preview

How Fashion Can Make Expressive Visual Statements About Their Identities

Better Essays

Bennett (2005, p.??? ) argues that “Fashion provides one of the most ready means through which individuals can make expressive visual statements about their identities” . It is said that clothes play a big role in the society: it can either identify or hide a person and in term of revealing identity garments can show one’s tastes, politic position, status in the society, ‘power and success’, educational and cultural background and sexual preferences (Bennett, 2005). Fashion not only helps to express but it also gives a personal satisfaction when appearing in a favourable way and a pleasure of wearing a good fabrics. (Bennett, 2005). There is no one true meaning of the garment and the cultural meaning can vary from the one intended by its designer. The clothes can signify different things depending on the wearers and their background, political, economical and cultural context and the environment. This is the reason why the message sent by the wearer through the garment can be different from the message received by the society (Bennett, 2005). Fashion identifies not only different individuals, but also it can be a mean of a social groups and certain garments can show an individual belonging to a social group or subculture (Bennett, 2005).

The impact of fashion on the expression of personal and group identity are to be discussed based on the subculture theory and on example of the Teddy Boys as one of the brightest subculture in the United Kingdom in 50s. In order to

Get Access