While some exclusive brands may claim the label haute couture, the term is technically limited to members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris.
Philosopher Giorgio Agamben connects fashion to the qualitative Ancient Greek concept of kairos, meaning "the right, critical, or opportune moment", and clothing to the quantitative concept of chronos, the personification of chronological or sequential time. Fashion, by contrast, describes the social and temporal system that influences and "activates" dress as a social signifier in a certain time and context. Clothing describes the material and the technical garment, devoid of any social meaning or connections costume has come to mean fancy dress or masquerade wear. According to sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, fashion connotes "the latest difference." Įven though the terms fashion, clothing and costume are often used together, fashion differs from both. Style is an expression that lasts over many seasons and is often connected to cultural movements and social markers, symbols, class, and culture (such as Baroque and Rococo). Whereas a trend often connotes a peculiar aesthetic expression, often lasting shorter than a season and being identifiable by visual extremes, fashion is a distinctive and industry-supported expression traditionally tied to the fashion season and collections. While what is fashionable can be defined by a relatively insular, esteemed and often rich aesthetic elite who make a look exclusive, such as fashion houses and haute couturiers, this 'look' is often designed by pulling references from subcultures and social groups who are not considered elite, and are thus excluded from making the distinction of what is fashion themselves. Fashion can signify the latest trends, but may often reference fashions of a previous era, leading to the understanding of fashions from a different time period re-appearing.
Though the term fashion connotes difference, as in "the new fashions of the season", it can also connote sameness, for example in reference to "the fashions of the 1960s", implying a general uniformity. Garments identical in style and material also appear different depending on the wearer's body shape, or whether the garment has been washed, folded, mended, or is new.įashion is defined in a number of different ways, and its application can be sometimes unclear. Everyone is evaluated by their attire, and evaluation includes the consideration of colors, materials, silhouette, and how garments appear on the body. Kaiser states that everyone is "forced to appear", unmediated before others. Reconstructed Roman women's fashion from Florence, Taipei 2013įashion scholar Susan B.