The Essence and Influence of Fashion

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Fashion in the broadest sense of its definition refers to the attitude towards external forms of culture that exists in a certain period and is generally accepted.

The lifestyle, customs, table manners, choice of cars, clothes and perfumes - all of this is determined by the invisible threads of fashion influence. However, when we use the word fashion, by which we mean the constant and inexplicable desire of our mind and heart for change, we usually mean clothing. From the very moment when man discovered the importance of clothing as the protection from adverse effects of nature, the understanding of its aesthetic and stylistic function has begun. Clothing became the object in which a person could most directly express his or her artistic or even political views. For example, the French Revolution guillotined not only the heads of aristocrats but also their wigs, literally and figuratively. We can also recall the striking examples of the strict rules of the medieval estates or the Spanish monks.

Clothing is the most individual creation of culture and at the same time it activates a powerful instinct for imitation. Psychologists consider imitation to be a form of biological self-defense, a natural reflex of herd creatures. But unlike our neighbors on the planet, we humans try to maintain our self-image even when we imitate.

The power of fashion extends across continents and is an aspect of political strength. Italy's share in the history of fashion falls on the era of Renaissance and a rapid development of city-states, like Venice and Florence which became the focal points connecting Europe and the East. Thanks to the trade, starting from the 13th century, silk fabrics and velvet got introduced into the production cycles in Italy. Later, the reins of power passed to Spain, which began to dictate fashion in the emphatically masculine era of the Counter-Reformation. Black color and crinoline became dominant symbols of primness and propriety. After 1600, the center of gravity moves to France and cheerful Paris. And since the 18th century, London, a former center of fashion, has once again regained its status. The connection between these two countries is certainly close, which can be explained by their territorial proximity: during the 19th and 20th centuries, London was to men's fashion the same what Paris was to women's. This mutual cultural penetration was supplemented by two characteristic features of thinking - the imagination of the French and the practicality of the English. But the fashion crown was kept in Paris. Her residence became the quarter bounded on the south by the Rue de Rivoli, on the north by the Chaussée d'Antin, on the west by the Rue Royale and on the east by the Rue du Court Debout.

There reigned they: Worth, Paquin, Paul Poiret, Redfern, Lucien Lelong, Coco Chanel, Jean Patou, Christian Dior.

To be continued.