fashions in clothing, music and links


Readings:

How do these media (i.e. clothes, cars, links, etc) acquire social meaning?  How do these meanings change? Why do they change? Can you map out a relationship between differentiation and imitation as forces of cultural change? Can you distinguish between the inherent or symbolic meaning of an object and its social/fashion-based meaning? Does the temporal nature of fashion make it a reliable signal - and if so, of what?

In your writing, discuss examples from both the physical world and the online world. Is there "fashion" online?  How is it manifest?  What do you think the future will hold? 


Signals of Identity

The many channels of expression available to, and utilised by humans range from subtle gesture and tone of voice, facial expression and spoken language, decoration and possessions that are displayed to others, through to the environments we choose to inhabit and the other humans we choose to ‘be seen’ to associate with. In the realm of fashion and cultural interaction, a mixture of ‘assessment’ signals and ‘conventional’ signals, described by Donath in Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community  are communicated through media (such as clothes, cars, etc.) that have acquired social meaning. The disparity between the impression presented by an individual and that given off in the eyes of an observer is effected, as Davis highlights in Fashion, Culture, and Identity by context, perceived position in “different social strata and taste groupings” and temporal shifts in meaning.

I think Davis is salient in identifying several key influences in how social meaning is ascribed to elements of fashion:
  • Formal design
  • Occasion (and social setting)
  • Historical frames of reference
and in reiterating that “no fixed, rule-governed formulas” exist for how these social meanings are applied.

Social Belonging

Although Davis warns of placing too great an emphasis on social stratification as a basis for fashion motivation I think that individuals are strongly motivated by two factors of social dynamics. First is the need to define desired membership to social groups, the second is a need to establish ‘unique identity’ in terms of difference to others within a group. I believe this can be seen in many fashion 'movements'. An overall fashion choice defines group membership in the eyes of both the group and those outside it (although often with considerable differences in interpretation of meaning between those involved and those not), for example the 'Hoxton fin' hairstyle, and adapted, juxtaposed - relaxed and formal clothing seen in a recent English trend. Whereas subtle brand choices or  'vintage' clothing aquisitions provided statements of prestige and exclusivity only to those within or close to the social group.

For certain members of a group, prestige seems to be negotiated through carefully progressed steps away from the established group norms, towards referencing and accenting changes termed by McCracken in Culture and Consumption "Possession Rituals" of personalisation. If a single step is too large, an individual looses membership in group style and is seen simply as eccentric. Defining one's self in terms of small differences from a socially accepted set of objects or tastes is common on and off-line (see Box 1 for examples).

Box 1 - Examples of fashion prestige through differentiation.
Two examples, both in areas that McCracken cites as professions of wide reaching stylistic influence in their innovation are the online web design 'community' that has evolved with the development of visual design on the web and the fashion tipified by the description  in the example above, established in the Shoreditch area of London, UK that accompanied the development of a media and art community in the area. In the online example, a clothing fashion metaphore has been used to express changes in design style:
Repeating background patterns, once the shame of web design, have recently made a tasteful comeback. (Background patterns are the new grey.)
Zeldman.com

By defining a style as 'so last season', a designer makes a statement about their own fashion credibility. In the London example, a fanzine published in the Shoreditch area is of interest. Called "The Shorditch Twat", it tipified the fashion's need to parody itself from its inception. The magazine launches a continuous attack on the fashion of its authors. It is also interesting to note that the magazine's other function is as a promotion for a local night club, emphasising Thornton's argument in Club Cultures: Music, Media & Subcultural Capital that media plays a central role in fashion development.

The motivation for such action seems two fold. Firstly, innovation is seen as creative and desirable in these fields, and secondly in the definition of the new compared with the old is the implied message that this individual is already an established member of the 'old' group (whether or not this is the case).

I would disagree with the view often presented that these small steps to change or challenge fashion norms are a 'phase' in a 'fashion cycle', but rather that they are a continuous process. The stable and transient stages that seem apparent between fashion or subculture 'fads' are then more closely linked with labelling and categorising. Those that control the micro media described by Thornton also seem to use these methods of establishing solid and prestigious group membership through 'expert' apraisal of a fashion's elements and social meanings.

Online Fashion - a case study

There are many parallels between the established online designers' community and traditional off-line fashion developments, journalistic approaches and media roles. Online designers are possibly the most visually conscious of all internet users of their online identity. The designers, unlike some of the Usenet group users highlighted by Donath, have strong, single online identities which are often closely linked with 'real world' qualities (driven by business needs). Even in cases where designers have several personal web sites or projects, their online identity or name is generally associated with each.

Despite (or because of) the considerable energy expended, designers will generally update or overhaul their online image regularly, presenting a strong assessment signal of their skills in their profession. But the sites also allow and encourage judgement and comparison between designers (one example of this is the catalogue of personal desktop designs posted on k10k.net). Fashions in certain styles of graphics or programming can often be seen. These shift, not only with developments of what is possible, but with current 'tastes' as with clothing fashion (recent broad styles have included 45 degree angles, pixel pics, video like images, sine waves, airport chic, grey, pixel patterns, etc. - although finding examples of 'out of date' fashions is difficult). Just as with the music press described by Thornton, designer style forums have become common place (e.g. surfstation.lu, shift.jp, linkdup.com, k10k.net) with arbitrators of fashion, those in journalism roles or select designers passing comment on sites of visual interest. On personal sites too, a regularly updated set of links to 'interesting' sites demonstrates (in the eyes of other members of the community) 'knowledge' and 'taste' - signifiers of prestige in this society.

Forums for design discussion, such as the now defunct dreamless.org (established by Joshua Davis, who has become one of web designs few 'super stars'), had a mechanism similar to that of alt.hackers as described by Donath, to establish a reliably in crowd. In the case of dreamless, the front page showed nothing more than a name and an intriguing screen flicker on arrival. It was only by examining the 'source code' for the page (something expected of a 'good designer') that a description of the forum was discovered and a link was provided.

Future?

It is this balance between the credibility and stylistic statement of the difficult to maintain assessment signal of a full visually designed web presence favored by designers, and the more conventional like signals of linking to other sites that express a style one wishes to be associated with, that I think will shape the future of this sort of visual fashion online. As with clothing, in other groups, where visual expression carries much less prestige, other signifiers (often a display of wealth) will hold considerably more weight.