The Fashion Industry: A Battle Between Art and Restrictions

By: B. Macedo

Fashion is easily one of the most complex and polarizing industries. Even when we don’t realize it, it takes up a considerable part of our lives. Past statements have shaped how we see ourselves today, and even the clothes you put on to stay at home have a direct relationship with this market. Like any other art form, it is a place of vast creativity, followed by a search for originality, which can even be used to find the best expression of ourselves. But there’s the catch. The chase for art has imposed years of beauty standards and expectations, leaving us with the question: does fashion embrace or hide imperfections? 

Beauty standards have always existed; there is no doubt about that. What changes is the shape in which they come in, from the Egyptian makeup supposed to represent social class to the unachievable Victorian silhouettes. But the industry as we know it only came about in the 20th century, moved by growing commerce, technological advances, and eventual globalization. 

Coco Chanel, perhaps one of the biggest fashion revolutionaries, made dresses shaped over her own body, popularizing the slim and flat flapper look of the 1920’s, which soon became considered overly masculine. Yves Saint Laurent shocked audiences in 1967 with the collection Le Smoking, putting women in bold tuxedos that defied standards of the time. Rei Kawakubo, inspired by the idea of designing bodies, not clothes, presented Bumps in 1997, a fascinating collection of stretched and warped dresses. 4 years later, Alexander McQueen criticized the industry’s beauty standards with the disturbing Voss, forcing audiences to look at themselves in the mirror and presenting both exquisite and mind-warping pieces.  

Despite the criticism of the business and the art within it, the industry still faces harsh restrictions. The chase for this artistry often leads to contradictory standards that are more present than ever today. Believe it or not, since the early 20th century, people believed models were too thin and did not reflect at all what people truly looked like. The 80’s and 90’s runways presented skeletal figures as the standard, leading to generations of eating disorders not only among models but among the young girls who watched them. This was also due to the new demand of the market: thinner models required less fabric and therefore lower production costs. Not to mention the racism and favoritism that have been present for decades, with lack of representation still being as big an issue.   

But the question remains. Does the art justify the expectations? The truth is, like any ​other form of art, there are people in the industry controlling it. The patterns and the repeated mistakes or injustices that have been seen for years and years are not part of the art, but part of the business. It is undeniably a complex one, mixing lines between consumerism, artistic integrity, resources and demand, and advertisement. In a society today ruled by social media, these expectations haven’t simply disappeared, but have reappeared in new formats, emphasizing the ever-changing nature of the industry. The battle between expression and oppression can possibly only be found in a place such as this, where art can curiously liberate or restrict depending on the way you see it.