Field Guide: How to be a Fashion Designer

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THE WORLD OF FASHION

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ARISTOCRATIC FASHION

In Western society, up until the appear-

ance of fashion, both sexes exhibited

a similar figure, dressing in more or

less long tunics that were tight-fitting

at the waist.

In the mid-fourteenth century, attire

became differentiated by gender: short

and tight for men, long and enveloping

for women. From its birth, fashion has

indicated the position of both sexes

in society. Men began wearing hose

(bifurcated garments—the ancestors

of pants—which were more suitable

for male activities), highlighting the

entire body, a reflection of their domi-

nant sexual role. Meanwhile, women

exhibited their classic curves—waist,

breasts, hips—and concealed their

legs beneath long skirts, thus declar-

ing their role as the submissive sex.

The emergence of fashion was marked

by certain political, economic, social,

and cultural factors. After the barbar-

ian invasions, the West experienced

a period of political stability that

allowed for great economic expan-

sion, accompanied by the growth of

cities. Economic development and

urban life facilitated the birth of a

new social class, the mercantile and

financial bourgeoisie, which would

acquire its wealth from working, in

contrast to the idle dominant aris-

tocracy. According to the theory of

historical materialism, to which most

of the scholars who have written

about fashion subscribe—from Thor-

stein Veblen to Pierre Bourdieu—the

appearance of fashion reflected the

latent tension that existed between

the social classes. In the pyramidal

society of the time, the bourgeoisie

began to imitate the nobility, while the

elite, in order to maintain social dis-

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FIELD GUIDE: HOW TO BE A FASHION DESIGNER

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