Fashion is About Intention

Oscar Wilde
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.

Oscar Wilde has a point. Many people liken fashion to being disposable and, although not implied in the quote, many of us deride the fashion world as occupied by predominantly ostentatious and presumptuous individuals who get paid a stardom wage for meager work. And even amongst shoppers, we often liken someone fashionable as ornate and lavish. I agree, to certain extent. Yes, some things are disproportionately priced and some people are more snobbish than others. And most shoppers, if they had the choice, opt for designer clothes, shoes, bags, apparels, and accessories. But the truth is that fashion doesn't have to be that way. And for one to love fashion, money nor status is a requisite. Although I contend that some money is required, a prodigal amount is not essential.

What truly makes fashion ugly and fickle, at times, is not fashion in itself. Fashion, like any other subjects of study, is merely an area of interest by itself. To say that fashion is a form of ugliness is like saying photography, carpentry, music, or even geography is ugly. But such endowment, as we know it, are not inherent in the topics. They're found in the people who survey or practice the topics. Just as politics isn't inherently guileful yet we assume most politicians to be artful, fashion, too, is not inherently ugly. On the other hand, none of the subjects or topics I've mentioned are inherently beautiful either. We may say politics, fashion, or business are gruesome biz, but in actuality, what we refer as gruesome is the people and their expressions unveiled through the topics they've chosen as their medium.

So what is fashion?

During my search of a resolution, I found this quote. Oscar Wilde had another quote that I've come to identify, which addresses the notion of fashion more closely than any other quotes or phrases I've ever heard. Even more, this quote has become my personal impetus for understanding, perceiving, and utilizing fashion in everyday life and conceptually as well.

Oscar Wilde
A mask tells us more than a face.

Fashion, in a nutshell, is a mask. It's a mask you choose, it's a mask you wear, and it's a mask you exhibit. You may be successful in concealing your character, temperament, and attributes, but one way or the other your mask is always available for others to view. And in attempt, you may work to counter your intrinsic qualities with extrinsic qualities. Or you may boast or exaggerate a unique side that's not readily available for other to perceive. Or perhaps you're more humble and honest, so you may attempt to simply parallel your inner world to your appearances. Or you may be more practical and thrifty, and fashion isn't much of a subject other than its practicality. Whatever your sense of fashion implies, the important matter is that fashion lends itself to opportunities to create a duality within yourself. It's what you want to portray. Fashion is an extension, it's a complement, and and it's a supplement, all in one word.

Fashion is about intention.

What each individuals wear, indeed, conveys a message, although too often people mistaken consumerism for fashion. Marketers and advertisers are primarily interested in their profits. Of course, it's their mandate, and it's understandable. They too have families and careers as well. But as consumers, it can seem confusing. Magazines and ad spaces, filled with caricatures of femininity and masculinity, limn a false utopia in the minds of viewers. But whatever the ads say about the statement that their product will make are subject to change depending on the wielder and user. It's also subject to change depending on the context. This is nearly true for everything. Imagine and compare two people, such as Obama and Mussolini, saying a simple 'hello'. There's a world of difference, and personally, I would never want to be confronted with Mussolini saying 'hello' to me. One is a delight while the other is a nightmare. Similarly, even a piece of clothing article is expressively different on each individual. And the messages that the wearer and the apparels convey together significantly contrast to someone else wearing the same. The message is conveyed as a whole, holistically. Notably, some messages are more interesting or intriguing than others but that largely follows the cultural context and individuals' tastes.

I'm reluctant to call myself a fashion lover so I'll speak in distance, referring to true fashion lovers in third-person. When contemplating about fashion, I feel like a novice. But point making, true fashion lovers understand their underlying intentions. They are felicitous individuals who craft their masks to most sobriety. They willfully sculpt their intentions through fashion as their medium. They may simply be intuitive or they may attentively study fashion to details. But they are intentional and evocative. They effectively communicate a visual experience or a sense of feelings, or both.

Having said that, fashion is still just a topic of interest. Understandably, not everyone is fervid about fashion. Or if they are, they don't hold the same level of enthusiasm. And just as not everyone is a geography enthusiast or a music lover, fashion holds its own small niche in this world. But the difference between music, geography, or any other study topic, and fashion is that fashion is available to everyone. More precisely put, everyone is both the subject and the object of the study in fashion. And in that sense, we all practice fashion. It's universal. However, that's not to say fashion, like any other study of interest, does not require effort or growth in self-awareness. Like all skills in life, it comes with practice. And creativity is not a requisite either. Although it's more advantageous in the scope of design, in the practical world there's still great merit to those who are careful, attentive, and cognizant of one's environment. Although fashion is a primary vocation for the few designers and industry workers, for everyone else, fashion is an avocation. We all have the choice and the ability to state our intentions.

Fashion, to me, is still a novel subject. I've yet to learn a lot more as I actively explore various styles, materials, patterns, articles, the lingos, cultures, and people. In that aspect, this blog entry is far from complete or satisfactory in its depth. This entry is somewhat inconclusive, but I primarily wanted to share my initial observations and thoughts on the matter. Fashion, as I know it for now, is about intentions.