Fashion Fever

In view of my opinion, the word “fashion” basically refers to an exaggerated distortion of a person’s image. Anything which is inn within that specific frame of time, following it becomes a pre-requisite to be socially desirable by all. As in today’s globalized era, people have adopted a stereotypical blurred image of beauty in mind. Today, everyone is in search of style with reference to our famous, so-called fashion designers.

In today’s modern date, fashion is rather restricted to the outlook of a person in a unique and absolute manner. It is more to do with how a person looks and/or dresses himself. The dynamism of the fashion world is moreover absurd.

Fashion journalism has become popular too. Many magazines, newspapers, websites and blogs include photographs and editorial critiques of various fashion designs and latest trends. ‘Vogue’ is one of the world’s most influential fashion magazine. Such magazines depict that if women can have tons and tons of clothes, they can do without nothing else. The movie “Devil wears Prada” also shows how difficult it was for Andy Sachs to get a job for the ‘Runway’ fashion magazine, because her attire style was outdated.

Those who do not fit into the ‘stereotypical’ image of a fashionable person are termed associated with derogatory remarks such as “weird”. If school-children wear their father’s or mother’s sweater to their school, they would be laughed at, even if that sweater keeps them cozy and safe from flu. They are labeled as geeks and nerds. People cannot even wear their last year clothes, just because the fad has expired and they are bound to follow the latest. They have to be socially acceptable by one and all.

In the program “Project Runway”, various designers showcase their designs on svelte models. Their designs are judged and every week one designer is eliminated. The judges pass derogatory comments at the designers whose designs are not liked by the judges, thus humiliating them. A person’s self-esteem is at stake. In fashion shows, some designs barely cover women, let alone their privates. One must ask; are such designs even worthy of being worn in public? Is fashion a substitute for nudity or obscenity in any way?

Tattoos and body piercings are a fashion statement, too. As per me, people mostly get tattoo’s done so that they may cover up some of their weaknesses or flaws and be viewed with a perception of being “cool”. They feel that such things are part of their self-image and self-concept. In recent times, they are used to tell something about the individual, just like the clothing. The skin must not remain empty too, now.

Fashion leads to the promotion of glamour. Why do we always begrudge something we don’t have in our lives, even though we do not necessarily need it? Have we ever tried to ponder over the fact as to why we crave for such a luxurious lifestyle? We have become indolently dependent upon quality that we forget the price that we have to pay for it. Has the infiltration of glamour changed our lifestyle so much that we need to reconsider our substitution class?

As seen through the definitions glamour is largely used to glorify appearance, but what if appearance and reality contrast each other in reality. It is in effect, used as a tool for mass disguise. It engrosses man in a trance, underestimating his ability to judge the true value of things. It must be stressed here that looking good is no crime, but only looking good is.

 If we do not realize the depth of the problem, we will never be able to rectify it. Stakes are high and urgent decisions are needed. In this post-normal world, where mass deception is common and outspread, if we do not realize the root of the problem that is facing us than we will undeniably will have to bear inevitable repercussions.

What we do not perhaps understand is that glamour is not only restricted to fashion, but rather encompasses many aspects of our daily lives. Our entire lifestyles are set under the agenda of promoting glamour. Urbanization is infused under the cover of glamour. A person is judged primarily on the basis of the suit he wears in the office, and secondarily on his performance.

One particular movie “Confessions of a shopaholic” can be discussed in this context. In this movie Rebecca Bloomwood is a shopping addict. Whenever she passes by a mall, she could not fight its allure. She keeps on accumulating debt. She is not able to pay the bills. She even loses her job. So this movie shows the price one has to pay for being a shopaholic.

The infusion of glamour in our lives is largely due to the emergence of brands in the hundreds of millions. Corporations have become living, breathing persons. Glamour is not merely an air of compelling charm, romance, and excitement but rather a simulated solicitation aura of hell. It makes one adore luxury to the extent that one would go to any extent for that. One is compelled by its fragrance leading him to forget the repercussions that he will have to face for it. You don’t get a Rolex out of nowhere. Your luxury is a result of their sacrifice. Their lives have to be sacrificed for you to get even a normal suit. That is how the system works.

Right now while one is driving a Ferrari, child labor in Africa is in the flow to get the raw materials. While one is enjoying a beautiful sunset on your rocking chair, know that that its wood was cut by men who got negligible wage for it.

The things you own have been snatched from others and given to you, just because you can pay for them. That is what these corporations do. They put their brand name on stolen material, re-style it and give it to you, while the real owner doesn’t get more than a penny.  Everything comes at a price. There is no such thing as free lunch. The elite are enslaving both the rich and the poor but by different means. They enchain the poor by oppression and the rich by making them so deeply involved in materialism.

What to be understood is that quality is not ought to be sacrificed in any manner. But what one doesn’t understand is that the achievement of a better standard commodity or service is generated through a certain price only. Also, the issue of morality tends to arise when one gets so deeply engrossed in materialistic possessions that he starts flaunting about them. Fashion has become a dire need or to say in better words, a pre-requisite in modern times. The current substitution class of ‘Survival of the Fittest’ only allows the more fashion-savvy to not only thrive but emerge through it successfully.

 Sehrish Javaid 

Sec H