
Nearly everyone in our society gets dressed each morning and goes about their day. However, most people fail to realize that fashion has a large significance not only in society, but in history itself. The purpose of the visual presentation, “We’re All Slaves to Fashion” is to show the evolution of fashion throughout history in order to portray the depth of its effects on society and politics. Most importantly, the visual is demanding audiences to recognize the fact that their individuality in terms of outward appearance is largely controlled by fashion and its ever-changing trends. The visual text uses a transition from cartoon images to actual photos, focal points on specific landmarks in history, and a focus on micro levels of fashion in society in order to convey how much fashion affects macro levels of society all the way down to the individual. 

The visual introduces fashion in one of its earliest forms in order to provide an informative setting and lay the ground for fashion in a historical point of view. Fashion existed before the 1800s, but around this time the textile industry began to take off and the issue of clothing became a more widespread happening. From a broad point of view, the evolution of fashion can be seen in the simple fact that the images begin as drawings and shift to actual photographs. This symbolizes the progression of history and how fashion developed and transformed into what we recognize it as today. Also, because fashion and advertising go hand in hand, the transition from ads to personal photos can show just how fashion has evolved to an individualized level. 

A major key in recognizing the importance of fashion and how it affects the history of society and politics is to look at the individuals portrayed in the images and how they shift as the timeline progresses. Looking at the images leading up to the 1950s, the major sociopolitical movement of feminism in history can be traced. Women’s dress styles shifted to challenge the norm that previously held women to be confined to concealing clothing. Dresses grew shorter and shorter, and women also began to style pants into their fashion statements even though they were held to be strictly for men. The wave of feminism continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s and introduced very distinct fashion styles during this period. Women continued to challenge the norms of fashion by taking trends into their own hands. Women also strengthened their role in society by dominating the growing fashion industry. The races of the women in the photos is also key to seeing the transition and evolution of fashion.

Another major sociopolitical movement that can be traced back to the images is the Civil Rights movement that began in the mid-1950s and lasted through the 1960s in America. Before the 1950s, media platforms and consumer culture in America failed to include people of color in the images they released. The Civil Rights movement definitely used fashion to its advantage by proving that people of color were no different than the white majority, other than the tone of their skin. After the 1960s and on through the 1970s, people of color turned fashion into another medium to voice their expressions and cries for equality. 

As fashion’s significance continued to evolve with history, its role also strengthened at a micro level. The individual became more and more keen to self-expression while at the same time making sure to mostly fit in with society’s projection of what fashion should look like at any given time. Even when certain individuals or subgroups challenged fashion norms, they still used clothing as a main way of standing out. So whether an individual is making a statement with the clothes that they wear, or going along with the norm at that time, they still typically look to fashion to define who they are. 

Because fashion is something that almost everyone in popular culture participates in, it is often overlooked in day-to-day life. Outside of the fashion industry, many people do not recognize how much they are effected by something so simple as the clothes on their back. Fashion is looked at by many as something that they control themselves, when in fact, fashion has the power to control many things that people do in everyday life. By taking into account the importance of attire at a job interview, the frenzy surrounding high school proms, or public school dress codes, one can truly recognize the impact that fashion has on the lives of everyone. 

Fashion has been transformed and shaped by many historical events. It has also been shaped by the ever-changing flow of social trends. Someone’s outfit could be associated with a negative or positive stigma, social class, or a sociopolitical movement, but for the most part an outfit is not always as simple as waking up and throwing something together. Most people will go to their wardrobe first to make a statement because the first impression that the others see is usually the one that will last the longest. As long as time moves forward, fashion will follow suit. As fashion moves forward and changes, people will move accordingly in order to keep up without even realizing it. Fashion’s evolution is tied to society at large and to the individual who will be responsible for setting the next trend.

Works Cited

Miller, Jakayla. We're All Slaves to Fashion. 2016. Word Document. Class Project, USC Columbia. 