day. Even if you are staying home the whole day just playing video games, there is a reason for the pick of that specific white shirt and shorts that you chose. For every occasion. For every event. Always.
Fashion, as we know, has only began to exist during the XIX century, with the bourgeoisie and the 'individual society'
created by them. This means that, not only the Royals could choose what they would wear, or the colors that were for them, but, now, the work rich people could take care of their own symbols and sings for the society and, everyone else could have their own style - as an individual. SO powerful!
Fashion is something cyclical: which means that what is on trend today will, soon, be just popular, then 'ugly', then disappear and, in +- two decades, comeback again - maybe with some alterations according with the culture, politics... the mini skirt that we wear today because reminds us from the 60's and Brigitte Bardot specially stunning showing her legs around, actually was a symbol of the women empowerment that the young generation was fighting for during all the Counterculture and the years to come. The jeans that we love so much was, actually, created specially for the gold miners, in San Francisco, for being a really durable fabric. The colors, during all the history of humanity, had an important role to - silently - describe who was a royal, a rich man or a vendor and who had the social prestigious, time after time. The white gown for brides just became a thing after Queen Victoria wearing it on her own royal wedding. The trench coat was created for the soldiers during the Second War, and today we JUST love it.
All the signs that we have on today, has a history behind with important fact of the society, politics and culture. Fashion is not just for those who love a runway show and expensive brands and labels. Fashion is for everyone. Fashion is for us all.