COP2 / Georg Simmel - 'Fashion'

'...the well to do initiate fashion in order to define themselves as the upper social class and to segregate themselves from others.'

'It unites those of a social class and separates them from others.'


'Imitation... gives to the individual the satisfaction of not standing alone in his actions... The individual is freed from the worry of choosing and appears simply as a creature of the group.'

'...the teleological individual, on the other hand, is ever experimenting, always restlessly striving, and he relies on his own personal conviction.'


This theory of imitation links nicely with our previous seminar looking at the self and other theories of identity, notably by Sheldon Stryker and George J McCall & JL Simmons. 

I'm interested in how brands project an image onto their target market and take advantage of this imitation through endorsement or advertisement.

'The principle of adherence to given formulas, of being and acting like others, is irreconcilably opposed to the striving to advance to ever new and individual forms of life...'                                            

'Fashion is the imitation of a given example and satisfies the demand for social adaptation...'

'...at the same time it satisfies in no less degree the need of differentiation, the tendency toward dissimilarity, the desire for change and contrast...which gives the fashion of today an individual stamp as apposed to that of yesterday and of tomorrow.'

'Just as the lower classes begin to copy their (the upper class) style, the upper classes turn away from this style and adopt a new one, which in its turn differentiates them from the masses...' 

'The increase of wealth is bound to hasten the process considerably and render it visible...'

'There exists a widespread predilection for importing fashions from without, and such foreign fashions assume a greater value within the circle, simply because they did not originate there'. 

For me, the above relates directly to fashion houses claiming a sense of place, ie Rimmel London, or All Saints Spitalfields. That (usually desirable) place is transferred in some form to the customer.

I'd like to note at this point that Simmel refers to 'primitive races' far too much for my liking.