by Rahkua Verderosa-Ishakarah
Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury, installation of shopping bags, 1990
"Magic Flute" - Theodor Adorno
Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrun (later adopting maternal surname Adorno) (September 11, 1903-August 6, 1969) was one of the most important philosophical and social critics in Post-World-War II Germany. He examined Western philosophical tradition and radically critiqued modern Western society. Adorno belongs to the Frankfort School (a term delineated for several different institutions based in or around Frankfurt, Germany) of thinkers who re-engaged Marxist philosophy as it applied to the critique of modern capitalism. He focused on the application of these critiques to an "exchange society" in which fetishized commodity production is central to Western society's cultural aesthetic and value system. His theories are largely based on those of philosophers like Georg Hegel, Karl Marx, Immanuel Kant, and Sigmund Freud.
Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrun (later adopting maternal surname Adorno) (September 11, 1903-August 6, 1969) was one of the most important philosophical and social critics in Post-World-War II Germany. He examined Western philosophical tradition and radically critiqued modern Western society. Adorno belongs to the Frankfort School (a term delineated for several different institutions based in or around Frankfurt, Germany) of thinkers who re-engaged Marxist philosophy as it applied to the critique of modern capitalism. He focused on the application of these critiques to an "exchange society" in which fetishized commodity production is central to Western society's cultural aesthetic and value system. His theories are largely based on those of philosophers like Georg Hegel, Karl Marx, Immanuel Kant, and Sigmund Freud.
"Life does not live."
Theodor Adorno approaches the subject of disenchanting and enchanting illusions of beauty, power, and art through a sociological, psychological, cultural, and theoretical lens that focuses on the fetishistic/magical endowment of power and its captivity of certain objects and consequently (as a product of the general predisposition) luxury. He intends to dispel the notion that enlightenment, through its invocation of reason, dissolves the beauty of art and objects, instead positing that it simultaneously dissolves and assembles the qualities of the beauty aesthetic.
Theodor Adorno approaches the subject of disenchanting and enchanting illusions of beauty, power, and art through a sociological, psychological, cultural, and theoretical lens that focuses on the fetishistic/magical endowment of power and its captivity of certain objects and consequently (as a product of the general predisposition) luxury. He intends to dispel the notion that enlightenment, through its invocation of reason, dissolves the beauty of art and objects, instead positing that it simultaneously dissolves and assembles the qualities of the beauty aesthetic.
Versace gearshift adornment
The fashion victim is held captive by brand and trend.
The fact that this contemplation/enlightnment/
Key Terms: Enlightenment; Kantian Theory; contemplation; magic/power/illusion/myth; domination; commodity
"Great Aspirations: Hip Hop and Fashion Dress for Excess and Success" - Emil Wilbekin
Emil Wilbekin, born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1968 is the former Editor-in-Chief for Vibe Magazine (Quincy Jones' creation for urban culture and fashion with an emphasis on uban music). He was educated at Hampton University and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. Wilbekin is now the vice president of brand development for designer label Marc Ecko as well as a member of the editorial board for the brand's magazine, Complex. He was also named as one of the top 100 influential homosexual people of 2002 by Out magazine.
Emil Wilbekin, born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1968 is the former Editor-in-Chief for Vibe Magazine (Quincy Jones' creation for urban culture and fashion with an emphasis on uban music). He was educated at Hampton University and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. Wilbekin is now the vice president of brand development for designer label Marc Ecko as well as a member of the editorial board for the brand's magazine, Complex. He was also named as one of the top 100 influential homosexual people of 2002 by Out magazine.
Tupac in two styles, Karl Kani left and Versace suit right
"Soon, hip hop would start to change the sartorial landscape of Seventh Avenue, Paris, and Milan."
Emil Wilbekin takes a journalistic approach to an examination of urban culture's permeation into the high fashion lexicon (and vice-versa). He demonstrates, through a brief yet expansive overview of hip-hop history, how the culture has been integrated into haute couture brands and fashion in general and how many of the "hip-hop heads" have embraced the practice to the extent of creating their own clothing lines. "Beyond the blatant courting by both sides, fashion now takes aesthetic direction from hip hop cuture more than ever." Wilbekin takes the position that at the center of it all is capitalistic desire. The hip hop moguls represent the image of popular culture and thus prove to be profitable marketing venues. At the same time, the designer brands like Versace, Chanel, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, etc. represent an image of success and hold mystical/glamourous value for hip hop culture who want to emulate these same values and do so through the promotion of these brands in music, clothing, advertisement. The mutualistic symbiosis is guided by the ultimate desire of capitalist societies: money. As Wilbekin states in the last line of the article, "It's the American Way".
Jay Z in street wear and power suit
Urban brands connected to Hip Hop
Lil Kim by David LaChapelle
"Great Aspirations: Hip Hop, and Fashion Dress for Excess and Succes" was first published in 1999 by Three Rivers Press, a division of Random House, Inc in a chronological examination of hip-hop - The Vibe History of Hip Hop by the editors of Vibe Magazine.
Key Terms: hip-hop (fashion/brand); urban market; ghetto fabulous
"Ethical Fashion: Myth or Future Trend?" - Catrin Joergens
Catrin Joergens is the Global Product Manager of Men's Apparel at Addidas Originals in Nürnberg Area, Germany where she is responsible for creating globally relevant products and concepts and men's apparel. She was educated at The University of Manchester and Hochshule Niederrhein.
Catrin Joergens is the Global Product Manager of Men's Apparel at Addidas Originals in Nürnberg Area, Germany where she is responsible for creating globally relevant products and concepts and men's apparel. She was educated at The University of Manchester and Hochshule Niederrhein.
What makes something ethical or sustainable? Many factors from production to consumption as well as their lasting influence and consequences.
It is first important to understand what "ethical fashion" really means and what societal implications it may have. Ethical fashion, which Joergen refers to as "a contemporary phenomenon in Western societies", basically describes the practice of designing, producing, selling, and purchasing in an ethics conscious manner - taking into consideration the working conditions under which the clothes were made, animal welfare, the sustainability, or ability to recycle the material and its affect on the environment, etc.
Catrin Joergens approached the concern for ethical fashion's existence, success probability, and consumer purchase influence from a purely research/emperical standpoint. She is trying to determine whether or not ethics have a significant, if any, effect on consumers' decision to purchase clothing. This article basically demonstrates these findings - consumer's attitudes and beliefs about ethical issues as they relate to the fashion industry and subsequent purchase behavior - in an attempt to give insight and understanding of ethical fashion and its consumption and possibly spread interest/action in the topic.
The key question that Joergens is attacking is whether consumers are willing to "sacrifice their personal needs to support ethically produced clothing" and what marketing potential does ethical clothing have. Through a series of focus groups and questionnaires administered to UK and German 18-26 year-olds, Joergens provided first-hand accounts of how ethical fashion is viewed to the relevant consumer. This ag e group is employed because of the relevance of the "ethical fashion phenomenon" to this particular consumer base.
Recycled dresses
ore stylish, and easier to shop for looks rather than ethics. "GM: 'I want to look good and make an impression on people'".
Joergens points to the fact that the delineations are not clear enough between the companies producing ethical fashion and the ones that are not. Many of the participants showed concern over the role the media played, targeting certain companies for being unethical, while ignoring the overarching problem as a whole. "CD: I don't think it makes a difference if I boycott Nike or Gap. Doing so I would just be following what the media says." "DR: At the end it is just a shifting of buying to another unethically acting company". Thus the industry and issue as a whole needs be examined in order to shift the dynamic not from one store to another, but from one major form of producing and purchasing to the other.
Furthermore, the concern for ethical issues is also undermined by the low accessibility and awareness of the products. "One of the main difficulties they perceive is the limited offer of ethical products as well as the price of these." Many of the participants imply (some even explicitly state) that they might be more inclined to consider the ethical issues if there were a wider range of products to choose from, things that would personally fit their own styles. Also, if there was some clear demarcation of which products are being generated ethically rather than continuing to follow the flawed system that exists today where many company stake claim to ethicism for the public image but don't actually practice. Thus, it seems clear that more information is needed not only about the products but about the phenomenon in general in order for people to be able to make informed decisions. The ethical fashion companies need to communicate this more effectively and the consumers need to put more pressure on the other companies and the media in order for us to move toward a more ethic-conscious society of buyers.
Noir, Danish Eco-Fashion label, London Fashion Week, 2009
"Ethical Fashion: Myth or Future Trend" was published in 2006 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited in the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management. Vol. 10, Issue 3 in Manchester, England. The research/focus groups were conducted in the UK and Germany.
Key Terms: purchase power/behavior; trend; ethical fashion; customer satisfaction; ethical issues
"We adress... ethical or ecological... questions in every other part of our lives except fashion. Mind-sets are changing, though, which is encouraging." -Stella McCartney ("What is Ethical Fashion" www.vam.ac.uk. Victoria and Albert Museum.)
[Download] $12,234 within 2 months Gambling Software?
ReplyDeleteLet me get it straight.
I don't care about sports. Shame on me but I don't even know the football rules.
I tried EVERYTHING from FOREX & stocks to internet systems and affiliate programs.. I even made some money but then lost it all away when the stock market went south.
I think I finally found it. Download Now!!