How Fashion Dominates the World.

Fashion in today’s time has become an exciting topic of discussion wherein everyone wants to put on their best dress to look fashionable; why not? Since that is the trend. Designers are well aware of the needs of such consumers, and to cater to them, they come up with interesting fashionable clothing pieces. When I utter the term ‘fashion,’ it is not just solely restricted to bodywear (in other words, clothes) but also has extended its reach to home wear design and makeup- creating the desire in us to remain “on-trend,” “to be fashionable .”And social media platforms like Instagram have managed to intensify this desire for us to stay on-trend. Talking on a personal note, one opening the Instagram app comes across the reels of social bloggers, which in itself creates the desire to fit into this world of fashion which promotes conspicuous consumption, and we end up buying ‘fashionable items’ which we might not require. This fashion world can be seen in a sense external to us, which creates certain pressure on us to fit into this ‘world of fashion, and social media platforms contribute to the enhancement of such external pressure upon us. 

The collaborations we see on the social media platforms between the various clothing brands (like Myntra, Amazon, Urbanic, etc.) and the social bloggers are all strategies employed by these brands to captivate our attention and indulge us in such ‘fast fashion’ which in turn, helps them to strengthen their hold, contributing to the sustenance of fast-fashion brands. Also, films reflect the current fashion trends, hooking us all up to these significant trends, which we often internalize and display in our lifestyles. Also, looking at the evolution of fashion, we can encounter how there has been a change where the fashion trends in metros and small-town cities were very different compared to the fashion trends that we witness in the 21st century.

Fashion trends change from season to season and year to year, and frequently, it reverts to a previous era’s style. And now, fashion brands focus on catering to the demands of women and men. And the various shopping sites available to us at the tip of our hands make it more convenient for shopping brands to grip a stronger hold in the Indian fashion market. The recent MET GALA event itself proves how fashion has been able to tighten its grip on the minds of individuals, even though we are
unaware of it. With each of us taking to our social media platforms and exciting the event to make it a big deal, it serves as proof of how fashion has been able to maintain its hegemony in society while we serve as passive recipients on the other side, simply consuming, internalizing, and demonstrating in our lifestyles.