Philosophie de la mode

6.20 €

Author : Georges SIMMEL

Publishing House: Allia

Publication Date: January 2, 2020

Description :Stilettos, Marc Jacobs neoprene sweatshirt, flowing chiffon mini-shorts, low bun. Fashion is original in that it gives no practical use to useful things, in this case to put on shoes and protect oneself from the cold. It is fundamentally arbitrary. And this is how it exercises its empire for Simmel. It is not a vital need but a social need. Or, rather, it results from two contradictory social needs: the instinct to imitate and the instinct to differentiate. The man shows in the choice of his clothes his belonging to a group. He adapts himself through them to the role assigned to him by the community in which he lives. But at the same time, he feels the need to differentiate himself, to accuse in the heart of the society his individuality. To adopt a style of another community, it is from the start to detach itself from its group of origin. Because of the variety of its contents, the fashion of today affirms its singularity compared to those of yesterday and tomorrow. But it does so all the better because it marks the difference of classes. According to Simmel, the middle class would be the most sensitive to its whims. Quick to change, it recognizes itself in what is the motor of fashion: to create a present that is constantly changing, like any commodity.

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