Fashion

Fashion is a term which means ‘an ongoing trend ‘. It refers to how people dress and what kind of external getup most people think is making them look stylish, up-to-date and sophisticated. While etiquettes and manner also somehow comes into the count but it comparatively more superficial and dynamic. It changes with winds of time very fast. This can be seen from the vast difference between how people used to dress before and now. Films are the mirror to the society. And therefore is comparison is seen live by comparing how the actors used to dress before and now

Tinsel town celebrities have always been the trend setters to the common people. People, especially the girls always are inclined towards one or more actresses because of how they look and they also want to look the same. More or less everyone have a fashion idol.

Fashion used to be very different in metros and small towns in earlier days. But now the difference have gone down to a great extent due to many reasons. First if all the demand of online shopping malls have increased. Shopping sites such as jabong, snapdeal ,myntra, etc. does the work of delivering fashion at the doorstep. These websites run all over the country and they are available at most of the pin codes. And since the girls wear all kinds of clothes, now those fashions have come into the real market too. The growth of social media and overall the demand of time which lures everyone to look confident and updated, have made people quite inclined towards making himself look fashionable.
Especially when in college, girls think a lot about it. Not only women, men’s fashion market have also gone up. Shopping sites make available most of the branded clothes at lower prices than the real market and this is the reason man and women both are going after new trends.
While it is a good thing to be trendy and follow the latest innovations in designs, fabrics and others, one thing to be careful is to decide carefully whether it fits us and the place we live in. We should maintain the decorum of the place where we are living and not go against it. Blending in and deciding what to wear will be more acceptable without gaining negative attention. Also it must suit us. That’s a very important thing. If it is not suiting us but we are following it because it is the latest trend that is the worst thing we can do to how we look. We must be comfortable and when all these are kept in mind, we look our best. Westernized dressing style is not a bad thing but it must be decent. Our societies are still conservative and that is why we must be sensitive towards it. Moreover we have our own cultural heritage. We must therefore be proud of our ethnicity. Good thing is that our ethnic fashion have also evolved a lot and popularization of innovated designs have also attracted lot of attention and acceptance.

The fashion industry is changing constantly. New styles are being incorporated into old styles. Many ideas are passed down as others are removed or altered. Others are tested. The latest idea that is being tested are the expectations for genders, particularly in models. Over the years more and more models have expressed their own personal styles and beliefs. Photographers and designers have also begun to work with this and amplify it. But what’s changed?
We all have a general idea of what is masculine and what is feminine, in a more commonly known sense. For a woman its slender and thin. Long legs and an elegant posture; curves and smooth, clear skin. For a male it’s tall, built and active. The reason for these specific ideas of each gender can be traced back in history. Men have usually been seen as the more physically active gender while women have been seen as more elegant and nurturing.
In today’s fashion industry, these ideas are becoming known as the old way of thinking. We have begun to see successful men, who aren’t as muscular and men who cross-dress. Cross-dressing has become very popular in the last few years. Directors have begun to give male models the same treatment as female models. One prime example is in cycle 20 of America’s Next Top Model. Just like the ladies, the guys have to wear colorful, heavy-handed makeup. They even wore acrylic press-on nails in one shoot. All of these things have also tied into for acceptance toward sexuality. More and more male models are coming out and expressing their pride. This, without a doubt, has taken fashion to a stronger and more interesting level. This new boldness has tested social norms and has made a strong statement. It is becoming less unusual to see men wearing makeup or more “feminine” clothing.
The idea for female models has changed too. There is more diversity physically, racially and in many other ways. Different styles are more accepted, such as pin-up models. Women having tattoos has become more acceptable, and has become its own genre in the modeling industry. There has also been an increase in plus-size models. Though it is still encouraged, women are no longer pressured to have the perfect hourglass figure. Now in days, it is more common to encourage women to love their figures, unique as they are. One major change that has been repeated is women taking on the role of men. In fashion, short hair has become a trend. Along with other modifications, female models have acted out the idea that women can be just as successful, strong and independent as men. This is quite an admirable message, in my opinion.
Going back to the idea of unique, modeling has become more diverse, racially. In the past, models were known to be predominately Caucasian, and now just about anyone can be a model. Comparing the early 1900s to this decade is quite amazing when you see how far we’ve come as far as acceptance.
Going more in depth with the changes in fashion photography,
As there have been changes, things have also stayed the same. Many things have even repeated. Fashion always repeats its self, and at the moment the fashion industry has traveled back to years 1950-1980. For some reason this generation of designers couldn’t reference one decade. At the very least, new styles have been incorporated into the classics. Today you can get clothes inspired by something already made in the last 70 years. This has made for some very interesting shoots. Moshino’s Spring 2013 fashion week in Milan is a good example of this. The clothes bring back the retro edge of the 60s.
Focusing more on another view of changes in fashion photography, modesty has greatly decreased. In the past, men and women were more private. A woman could be beautiful with a turtleneck on. A woman could do that now, but generally speaking we show more skin now than what was acceptable in the past. One’s “birthday suit” was only seen in the past in artwork like paintings and sculptures. Now it can either be art or fashion. It is most often used, today, to draw attention and to gain publicity. Fashion in Europe often includes a runway show where models wear little to no clothing, and possibly one accessory, all to advertise the accessory. This can be taken in many ways; artistic, demeaning, bold, confident or inappropriate. However, fashion always has an effect. Fashion can have more impact on a way of thinking than music.

The impact of fashion is like a chain reaction. A designer comes out with a new line for the season, a few other designers come out with their own version of the same thing and all those variations of the same style are copied by people lower in the fashion industry and sold for cheaper. These cheaper products are also lower in quality. However, no one cares as long as they have the “in” look. In the past there was always a specific look that was being promoted by a majority of designers. Today, there are more looks than designers. Men and Women have plenty of styles to admire and take on and none of them are exactly the same.
The most influential change in fashion photography has been the technological improvement. The obvious changes have been the quality of the cameras and lighting. Looking further into it, the editing software has improved. This has been positive and negative. It has taken fashion photography up a few levels, but it’s also been tied to another issue. Editing software has been overdone and used to alter the physical appearance of models, given them an unreal, flawless look. This has caused the general public to feel like having small things such as stretch marks and scars are uncommon and unattractive. It makes people feel like being as beautiful as a model is impossible.