Fashion is the art of dressing up oneself to communicate something. It is a form of expression that can be subtle or extreme. Some fashion is purely aesthetic, others are social and political in nature. In recent decades, there has been an explosion of coverage, discussion and study of fashion — both as a business and cultural phenomenon.
In the past, fashion was a highly regulated industry with designers, manufacturers and retailers working together to create clothing in a limited number of sizes and colors. The advent of new technologies, globalization and the rise of mass consumption have changed this entire system. Fashion is now a global, ever-changing and highly competitive business where design, manufacturing and marketing are often outsourced to other countries.
Many fashion trends are short-lived, with the time it takes for a new look to go from runway to store shelf counted in months rather than years. This has led to a greater desire by consumers for fast-fashion, with designers creating collections that can be in stores within days or even hours after they’ve debuted on the runway.
The way people dress is influenced by their culture, environment and personal tastes. This is why fashion is so fascinating – it’s like a mirror reflecting who we are, what we stand for and how we feel at any given moment. And it’s great that we can change this reflection as many times as we want to express something different to the world around us.