What Is Fashion?

In my short stint at Ai, I was asked by a remarkably profound teacher, "What is fashion?" Now the first thought is, "What do you mean what is fashion?" You think clothes. You think runway, skinny girls, big sunglasses, New York Fashion Week, you think celebrities. And the first few hands to pop in the air said the exact same thing. The teacher paused in thought, her eyes, her thoughts, her emotions unreadable as everyone waited for her to give her approval. She didn't give it to us. Instead she paced. She stopped. She paced, before the clank of her bangles could be heard as she wrote the words "Fashion Is..." is on the board. She asked us again..."What is fashion?" It is at this very moment that I began to feel the wheels in my head turning; going past thinking of what conventional fashion is. Sure, you can say fashion is....art. Then the question begs to be asked, what is art? What makes it art? What makes it not art? Who designates an abstract entity to become what it is not? If it is without definition, who, then, defines it? Deep right? I felt myself stepping out of the box and really thinking. Fashion is life. Now, for you doubtful naysayers, I offer up to you a challenge. Fashion is how we want people to percieve us. If we feel that we are sophisticated and educated, there tends to be a certain way that we carry ourselves. We show our status (or percieved status) by the clothes that we wear, the cars we drive, the homes we live in. All of that is fashion. My clinical definition of fashion can go as far as saying, "Fashion is the human response to the cultural zeitgeist". What does it mean? It means, that fashion, is the outward representation of how we feel on the inside about the world around us. For example: are you one of those people determined not to follow trends and fall in line with what the media says is en vogue for a particular season, so you dress all off? That itself is a representation of fashion. For the record, let me inform my fellow fashionistas that trends do not equal fashion. Trends are a reflection of the zeitgiest, personal style is your reaction to to it. Wanna go a little deeper? Did you know that there is a Mount Olympus of anonymous fashion gods who determine what colours and trends will be happening for each season? They are just responding to the all-mighty zeitgeist. Ever noticed that when folks started going back to being "green" and eco-friendly, the colours in our garments, our accessories, our kitchen and homegoods, turned to that of earthy colours and patterns? With the recent breakthrough in advanced technology, you will notice that there emerged a sudden trend in futuristic-looking clothing and accessories. Of course, everyone longs for the good ole' days, a much simpler time, which is why vintage and retro styles will never go out of style. People that eschew fashion and say they don't want any part of the circus are choosing to follow many others that want to do their own thing. So can you then say that its truly original? They're just following a whole 'nother way of expressing oneself. So by the end of class, we were able to conclude, that fashion goes way deeper than lipstick, clothes and high heels. Fashion is wrong, its right, its different. Fashion is boho chic; hobo chic. Fashion is original and repeated. Fashion is the world's most attractive paradox. Fashion is what you say it is.