The fashion industry has been around for thousands of years. People originally began wearing clothes simply for protection and for a purpose. Throughout the years, clothes have gained new purposes and have taken new identities. In the earliest times of fashion, social and economic status was determined based on the clothes men and women wore. Fashion has been impacted by people, social movements and even war; it has recently become a sense of culture, especially with the impact of social media. Social media has allowed people to become much more connected to the fashion industry than they ever could have been before. Models, fashion weeks, designers, and many other aspects make up what people call “fashion” and those who follow fashion follow it for a reason, or several. But even when people do not realize or think they follow fashion, everyone follows it in some way or another. Keeping up with the latest trends, wearing something designer, even shopping at the most popular stores at the mall make people followers of fashion. The fashion industry has grown significantly throughout the years, and has started to impact more lives with the growth of technology and its substantial market in the economy. It is constantly changing with new ideas and influences. The fashion industry is important to society because it impacts the economy and promotes cultural values. 

The fashion industry is primarily important to society because it affects everyone, unlike some other industries. According to Jo Ellison in her article ‘Why Fashion Matters- No Matter Who You Are,’ everyone has a connection to fashion because they all contribute to it in some way: “Clothes are a language by which we are judged: a shorthand that allows us to communicate with others, and an expression of our feelings of self-worth or status” (Ellison.) Everyone purchases clothes, no matter if they care about being ‘fashionable’ or not. Fashion is filled with status symbols, therefore effecting the overall economic and social standings of different people involved in the fashion world. Those who hold fashion as a standard in their life communicate with the clothes they wear. Their clothes reflect their values and culture, which is typically indicated in their fashions. That is how they communicate in society. The fashion industry holds a large weight on society in a global sense.

High fashion is couture made by significant designers and is characterized by being custom made and high in price; it is the basis of the fashion industry and where fashion spreads from. Designers of high fashion, such as Karl Lagerfeld (House of Chanel) and Donatella Versace (House of Versace) create fashions that become trends, re-created by other designers into less expensive brands. High fashion could often be considered a high art form. In an article from The Huffington Post, Katherine LaGrave compared high fashion to high art. She furthered that comparison by relating Picasso to Chanel. “In the same way that most people who admire a Picasso will never be able to buy one, the majority of people who pine for an iconic Chanel suit will never feel that wool against their skin. Nevertheless, much as one can still appreciate Picasso’s piece… one can still look at early Chanel designs and see how themes of women’s empowerment and activity were manifested in the designs” (LaGrave.) Just as Picasso created art through drawings and paintings, high fashion designers create art through designs, sketches, and ultimately, the garments they produce. When a celebrity is asked who they are wearing on the red carpet, they are asked because people care what art forms they are wearing on their bodies, which come from those high-end designers. 

The fashion industry promotes culture and is impacted just as much by cultural movements. The first fashion culture movement came in the 1920’s, right before the Great Depression. Women began to obtain more rights, and therefore began raising their hemlines on skirts and dresses. This was a rebellious movement by women and certainly impacted the choices designers made in making women’s clothing. The second fashion movement arose in the 1960’s with the hippie movement. Young men and women began rebelling from social norms and experimenting with drugs, as well as fashion. Bell bottoms, tie-dye and circular sunglasses became popular through events such as Woodstock. This hippie movement also impacted the fashion industry. In an article from Marie Claire, Caroline Leaper describes how the sixties impacted fashion “Many fashion traditions were broken, mirroring the momentous social and political changes of the decade” (Leaper.) These two significant cultural movements influenced the fashion industry even into what it is today. Without the 1920’s movement, flapper dresses would not exist in current women’s apparel, and without the 1960’s hippie revolution, those fashions would not still be relevant in many popular stores. Fashion is influenced by culture and culture is influenced fashion, particularly in high-end fashion brands.

Not only does the fashion industry have an impact on culture, it also has a beneficial impact on the economy. Fashion marketing is an important aspect in the economy today. Without the fashion industry, the economy would be hurting in many ways. According to Patrik Aspers in his book Orderly Fashion: A Sociology of Markets, retailers such as Gap, H&M and Topshop are branded garments that have significant influence to consumers in the global fashion industry. Aspers “examines these retailers' interactions and competition in the consumer market for fashion garments, researches connections between producer and consumer markets, and demonstrates why market order is best understood through an analysis of its different forms of social construction” (Princeton University Press.) In a fashion marketing aspect, everyone buys clothes, no matter who they are. This means that everyone is contributing to the economic side of the fashion industry. According to Aspers, retailers interact with producers and consumers of garments, which connects all of the fashion marketing aspects in one way or another. Consumer markets are constantly thriving based on the needs and wants of consumers. 

Some people argue that the fashion industry is not beneficial, even sometimes harmful, to society. In an article by Shannon Whitehead for The Huffington Post, the fashion industry is “designed to make you feel out-of-trend in one week.” According to Whitehead, this creates a negative outlook on the fashion industry by saying it is too rapidly-changing and negatively influences consumers because they will have to constantly be having to purchase new clothes to stay “in trend”. Although this has some truth, trends are not necessarily a harmful thing for consumers. Typically, ‘trendy’ clothing, or clothing that quickly goes out of style, lasts much longer than a week. Fads (short-lived fashions) can last several months, even up to a year. Some of these trends include acid-wash jeans, which became popular in the 1980’s, and fishnet stockings, which thrived primarily in the 90’s (Leaper.) These fads, although short-lived, have the ability to be brought back into style many years later. So unlike Whitehead argues, the fashion industry is designed to be cyclical, which encourages trends and promotes returning cultures. Whitehead also argues that the fashion industry is bad because there are harmful materials in clothing, such as lead. Some cheap brands do carry accessories that contain high amounts of lead, however, most companies support safe manufacturing and distribution. Some designers and brands have even come out saying they do not test on animals and are very safe for human consumption. Many companies are starting to become more environmentally friendly and are steering clear of putting hazardous material in their clothing and accessories. The fashion industry is not destructive to society, but rather encourages smart practices and cultural individuality.

The most important aspect of the fashion industry and its impact on society is its impact of everyday people’s lives, primarily through social media. So many people are influenced by the fashion industry every day, and many make their everyday decisions based on the fashion industry. In a CNN article Social Media Brings Fashion to the Masses, the author discusses a case where a young girl uses Instagram to explain her love of fashion and meet one of her favorite high-end fashion designers. Kate Ogata, a young fashion lover, used Instagram to post a picture in order to win a trip to the Rebecca Minkoff designer fashion show. Ogata was able to be up close and personal with the designer and her fashions on the runway. This instance shows how the impact of social media on the fashion industry affects the lives of daily people who consider themselves to be attached to the fashion industry or just fashion in general. Many other people connect themselves to the fashion industry through social media. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have allowed people to come in contact with high-fashion models, designers and brands throughout the globe. Social media has also impacted the reach of tangible fashion; take fashion magazines for example. Fashion magazines have become much more attainable to everyday people because of social media and the internet. So many fashion magazines have created websites throughout the years, including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and many others. The fashion industry has thrived because of the expansion of social media. Models like Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner have prominent impacts on the fashion industry partly because of their large presence on social media. Gigi Hadid has even expanded her horizons into designing. She now has a collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger. The expansion of social media has allowed both designers and consumers to interconnect within the fashion industry.

Furthermore, the fashion industry can be relevant to society on a global sense when significant events occur. In an article published by Vogue, Liana Satenstein describes how the election of Donald Trump impacted fashion trends in Eastern Europe. According to Satenstein, “During the Obama administration, Moscow was rife with anti-Obama and anti-America themed souvenir clothing. Now, with a pro-Putin president set to take office and support for Trump surging in Russia, it will be interesting to see how the country adopts Trump’s larger-than-life personality, and love of branded merch, in the world of fashion” (Satenstein.) The article further explains that Georgian fashion is beginning to make a comeback in society, with merchandise stamped with cultural pride in both Georgia and Ukraine. Significant events in culture and history have an impact on the decisions designers make for their clothing. Going back to the example of the hippie movement in the 1960’s, designers began to incorporate drug references into their clothing since they knew that would attract hippies and other young adults using drugs at the time. Even artists like the Beatles made drug references in their songs, which surely impacted the fashion industry as well, especially with fan merchandise.

The importance of the fashion industry can also be shown through significant events, such as fashion week, which also promotes culture and benefits the economy for both the fashion industry and different cities which host fashion week. Fashion week begins in New York City, then travels to London, Milan, and ends in Paris. Paris fashion week is the most important for designers because most couture is presented on the runways in Paris during fashion week. These runways are filled with the top-notch models of the decade and the best fashions, which determine the trends that will appear the following season. Paris fashion week has been around for centuries and has always been the most prominent of any of the fashion weeks. Designers release their most sought-after couture and even sometimes include pret-a-port, or ready-to-wear in their collections. But behind all of the flashing lights and catwalks, so much time and effort goes into Paris fashion week. Designers spend the entire year creating their collections for fashion week, models start training and cutting back on carbs months before their walks begin, and media starts covering the fashions weeks before the week. Stages must be set, runways must be built, and the entire process begins as soon as the previous ends. With all of this hard work and dedication put in, Paris fashion week is created and the fashion industry circulates around the French capital (CNN.) The most important part of Paris fashion week, however, comes after the shows wrap up. All of the designs are reviewed closely and other designers begin to get their inspiration from the looks created in New York, London, Milan, and, most importantly, Paris. Paris fashion week helps shape what the next season of fashion will look like for the fashion industry. Without these important four weeks, the fashion industry would not be the same. Important events such as fashion week beneficially impact the fashion industry with its culture and economic impact.

These many aspects exemplify how the fashion industry holds a large weight on society, due to its promotion of cultural values and its beneficial impact on the economic side. So many aspects go into the fashion industry, most importantly culture and economics. Designers care about making their customers happy and making money. Without those things, they would not be successful. Fashion promotes culture because it helps people express their individuality and unique characteristics. In some cases, it is also comparable to high-end art, because couture is considered to be an art form with its delicacy and exclusivity. Fashion marketing is also important to the fashion industry because it creates a consumer market and helps benefit the economy. Without the fashion industry, the economy would be missing a large portion of money, since everyone contributes to the economic aspects of the fashion industry; buying clothes. Cultural movements as well as current events also impact fashion choices, for example the 1920’s and 1960’s movements, and the current political standings of the country on other countries. Everyone should be considered to be impacted by the fashion industry because most everyone makes fashion decisions based on different aspects of the fashion industry. The most important people who influence people to make their fashion choices are designers and celebrities. Most designers and celebrities now have prominent presence on social media, which has really impacted the fashion industry because it has helped expand it and connect it more to everyday people. With social media continuing to grow, the fashion industry will also continue to expand and become more obtainable to consumers who do not think they can afford high end couture. The evolution of fashion and its cyclical nature brings out the importance of its history and impact on the culture that it brings with it. The benefits the fashion industry has on today’s society also include the inter-relationships through the fashion market and the global economy, and the unique individualism it creates for people who want to express themselves through the clothes they wear. For those who do not think the fashion industry has an impact on their lives, they should consider how they came to obtain the clothes on their backs. Whether it is being heavily involved and attentive to fashion choices, or simply buying clothes from any store that sells trendy apparel relevant to the styles of society, everyone makes decisions that are relevant to the fashion industry. The importance of expressing unique characteristics through style and clothing is very important because it enhances culture and promotes social and cultural values. Without the fashion industry, society would not have the cultural influence that it needs to thrive. 
