Fashion is an art form that communicates intimately with a person’s identity. Identity refers to a deeper understanding of who we are, what we identify with, and how our frameworks shape us. And yet, the Fashion Industry remains an insignificant segment of society.
The joy of dressing is an art.
John Galliano.
What does Fashion have to do with Identity?
Clothing plays a significant role in expressing social, official, spiritual, and personal identities and is one of the most visible expressions.
FASHION IN UNIFORMS
For instance, military personnel, soldiers, and police officers, among others, are required to wear official uniforms due to the nature of their work. Uniforms can protect them from crime, help deceive their adversaries, and sometimes make them appear camouflaged. It is not only utilitarian, but it also promotes togetherness and discipline. Then we have, Medical and health departments who do the same thing by requiring health professionals to wear uniforms so their patients can quickly identify them. Furthermore, many companies provide uniforms to their staff members to enhance their overall customer service, brand awareness, and teamwork. Therefore, these uniforms represent Official or National Identities.
FASHION IN SPIRITUALITY
In the context of Spiritual Identities, color is a crucial factor in religious dress. All Religious leaders from around the world wear a particular color that has meaning attached to their religious beliefs. Take, for instance, faith in the colors white and black. Among Indian religions, Jainism believes that the color white represents non-violence. In contrast, Roman Catholicism allows only the Pope to wear white in the events of formal functions that link between appearance and power. Mormons attach great significance to the color white, which requires any adherent to wear white when entering Mormon temples, representing purity and dignity.
As for Hasidic Judaism and Eastern Christianity, black symbolizes traditional values and modesty, indicating a sincere commitment to God.
ECONOMIC STATUS
Then there are Financial constraints, which sometimes affect how people dress. From the clothes we choose to the stores we visit, they reveal our sole identity and status. It emphasizes one’s economic purchase that segregates people into different societal classes leading to exclusion. On that account, most educational institutions follow Uniform Dressing as it encourages students to focus more on learning and education rather than be distracted by Social, Religious, or Economic Status, thus contributing to a secular environment.
Coming back to financial limitations, although celebrities frequently wear expensive designer wear, several highly successful people still opt to wear regular attires that comfort them. Multiple Research Studies reveal that many authentic wealthy personalities prefer to enjoy basic comfortable attires, so it may not be fair to firmly project that “clothes” segregate people based on Economic Status.
However, in light of all these Socio-Economic factors, how does the Fashion Industry contribute to shaping a person’s sense of Identity? How does the Fashion Industry communicate with people?
Clothing opinions and social acceptance affect children, adolescents, and adults intensely. Garments and Human emotions are intertwined. Sociologists and Anthropologists have also long explored the intimate relationship between the garment, the body, and society. Studies have long proven and identified a series of psychosocial changes that occur when we wear certain clothes; in particular, how we dress influences our interactions with each other in both personal and professional means.
Science says that what we wear affects our behavior, attitudes, personality, mood, confidence, and even how we interact with others. The phenomenon is called Enclothed Cognition. As a society, we assign symbolic meanings to different types of apparel, and these meanings affect our behavior and moods.
IDENTITY THROUGH FASHION
Fashion helps people share their moods, confidence, attitudes, and desires. The power of emotions builds and recreates self-esteem for people. Our sense of aesthetics is not only expressed through what we wear, but it is also a reflection of our state of mind. The psychology of dressing is a profound subject area that has undergone extensive research and testing. From the colors that we favor to the preferences of our style and the fabrics that we select play a significant role in interpreting the more individual aspects of our personalities. How we perform, i.e., clothe or present, helps us establish a sense of Personal Identity.
For instance, the interaction between religion, culture, and dress has always been fascinating. Various cultural tales and symbolic meanings are infused into the selection and design of garments, jewelry, accessories, and grooming techniques by religious authorities. Similarly, Fashion Designers invest considerable thought, time, and effort into creating their collections with meanings attached to human emotions and society. While religion seems to propagate the essence of modesty, uniformity, and decency with what we wear, the fashion industry, on the other hand, has proven to be an outlet that encourages the expression of the true self.
Many people from different religious groups find it difficult to express themselves openly because they are terrified of breaking certain religious norms placed by their religious leaders. As a result, religious dressing comes with many limitations. Similarly, there are definite restraints on human society concerning our appearance that define a discrete class, race, gender, age, etc.
RECREATE IDENTITY
The Fashion Industry has always tried to provoke society in multiple ways through various design collections on political, religious, and social affairs. Fashion plays a symbolizing role beyond what it represents in a traditional culture, and the value of the garment becomes even more significant than the fabric itself. It is a platform where people can express themselves freely and re-create their Identities. Identities are perceptions of belonging to various communities with certain expectations and prejudices that influence them. And the fashion industry allows people to create their own identities and break free from what is already decided for them by their religious societies at birth. For example, garments can detect different kinds of human ideas concerning the evolution of Gender Identities. It enables the LGBTQ group to express gender fluidity and sexual orientation.
However, there may be some things we may not want to be associated with; and other things we might strive to be associated with, and our clothes become a visual representation of those things. On the contrary, several individuals prefer a constant change in how they present themselves, enjoying keeping up with the latest fashion trends (be it someone from the LGBTQ community or the heterosexual population); some seek inspiration from less mainstream ideologies.
In other words, Fashion allows people to customize and express themselves with all freedom, yet many believe fashion/ clothing fails to add substantial value to human lives.
Society claims, “apparel adds very little value to human society,” my question is, if that is the case, then why do we have so many Social and Cultural Norms that dictate What To Wear or Not Wear?
Why do specific clothing styles have such an impact on the “morale of some Religious Communities?” Is Fashion just a misconception of how we express our true personality? In reality, does the Fashion Industry genuinely shape a person’s Identity?
In religious customs, adornment techniques have consistently communicated religious identity. By its nature, it has supported to reinforce boundaries between the sacred and the secular. Nonetheless, how can a refusal to obey religious norms make one a non-believer in God? Do sacred societies believe that God will acknowledge them if they stick to wearing traditional outfits established by religious authorities?
The Fashion Industry is not without its dark side since mass production and consumerism have taken a backseat. Today, people confuse the fashion industry with mass-produced waste. But the Fashion Industry was always about Authenticity, Uniqueness, Revolution, and more. However, clothing can still be meaningful. The fashion world demands to alter how society perceives and communicates; it believes in self-expression, equality, and freedom.
Fashion breaks stereotypes. Fashion is an expression of Art and Human Emotions.
Humans are born to be alive on this Earth and not just survive, which means it is only human to be imperfect and flawed. Humans are like a collection of stars in the sky, a patchwork of varying colors, shapes, and forms tied together by intricate patterns and sharp contrasts. To be human is to have extraordinary, unique, and beautiful experiences; to be shaken and scarred; to love and be loved; to be brave, vulnerable, and indeed be. And in that being, in that becoming, discover what the most authentic self of a person is; the one that makes us feel at home in our body, mind, and spirit.
The way we dress can communicate to others how we portray ourselves in different social situations. Underlined by social expectations and norms, how we express our sense of true self!!
Clothing is our freedom of expression; people should be given a choice without forming a “taboo.” Our visual statement, unique abilities, and individualism shouldn’t pose a threat as they represent our diverse personalities.