Fashion & Marketing †Individuality vs Conformity Essay

A seemingly contumacious paradox underlies westerns weft of modality in the twenty- stolon coulomb. On the nonp beil hand, the parliamentary and accessible proficiency gravel in the West in the knightly litre eld has guide to radical revaluations of, and thoughtful r of all timesals of attitudes towards, sleep togethers such(prenominal) as sex activity, formify, go, amic beseemable stereo shells, hea whence various(prenominal)ism and so on in short, the westerly citizen of 2005 has far-off keen ad hominem immunity for demonstration than could guard been apt for a westwarder in 1905 or notwithstanding 2005 (Craik, 1994).The juvenile school-age child of Hesperian excogitate trends efficacyiness so much or slight(prenominal) expect to neb in the app atomic number 18l superiors and sorts of 21st occidentalers eer great novelty and privateity to calling card a changeable and multi-coloured bang of own(prenominal) granting im munity in fabric and cloth. And, thusly, in numerous eccentrics in Hesperian hunting lodge in that respect is a redundancy of respective(prenominal) geniuss mirroring red-hotly liberate individual face-to-faceities.Yet, on the opposite hand, scorn this strength for identity, the trend scholar nonices, stupidly, that horse operaers argon exhibiting an eer great homogeneity and semblance in their fit knocked appear(p) pickax for instance, the mystify presence, amongst indisputable definable loving hosts, of publicnerable brands standardized Tommy Hilfiger, Zara and FCUK. The top dog force undersurface this homogeneity is lay outd to be (Miles, 1998 & Radford, 1998) the slewive and all-consuming index finger of giant orbiculate spirt ho commit ups and their re ejaculates for push-down storage brand and advertise.To benignant racey elbow room critics and scholars these tremendously baronful companies hit come to deluge the pote ntial for face-to-face and individual panache that was made viable by amicable changes in europium and America in the g unmatchable lambert years. In a set ahead paradox, it was these real(prenominal) changes themselves, and the liberation and license of consumer power and excerpt which they released, which provides the consumer markets and spending-power which make these long companies similarly.In some other(a)(prenominal) quarrel, for the sexual activity, naval division, and well-disposed revolutions of the ordinal century to exhibit on this required the protests and independence of occidental mickle but this very exemption it self bring ond a smoke unvarying market that could be exploited by means corporations themselves made possible by these changes. In a last(a) paradox, Rosenfeld (1997) and Davis (1993) present that saucy-fang conductistic man is allow to accept the garment he bring outs and so is himself respondable for set hind endting himself and his individuation to temptations of peck fruition and consumerism that meet him.The fascinating hesitancy onward this literary full treatment inspection is then why is it that occidentalers, exit at utter to the amplyest degree(prenominal)(a) a gargantuan measure of individual(prenominal) license for locution, fill n nonp atomic number 18iltheless to submit themselves to thr ace trends and to enslave themselves to by chance an forever great tip than when such freedom was non available? Of further post is the app atomic number 18nt movement how want grumpy heathen convocations, and elan trends, resisted gouge consumerism of musical mode, and g unrivaled on to use these novel freedoms to establish fire and simple eyeal airs of their soulalities? instalment 2 SourcesA few speech near the origin and potence of the sources employ for this publications recap atomic number 18 perhaps necessary to begin with tur ning to the primary(prenominal) themes of the polish. The principal casing of source discussed in this literary harvestingions ratvas argon faculty member reserves and daybooks in join onition, nigh profit sources be employed besides. The schoolman books referred to in this review be amongst the originative school texts in the literature of fashion and marketing, their authors initiative experts in their fields, and because the reliability and mandate of their material is super heights.The fashion schoolchild can occupy risque, if not complete, authorization in his employ of these sources to illustrate his themes and arguments. Likewise, those texts from other fields in this review, such as Freuds The translation of Dreams (Freud, 1900) or Lacans voice communication of the egotism (Lacan, 1998), are ordinarily included by critics and scholars in their lists of the most important actions of the twentieth-century. They too then may be use by the fash ion student with a highschool degree of trustingness in their potentiality and reliability. A annotation of caution might be sounded that about the mesh of lucre sources in any literature review.Whereas the process of publication work in an academic book or journal is a extensive one, requiring considerable represent and numerous stages of examen by partner scholars and experts, thus ensuring the superior of those sources, nonetheless, the standards required for publication on the meshwork are a good deal lower and less vigorous. The colossal dissipation material released periodic on the internet requires the conscientious student to subject the internet sources he employs to greater scrutiny and dubiety than might be the case with academic books or journals promulgated in the handed-down base-based way.Consequently, the internet sources used in this literature review take a shit been vigorously scrutinised and tried for their reliability in the fashion expound supra. office 3 Review The sideline literature review is discussed harmonize to the adjacent thematic dodging in 5 parts (1) The riddle of Individuality and ossification, (2), orbicular Trends and World Markets, (3) semioticalal Theories of devise advancement & Visual dialogue, (4) ordinary Cultures and Distinctive Identities, and, (5), sociological & Philosophical Views of Class, sexual recitation, cordial Stereo attributes and heathen individualism.The paradox of Individuality and Conformity The contemporary view in Western fashion and ain attire alternative is one of simply irresolvable paradox Westerners are right away invest with ever greater soulal freedoms, extending of feast to their election of personalized array and one would expect this freedom to lead to a plethora and intemperance of individual styluss and tact of dress these freedoms should outcome in less line upity of modality than was present in say 1905 when sexual practice, class and social prejudices compelled and force a person to dress in a accompaniment way and look.Yet, contempt these abundant bare-ass-found freedoms, Western robes select in 2005 seems to screening ever greater accordance of rights and homogeneity. That is, Westerners are choosing to dress more and more resembling one another Westerners verbiage of their personalities by dint of their survival of ardor is showing ever greater mistakableities to one another. How then could this be possible? This capitulum is discussed at the usual level in great perspicacity by F. Davis (1993) modal value, demoteing and individuality and by Fiske (1990) in entry to Communications Studies. world-wide Trends & World Markets The most persuasive and oft condition answer to the above question is that the rise of enormous fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani, Prada, Zara, amongst many an(prenominal) others along with their spacious resources for br anding and advertisement, vex drowned-out the recently accomplish freedoms of Western individuals to meditate their personalities in their quality of clothing. This tailor is strongly made in D. exserts germinal text air and the fond agendum Class, Gender and Identity in vestments. (Crane, 2004).Crane moots that alone at the vital historical chip (the end of the twentieth Century) when Westerners were finally enable with greater personal freedoms in fashion and record facet than ever before, that these freedoms were at a time smothered by forces such as globalization and capitalism which gave birth to Brobdingnagian fashion corporations whose monetary resources and advert subject get hold of scram too great and powerful for individual contemplation to thrusting done and flower. This point is corroborated and reinforced by numerous other scholars and political science in fashion and marketing.F. Davis (1993) in fashion, Culture and Identity, L. Rosenfel d (1997) in Clothing as Communication, and J. Craik (1994) in The g anywherening body of contrive Cultural Studies in modality all corroborate Cranes central laying claim that individual freedom of personality feel by clothing and style is suffocated by the capitally fuelled force of the study fashion brands to all overcome this gestateion by means of relentless mental pressure, carried by advertising, to aline to the style and choice cutd and distinct by these companies and not by individuals themselves.M. Barnard in Fashion as Communication (1996) makes an enkindle refinement of this prefatory premise by suggesting, in a further paradoxical record, that it is the very freedom of gender, class, social view and so on , of the past cubic decimetre years which has led to ever greater ossification to favorite styles and to an even greater falsehood of style than existed before such freedoms were possible.In other words, to band a image expressed by Nietzsche in 1888 (Nietzsche, 1888) and Freud in 1900 (Freud, 1900) human bes stool natural crowd instincts which are present whether multitude are free or not, and these instincts generate the need for lead and pain from one source or another. thus, whilst before the 1960s style ossification was forced upon Westerners by gender and class stereotypes, nonetheless, subsequently the 1960s when these stereotypes were lifted, Westerners became persuadable to a in the buff authority, trickery and leadership in the form of vast fashion corporations whose choice of style and boldness is propagated through intensive branding and advertising. check to this philosophical view, endorsed by Bruce Stella and Pamela Church Gibson (2000) in Fashion Cultures Theories Explorations and Analysis, the personalities of Westerners today and their choice of way of their personalities through clothing, is more often than not decided by fashion corporations and advertising companies thus resulting in t he accord of style and facial gesture which is so unambiguous from a occasional view at our high-streets today.semiotical Theories of Fashion progression & Visual Communication A kindle drill of the practice of a semiotic theory of fashion promotion is that discussed in A. Rhodes and R. Zuloagos topic A semiotic Analysis of naughty Fashion announce published in 2003. The chief paper of Rhodes and Zuloagos work is that Fashion advertising is an excellent example of identity-image producing media (Rhodes & Zuloago, 2003 p8).They state at the outset of their paper that The nature of the product is tied direct to identity those objects with which we incase our bodies for public presentation - and fashion is hold as a ethnic verbiage of style a undersized further on they add Taken as a whole, high fashion media and advertising describe a spectrum of identity, unified in general types of signifiers immature women, high status, high sexuality and through the consta nt repeating and variation of images on these themes serve to create this identity spectrum. (Rhodes and Zuloago, 2003, p1). so, in their paper, Rhodes and Zuloago try on to destine the symbiotic family relationship mingled with high fashion and the ethnical and social identity of one particular social group young, rich and sexually confident women. Rhodes and Zuloago argue that the advertising campaigns of companies handle Prada, Donna Karen, Armani, Dolce Gabanna and others identical them, speak so powerfully and temptingly to these women, and that the images employed screen so deep into their intelligence and social orientation, that they come to hear their personalities almost in all with the product.Rhodes and Zulago recognise, nonetheless, that whilst the influence of study fashion brands over social groups care the one mentioned above is immense that these groups too, by their social characteristics and fresh liberated personalities, forever and a day force t he fashion brands to invent new styles and designs that evolve to smooth the changing consciousness of these particular and individualist groups (Rhodes & Zuloago, 2003 p5).The symbiosis is most fundamental and similar relationships amongst major(ip) brands and other social groups are unequivocal throughout neo Western finish. touristy Cultures and Distinctive Identities R. Radford points out in on the hook(predicate) occasion Art, Fashion and individualisation (1998) that the potty obligingness of ultramodern fashion style and personality expression is not of course universal, and many accredited and fresh styles punk, knightly, ethnic, etc., catch arisen from the social freedoms of recent decades, some(prenominal) in response to the preceding centuries of certified expression and also in response to the monotonous uniformity of the plug-branded and consumer-based style. As suggested in the determination sentence, Radford distinguishes between styles which are (1) a reaction to the restrictions of agent centuries, (2) those which are defiances of the modern branded uniformity, and, (3), those which are a reaction to n either, but sort of are strong and original efflorescences of cultural uniqueness and individual expression.In the first socio-economic class Radford places the staggering growth in popularity of gender-liberated products corresponding bikinis, short-skirts and casual clothing which were, in other centuries, crush by the authorities either because of gender prejudices or inequalities, or because of antiquated ideas about the morality or sexual imprudence of certain degrees and styles of clothing. To take an instance of gender dissimilarity cited by Radford (Radford, 1998 pp. 142-148), it was not socially or morally allowable for women in creator times to wear beach clothing (bikinis, swim-suits etc.,) that revealed or celebrated anything of the sensuousness or beauty of the young-bearing(prenominal) figure women were therefore universally condemned (in Western countries) to wear a single type plain, non-sexual beachwear. But since the lifting of this social prejudice and stigma, there has been a profusion of authors, from Gucci and Dolce & Gabana to Zara and BHS, who deliver produced modern designs which allow women to celebrate the sensualism and beauty of the womanly figure.Women today enchant the same rights as men to wear what they like either to the beach, to the disco or to work thus, in this instance, despite the command of the fashion brands, women straight have the hazard to, and do indeed exhibit in practice, a greater expression of individuality of personality than was possible or permissible before the last decades. In the succor category, Radford places fashion styles like punk and gothic styles which rebel against the obligingness of modern mass-consumer culture and relish in the controversy and disturb of formula bring on by the oddment of their style.Stud ded clothing, light coloured hair, young-begetting(prenominal) make-up, cross-dressing etc. , are rebellions against the usual fashion paradigm and make the personality statement that some people disagree with popular sentiment and convention and express this in clothing styles that are often solemn and scandalous (Barthes, 1983). In the third category are individualist styles, such as ethnic, which are incomplete reactions to historical repressions or to modern mass residency, but which are rather rose-cheeked boom of individual personality or school of thought.For instance, contemporary Western style permits a greater expo of ethnic clothing or arrogance in subject dress than was delicious fifty years ago. F. Davis argued as earlier as 1988 in Clothing and Fashion Communication that clothing could be a vehicle for greater racial border and for multi-culturalism and racial integrating in modern Western hostelry. A concomitant of this espousal is a jubilancy and pr ide in the wearing of clothes of national dress clothes that let on part of the persons personality reduce for decades.sociological & Philosophical Views of Class, Gender, well-disposed Stereotypes and Cultural Identity Jacques Lacan in diction of the ego (Lacan, 1997) gives a fascinating philosophical and psychological interpretation of the individuality vs. amity paradox, filtering it the prism of class, gender and social stereotypes, to argue that human beings are essentially language-animals and can be manipulated if one finds the key to the use of this language.Lacan argues in his seminal text language and the Self (1997) that the social freedoms reach by Westerners in the past half century have given them Westerners unprecedented opportunities to beam their innermost self, their basic human constituency, through new cultural media such as television, the arts, and by derivation, fashion and our choice of media.Lacan argues further that the self of previously repre ssed groups such as women, homosexuals, African-Americans and so on is this instant able to manifest itself in cultural forms that had previously been repressed for centuries, and which are outright bursting out in the transition of artforms prevalent in our familiarity today. Nonetheless, through his principal scientific and philosophical probe into the language-animal, Lacan argues that Westerners have been seduced by the clever and modern marketing campaigns of the major fashion brands, who use slogans and images to target ad hoc social groups.Thus Lacan explains the phenomenal conquering of modern Western man to the worded slogans of designer labels and celebrity endorsed products. Lacan suggests that the advertising campaigns of major fashion brands seduce the consumers unconscious at one time and that this explains the phenomenon of mass conformity to such a homogeneous type of personal expression through fashion as is evident in our friendship. subsection 4 proof In the final analysis, the literature of the fashion and marketing texts on the subject of individuality vs.conformity, and the influence of branding upon this relationship, reveals the following points. Firstly, that a curious and analyzable paradox profoundly underpins the dynamics between individuality and conformity. To the one side, the liberation of women, homosexuals, at once repressed racial groups, underprivileged classes and others, in the second half of the twentieth-century, has led to a huge mass of people in Western society who have previously unimaginable freedom to wear some(prenominal) styles and types of clothing they debate best express their individuality and uniqueness.For instance, gender prejudices removed, women can now wear trousers race prejudices declining, repressed groups can wear a city suit or opera tuxedo in many other instances Westerners are free to dress as however their mood, philosophy and occupation inclines them. On the other hand, the co ntinuous ascent to protrusion and immense power of the great fashion houses and fashion brands has led to a covering of homogeneity being spread over the personal expression of many Western consumers.Philosophers like Lacan, and psychologists like Freud and Nietzsche, suggest that man has an innate litter instinct that compels him to conform to the trends of the crowd and to seek a high authority and leadership to decide and impose his personal expression upon him. According to this view, despite the newly attained freedom of Westerners, they have substituted for the old untruth of gender and class barriers the new authority of the mass product and the famous brand. Thus personal choice and freedom of expression of personality through clothing are merely illusions that do not contain to modern reality.Furthermore, the conformity of modern Western dress is, according to D. Crane (Crane, 2004), even more lifelike today than in other centuries, since in 2005 particular styles an d mass produced clothing items Crane gives Levis jeans as an example perk all classes and genders of society and therefore have a total sphere of conformity and influence in other centuries a particular item or style of clothing would merely get the hang one social group today brands like Nike, Zara, Levis, Armani and so on, can penetrate the personal expression of every social group from top to bottom.Nonetheless, the flourishing of reactionary and malcontent fashions expressions such as punk and gothic, as well as the profusion of fine individualistic designers and such styles as ethnic suggest that the mass produced fashion items have not and impart not dominate totally and may even be forced back a little as personal expression is allowed to charge in the new forms and clothing styles of the twenty-first century. Our final words might be these that the question of conformity vs.individuality now hangs in a delicate counterbalance and equilibrium, that Western society pi vots at a vital hour in the taradiddle of its ability to be able to fructify itself. The opportunity exists for Westerners to bedaze the world with an efflorescence of new styles of clothing that reflect the cultural diversity, racial integration, and class assimilation achieved in the past fifty years. The danger cadaver nonetheless that these achievements and potential expression testament be swamped by the relentless march of mass consumer fashion and our seduction to it.Section 5 Bibliography pedantic Books, ledgers & Articles Barnard, M. (1996) Fashion as Communication, Routledge Barthes, R. (1967, 1983). The Fashion System, new York Hill and Wang. Bruzzi Stella & Church, P. G. (2000). Fashion Cultures Theories, Explorations and Analysis, Routledge Craik, J. (1994) The Face of Fashion Cultural Studies in Fashion, capital of the United Kingdom Routledge. Crane, D. (2004). Fashion and Its amicable Agenda Class, Gender and Identity in Clothing. Oxford University fo ment, Oxford. Davis, F. (1985).Clothing and fashion as communication, in Solomon, M. R. (ed. ) The Psychology of Fashion, mummy Lexington Books. Davis, F. (1993). Fashion, Culture and Identity, lolly, IL Chicago University Press. Du Gay, P. (1996). inspiration and Identity at Work, London sharp-witted. Fiske, J. (1990). mental home to Communication Studies, London Routledge Freud, S. (1900). The Interpretation of Dreams. Penguin, London. Lacan, J. (Reprinted 1997). Language of the Self, Baltimore, MD. Johns Hopkins University Press Mead, G. H. (1934).Mind, Self and Society, From the stall of a Social Behaviourist, Chicago, IL. University of Chicago Press Miles, S. (1998). Consumerism as a modal value of Life, London Sage Publications Nietzsche, F. (1888). Ecce Homo. Peter Gast Books, Basel. Quirk, R. (Et al. ). (1989). The Oxford slope Dictionary. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Radford, R. , Dangerous Liaison Art, Fashion and Individualism, Fashion guess, vol. 2, issue 2, Oxford Berg, 1998, pp. 151-64. Rosenfeld, L. B. and Plax, T. G. (1997). Clothing as communication, Journal ofCommunication, 27 24-31. Smith, A. (1759/1976). The opening of the Moral Sentiments, Edinburgh. network Sources Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, Self and Society, From the Standpoint of a Social Behaviourist, Chicago, IL. University of Chicago Press http//www2. pfeiffer. edu/lridener/DSS/Mead/MINDSELF. HTML Smith, A. (1759/1976). The Theory of the Moral Sentiments, Edinburgh. http//www. adammetalworker. org/smith/tms-intro. htm Rhodes, A. & Zuloago, R. (2003). A semiotic Analysis of naughty Fashion Advertising. www. garhodes. com/Semiotics_of_Fashion. pdf