Relationship Between Fashion and Nostalgia - Paper Example

Reason for choosing the topic

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Before I chose the topic, I was curious about the relationship between fashion and nostalgia. I had a desire to understand the rule for the fashion cycles and how the rule may affect the fashions in the future. I found this topic interesting because the fashion styles of the 1980s resemble styles in the present. For this reason, following the past fashion cycle, it is possible to predict the fashion trend in the future. As I was looking for a topic to handle for this project, I viewed a variety of photographs from the internet about fashion styles in different countries. One of the photographs I watch on the internet shows the Chinese styles in the 1980s (Jenss, 2013). Yann Layman in China took the photograph bellow in the 1980s. I felt that the reason for fashion circle is nostalgia that people desire to keep the memories of the ancient time. For example, at the music festival I attended, the different groups that performed on the stage had specific attire. The group that presents a traditional folks song had the attire that depicted the traditional. In the event, I realized that people grave for the traditional attire because living in the past is full of excitement. The traditional fashions are recycled because of the formations of youth subcultures. The subculture within the main culture seeks for identity through wearing of distinct fashion, which tends to spread in the population.

I felt that the topic was good because it brings back the memories when the parents were responsible for choosing the kind of fashion to wear. The topic is interesting because of how people are beginning to different in the taste and preferences for the fashion (Jenss, 2013). In past, the type of clothing did not matter because people wear cloths to cover their bodies. However, the technology is changing the views of the people and there are many cravings on the old fashions because of the love of the past. My interest was in the circles of fashion in China and the relationship between the fashion and Nostalgia. During my research, I wanted to understand the reasons for the fashion circles. A close observation shows that the new fashions in the market are a modification of the old fashion of the 1980s.

In the research, I wanted to find out the difference the eastern fashion and the Western fashion. I knew that in the past, the use of social media was limited and thus the Eastern and the Western fashion differ greatly (Catalani, & Chung, 2014). However, I was curious to know the relationship between technology and the spread of fashion in different countries. I wanted to know the reasons why people bring the old fashion back to live and reasons why people embrace old fashion in the modern society.

Research review

During my research, I studied the dress codes of the people in the 80s and the modern fashion and realized the similarities.

The photographs above consist of the fashions in the 1980s and Now. In the 1980s, the fashion existed in different designs (Catalani, & Chung, 2014). Some of the clothes in the 80s were explicit and was age specific. The photograph above shows three girls in different fashions of the clothes the girls in the middle top of the photograph is in the modern fashion. The two girls in the bottom left are in the old fashions of the 80s. It is apparent that the modern fashions are the modification of the old fashions. The girls in the 80s were wearing top dress that exposed some parts of the chest. The fashion in present resembles those of the 80s because the girls wear tops dress, miniskirts that depict the slight modifications of the old fashions in the 80s. As I viewed the photograph above, I realized the fashions have circles. The men in the 80s wear casual jeans and carry a scarf. The same case in the modern society where casual jeans are fashionable among the teenagers both the boys and the girls. The girls in the 80s valued shorts skirts and trench courts. The style of dressing in the modern society depicts the fashions in the ancient hence the fashion circles is real.

During my analysis, I noted the similarities in the fashion style. The photographs above were taken in different time; the two left women in the left corner of the photographs are Kate Moss in 1993 and Rihanna in 2015 (Catalani, & Chung, 2014). Kate Moss is in slip dress the same way Rihanna has put on the slim dress. The two photographs represent the different eras and thus the similarities in the dress code. It is apparent from the photograph that the people crave for the old fashion and thus causing the reinventions of the fashions.

The two men in the photographs represent Calvin Klein ad in 1995 and the A$AP Rocky in plaid in 2016. Kurt Cobain in the photograph shows the dress style in the 90s. Notably, comparing the two men in the photograph depict the relationship between nostalgia and fashion circles. The people in the modern society desire to leave in the old times and therefore put on the fashions of the era. The fashion style spread among the people of the same age because of the tendency to copy. It is apparent that the nature of clothes that an individual wear determines the level of self-esteem. The fashion styles depict the attitudes of an individual. The teenagers wear jeans to fit in the company of their friends. Some of the fashion styles come into the circles because of peer pressure. The individuals of the same age feel isolated when they adapt the dressing style that differs from that of their peers.

In the research, it was apparent that though peer pressure, culture, and religion contribute to the nature of fashion, the nostalgia has a significant. For example, people miss the past and would like the association between the past. As a result, they wear old fashion to feel the taste of the past. The research shows that the longing for the life in the past creates a desire for the people to recycle the fashion. In the 1990s, the boot-cut jeans and the bell-bottoms were fashionable. In the 70s, the teenagers were obsessed plain dress corduroy and flared jeans. However, the boutiques in the modern society are full of 90s collections because the people are returning to the old fashion. It common to find the people wearing the buffer jackets in the 2017 yet it was a collection in the 1990s. Notably, research shows that the TV programs and the social media platforms contribute entirely to the reinventions of the fashions. The manufacturers utilize the knowledge about the love of the old fashion to make profits in the modern market. The people have high affinity to the old fashions when they see the fashions in the display and crave for the life in the past. The children are the first persons who crave for the past when they look at the dressing codes in the TV programs. However, nostalgia comes when the people watch the old fashion and imagine how they appear in the clothes.

It is apparent that sight trigger nostalgia. During the research, I looked at the different types of old fashions and I was deep in my imagination. I felt that the past was imperative. Ideally, the old fashion styles become fashion again because of cravings of the past, the rise in subcultures and the population. The desire for the old fashion comes in the mind when we look at the picture of early childhood. For example, the primary uniforms, and the suits from the parents when we were young.

The photographs above show old fashion styles during the school days and how our parent appears in the ancient time. Such photographs contribute to the cravings of the past and once a group of people begins to wear the old fashion, the circle starts. My visual work contributed much to the success of the research on the relationship between fashion circle and the nostalgia. In this case, the skill of observation helps much on comparing the modern and the old fashion styles. The research facilitated the completions of my project because it is the sources of the ideas.

In conclusion, during the research, I realized that nostalgia alone does not contribute to the reinventions of the old fashion. Some of the factors that contribute to the reinventions of old fashion are peer pressure, the TV programs that arouses cravings of the past and the social media. The music festivals and cultural conservations trigger cravings on the old versions. There are similarities between the fashion styles in the 80s, 90s, and now because people crave for the past. The subculture that emanates within the main culture causes the fashion circles. Additionally, manufacturers modify the old fashion to suit the needs of the present population to maximize the profits.

References

Catalani, A., & Chung, Y. (2014). Vintage or fashion clothes? An investigation inside the issues of collecting and marketing second-hand clothes. Unpublished essay, 15.

Jenss, H. (2013). Cross-temporal explorations: notes on fashion and nostalgia. Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty, 4(1-2), 107-124.

Veenstra, A., & Kuipers, G. (2013). It Is Not OldFashioned, It Is Vintage, Vintage Fashion and The Complexities of 21st Century Consumption Practices. Sociology Compass, 7(5), 355-365.