The self-subversion of fashion demands values capable of transforming objects into subjects
The ephemeral has always been the backbone of the fashion system, so much so that in recent decades the hectic pace of fashion shows and launches was as intense as the interest in fashion consumption.
The fast fashion phenomenon is largely responsible for this. Never before in history have there been so many people from different parts of the world dressing in the same way. There is a global aesthetic that mixes up the divisions between differentiation and identification.
But this panorama, where the key word has always been “fleeting,” is starting to show signs of wear. The strategy of planned obsolescence, a concept from the 1950s, is now outdated and is making way for a new era in the relationship between people and how they dress themselves.
This is a subversion in which fashion demands individual values of authenticity, memory, and durable consumption from itself. The unfashion movement proposes that clothes no longer be seen as simple objects, but subjects that develop a more emotional relationship with people.
The notions of femininity and masculinity are being questioned and deconstructed in all areas, fashion included. It is a fertile ground for making a more diverse fashion culture. Up to now, most gender related fashion experiments happened to women’s clothing, but today gender blur invades the catwalk and shows that men’s fashion is going through a rich creative moment.
The quickness of changes in human behavior blurs the concept of generation. Youth no longer bares the title of unquestionable inspiration, excluding age as a matter of the contemporary. More than inclusion, there is also a market interest in this subject: the acknowledgment of a new class of consumers.
For some time now, an inversion of the masculine and feminine codes is happening in fashion, breaking predefined norms and dated notions of genre. It is a freedom from stereotypes, some kind of illusory game some interpret as unissex. New shapes of business start to pop up everywhere in the world, providing options for the share of customers in lack of brands that follow their ideas about gender.
Fashion consumption has been reviewed. Ethical issues are on the table and start being accounted for in buying decisions. When the wrongdoings of the industry come to surface, consumption becomes a conscious political act. Today brands are listening to the rejection by consumers of scandals that degrade human life. The awakening to a more evolved habit of consumption might reach even higher levels in the next few years.
