Postmodern trends in the understanding of contemporary fashion Cover Image

ПОСТМОДЕРНІСТСЬКІ ТЕНДЕНЦІЇ У РОЗУМІННІ СУЧАСНОЇ МОДИ
Postmodern trends in the understanding of contemporary fashion

Author(s): Medel Memarne
Subject(s): Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Sociology of Culture, Globalization, Sociology of Art
Published by: Національна академія керівних кадрів культури і мистецтв
Keywords: fashion; postmodernism; postmodern discourse;

Summary/Abstract: In the article the postmodern trends of the fashion understanding are reviewed. The author particularly points on the need to develop new research strategies of fashion counting the process of variability and transience of cultural dynamics and the need for adjustments to a number of scientific statements with the current understanding of the transformation of society. It is indicated that despite of the existence of the many researchers’ works, some conclusions and provisions, made by the aforementioned scholars and experts, require further development in theoretical and practical terms. Some scientific statements require correction which caused by the current understanding of the processes of social development as a complex matter of self-developing and the changes of socio-cultural conditions of fashion today.It is proved that the last decade of the twentieth century was marked by active penetration of special postmodernism aesthetics in society in the context of fashion. It attracted the attention of researchers as the brightest cultural phenomenon in this field. It is found out that fashion has become one of the most visible repeaters of postmodern aesthetic values. Fashion has a characteristic features of postmodern sucu as eclectic, wide citing previous eras, the transition from creative to compile. The current ideas in the context of postmodern society understand fashion as much more diverse thing. Its complex nature evolved the dynamics of society, the appearance of a pre-industrial society, ancient items and ending in conversion system, self-developing in the post-industrial era. The value of fashion began growing , expanding the boundaries of their impact on society, fashion gradually began claiming to control not only the appearance, but also the spiritual world, defining the style of behavior and even focus thinking. The phenomenon of fashion are manifested in culture in material and spiritual ways. Material one is a production of fashion objects, and spiritual is a production of "fashionable" ideas, trends, standards capable determine individual consciousness and influence of the mankind development in general. Fashion simultaneously representes itself as a system of self-developing and as a social institution with the well-developed infrastructure. Postmodern culture focused on the elite of society where we can see the phenomenon of fashion more clearly.Fashion as a kind and unique culture phenomenon has many features of the postmodern period. One of the features of the modern stage of development of culture is the integration and assimilation of fashion arts with architecture, painting, music, theater, cinema which are the ways to showcase products of the author's work such as installations, pop art, environment, performance and etc. Another feature is the inability of the appearance of anti-fashion in style pluralism of postmodern culture because there is no dominant fashion that why supporters of anti-fashion can’t construct their identity, denying the dominant one.The dynamic realities of postmodern personal identity involved in the creation of fashion works. In the postmodern situation artists tend to trust the reader or viewer to complete the same process of "reading text", making them an equal co-author of the artwork. This trend is clearly seen in the formulations that attract every viewer into its work space; furniture transforms into elements of the costume; art compositions destroy themselves before the audience, etc. The postmodernists think that the meaning isn’t in a text or a picture, it is hovering around them at a distance. So a text and a picture are not necessary, you can replace them by any objects or acts. Here we can see the desire of the modern era to various initiatives that do not lead to specific results.Pondering the experience of the previous development through citing of fashion of the past and the freedom of combinatory of previous styles creating collections of clothes, interiors, architecture, buildings, etc., the returning to the origins by increasing of the interest to the cultural traditions of different peoples postmodern fashion is in a step to being able to see the future through the past and present and thus suggest to find ways to self-preservation as a cultural phenomenon.It is underlined that the fashion poses itself as a self-developed system and as a social institution with developed infrastructure.It is noted that the use of postmodern discourse allows deeply reveal the phenomenon of modern fashion and demonstrates the adequacy of key categories for the analysis of postmodern aesthetics of fashion.During post-modern period, the essence of the changes in fashion is the duality of these changes. On the one hand, the freedom of the individual steps up, it gives the opportunity to be more receptive to everything new. It also expandes boundaries for productive work, which is important for fashion creators and their works, consumers. On the other hand, the limitless pluralism makes fashion unstable. The existence of different and conflicting cultural and aesthetic attitudes and ways of relating to the world and society leads to universal separation and mutual misunderstanding. The future of fashion as a cultural phenomenon depends on the solution of this matter.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 120-124
  • Page Count: 5
  • Language: Ukrainian