The art of fashion – Art and fashion linked by communication, that is, by expressing aesthetics and beauty in a given social context.
With the growth of the cultural industry and the advance of globalization and the Internet, art influences even merge with fashion to find new ways to express themselves and sell.
Marilyn Monroe had already incarnated as a pop icon in the work of Andy Warhol, thanks to the fusion between the art of cinema, the fashion industry and the mass media.
For a modern interpretation of this connection, explore how to incorporate retro fashion into your modern wardrobe, where classic styles meet contemporary trends.
However, in these forms of expression that fashion has, a path is also opened to reach more people and invite them to question beauty, the standardization of the body, care for the environment and many issues that we try to make known at Insuapliques.
Fashion as a symbol of beauty?
The fashion designer is, above all, a clothing artist; he is the one who moulds the fabrics, combines colours and creates unique pieces with his hands. Many impose styles around their brands, aspire to ideals of beauty and catalogue season after season “fashionable” colours, genres, cuts and clothing that are modified the following year.
The brief seems central in the fashion industry, but if the history of aesthetics governs us, art also seeks the expression of human beauty; many artists impose styles and generate entire movements around their image (such was the case of Andy Warhol).
This relationship between clothing and aesthetics is also explored in fashion as an attribute of beauty, showing how fashion can influence the way people perceive beauty.
Beyond beauty or ugliness, clothing is a cross between the functionality of the garments and the reputation that wearing them implies. We have already told you everything about the meaning of dressing in red, for example.
In this sense, art and fashion enable a powerful weapon that is not beauty but the expression of pleasure and enjoyment of the viewer (in a museum or on a catwalk, there is enjoyment). This correlation between reality and aesthetics generated different artistic movements throughout the 20th century to express the sensitivity of the human being.
Fashion also connects with cultural identity through beauty trends and personal presentation, as discussed in makeup and fashion in Latin America.
The art of fashion and communication
Have you ever wondered why we dress the way we do? What do we want to convey with our clothing? Why do some clothes give us feelings of beauty or ugliness?
Suppose the textile design and content we find in fashion is an artistic and aesthetic expression. In that case, fashion is a symbol that can analyzed from its social and cultural base, from what it communicates and expresses.
The phenomenon of clothing is a communicative fact, like an art piece. Fashion as a symbol of expression distinguishes various garments; we all know what it means to wear a white apron in our society or to dress in black when mourning.
The way we maintain and care for our clothing also influences how we present ourselves, making maintaining your party outfits an important part of keeping fashion looking its best.
At this point, the symbols extend to the everyday plane to create a way of seeing the clothes and expressing themselves. Nor is it about imprisoning excellent or bad, beautiful or ugly habits of dressing, because clothing is only an inert object incapable of transmitting expressions, just as a painting alone in a museum without anyone seeing it does not express anything.
Fashion also reflects practical needs and seasonal choices, such as selecting trendy women’s coats for winter that combine personal style with everyday comfort.
We are the ones who give sense to the message; we determine value judgments and emotions and enable or not the enjoyment of the garments as creative or beautiful pieces. The way to express ourselves is not in the attire we wear; it is in us, our bodies, our moods, and the attitude and personality of each one.
Clothing also communicates our personality when we travel, and innovative travel outfit ideas can help express individual style in different settings.