world are in essence dressing eerily alike one another? A homogenization of fashion so to speak. The cycle of following trends There is a key point which often gets missed out and that is the circle of wanting to be appreciated by society. The cycle follows the following path – many people know that they want to dress well or dress in a certain way but don’t know how to achieve that aesthetic, so they look to a person whose fashion sense has been applauded by the masses on Instagram and work to emulate the aesthetic. Someone looking to begin to define their style will look up to more well-established users for tips and tricks. Because these users know that the more avant-garde outfits aren’t going to give them sufficient exposure, they will continue to post basic outfits to Instagram, which will once again inspire someone who is just getting into fashion, which will increase the body of people who are focused on a certain look. All of this boils down to the fact that so long as people are driven by likes and followers, the current state of Instagram fashion is going to stagnate for the foreseeable future. “There are several factors leading to the homogenization of fashion, mainly including social media, influencer culture, fast fashion, and globalization. The widespread influence of these factors have made it easier for people to access and follow fashion trends around the world. It has led to a greater sense of uniformity in fashion as people adopt similar styles. Overall, these factors have combined to create a fashion landscape in which trends are rapidly adopted while personal style takes a back seat to what is considered fashionable,” concludes Pooja Shroff. There are couturiers like Chanel, Schiaparelli, Dior, Dolce and Gabbana and more who constantly push sartorial boundaries, yet their concepts remain reserved for only a daring few. This unfortunately has propelled many cultures into mastering the production of westernized fashion as opposed to experimenting with design. “ The trend of less is more, bespoke, sustainable, slow fashion, social impact is coming strong, especially with younger generations. The big question now is: we young people are aware and sensitive to these changes for the good of the planet and our future, but how do you democratise and make this “elevated” fashion accessible for us and for our Instagram account?” concludes Vaishali S. Despite the accessibility of both products and ideas given the growing web presence, fashion innovation (or its lack thereof) may have also led to the homogenization of fashion. While there are still couturiers like Rick Owens and Yohji Yamamoto that constantly push our sartorial boundaries, yet their concepts remain reserved for only a daring few. This change pushed many cultures into mastering the production of westernized fashion as opposed to experimenting with design. The result hence is a wardrobe with the same selection of clothing. Gone are the days when enthusiasts looked to designer runway showings or subscription-based print-style magazines as the go-to source for discovering what is considered in vogue. Today’s digital marketplace often begins and ends with the space of social media, to discover what’s new. As the cultural transmission continues, as we continue to learn from each other taking bits and pieces from each culture in the name of fashion, we spontaneously develop a universally accepted style of dress. So, if individualistic fashion really dying or simply thriving on the realm of social media? As the internet brings us closer to the fashion industry as well as those within that share our ideals, are we headed towards one large globalized market? Are we all subconsciously working together to develop a homogeneous style in which we all dress the same no matter our location? Pooja Shroff Mumbai | Delhi | Chennai | Bangaluru | www.mediascope.co.in | T +91 22 68468500 Taking India to the world! Since 1979. D I G I T A L | P R I N T | T V | E V E N T S | C O N T E N T | L U X U R Y | P U B L I S H I N G | E X P O S I T I O N India’s leading international media services & content creation company. 38|L U X E B O O K|F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3
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