Fashion Sociology: Definition and Meaning (2024)

In a society that values diversity, a person’s identity is defined by their fashion sense and sense of style. Fashions are extremely varied and special in that they can meet almost all of the social, religious, and cultural demands for identification found throughout the world.

Modern society is undergoing a great deal of change compared to ancient culture because of the rise in social, religious, and cultural identities brought on by civilization and technological growth. Ancient trends were solely based on cultural and religious identification, but today, cultural frameworks are allowing for the emergence of social identities that characterise specific groups of people, such as celebrities, young people, and the elderly.

According to sociological theory, “we know that through clothing people communicate some things about themselves, and at the collective level this typically results in locating them symbolically in some structured universe of status claims and lifestyle attachment.” As a result, clothing and fashions are crucial in the identification and classification of individuals in a society that is so diverse in terms of social, cultural, economic, and religious aspects.

What Is Fashion Sociology?

First and foremost, the term “sociology” is defined as “the study of society, human social interaction, and the laws and processes that unite and divide people, not only as individuals but as members of associations, groups, and institutions.” Social norms and individuals unquestionably affect one another. These social norms are upheld. They are known by experts as formal and informal sanctions. "The study of society, human social interaction, and the laws and processes that unite and divide people, not only as individuals but as members of associations, groups, and institutions" Social norms and individuals unquestionably affect one another.

These social norms are upheld. They are known by experts as formal and informal sanctions. The rules that the government creates are considered formal sanctions. One illustration is the demand for attire in public settings. On the other side, society establishes guidelines for informal penalties. People in this situation act so that others can accept them as the social norm.

Fashion responds to social norms and represents the group as a whole. Being a symbol of wealth or wearing a religious outfit has social value. For instance, the way feminism manifests in fashion varies between Western and Eastern cultures. In the West, feminism in fashion demonstrates that while clothing might expose body parts, sexual objectification is not permitted. While modesty and the maintenance of control over how the body is aesthetically seen are ways in which feminism in fashion is demonstrated in the East, particularly in Arabic-speaking communities, diverse cultural perspectives exist everywhere in the world. As though speaking for us before we speak, fashion may convey our culture and mood.

A Sociologist's Fashion Thoughts

The following are some concepts about the sociology of fashion given by a famous sociologist: They all explained the sociology of fashion according to their points of view. Some people explained the essence of fashion. Some people define "fashion" as a way of dressing. According to some, there are various domains of fashion from a sociological point of view. Like these, there are many more theories that elaborate on the sociology of fashion.

Georg Simmel (1997)

In a well-known essay written more than a century ago, the sociologist Georg Simmel (1997) noted that fashion was not simply about clothing trends but rather a fundamental process that shaped modern life and the psycho-social evolution of the modern individual. Georg Simmel places fashion outside of any particular sphere of social life and contends that it refers to a universal phenomenon present in all contemporary countries.

In essence, fashion may be seen as a type of social horizon point where individual goals clash with those of the group and where novel and innovative forms of aesthetic and behavioural expression question the stability and conservatism of social conventions. Thus, fashion can relate to any item, including clothing, ideas, or habits, but in reality, it refers to any area of social action where the dynamic, occasionally hostile process of individual creation and collective integration is visible.

Entwistle (2000)

Entwistle (2000) defines fashion as a modern-day dress system as well as a social system for encoding how bodies are presented. According to her, fashion is a style of dressing that mostly has to do with the body—how it is exhibited and dressed, how it functions, and what messages it conveys and signifies.

Diana Crane’s (2000)

Diana Crane’s (2000) work primarily situates fashion inside the realm of clothes, which she notes as offering significant insights into both appropriateness and convention norms, as well as their potential breach through the abundance of available clothing options.

Edward Sapir (1931)

The anthropologist and linguist Edward Sapir (1931) concurs that fashion can be found in a variety of other common domains, such as furniture and leisure forms, despite the fact that clothing is the field of expression that is most directly tied to the body and identity. In his analysis of the fashion phenomenon, Sapir adopts an intriguing tack by equating fashion with psychology, stating that “fashion is deeply egocentric.” "Functional irrelevance is implicit in all fashion, as opposed to symbolic significance for ego expressivity," he writes, emphasising the importance of symbolic meaning for ego expression over functional relevance.

Conclusion

Likewise, fashion sociology helps to better understand the institutional, organizational, structural, and cultural contexts in which fashion change is implemented. Fashion both influences and is influenced by the social milieu around it. As long as the fashion process’ basic characteristics as a sort of change are kept in mind, a focus on class, gender, race, or nation, to name a few issues, can only serve to make sense of it.

However, conceptual work is required before additional theoretical advancements may be accomplished. The definition of fashion still needs work. It is a method of producing things that is constrained by geography and time and requires collectives, as we have previously stated. It is a form of change in this sense, similar to fads or innovations.