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Fashion Observed


Trend observations with a sociological eye from afar...

by Darryl S. Warren  

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Digital Tribes

Within our inherent social fabric is a driving sense of belonging. Our need to be part of a group to support our sense of self has been long established; our very cultural structure and the cities it creates and sustains are testament to this. We are a social animal by nature, and have survived because of the recognition that a group holds more power than an individual, especially in more primal concerns of survival.

Fighting our capacity to thrive in a group is the need for introspection. The stress of living in close quarters with volumes of people can sometimes be too much, and our technology has worked towards not only the improvement of our standard of living but the evolution of our spiritual cocoon. Now more than ever before do we have the ability to simultaneously be part of everything and yet be removed from all that is before us. We can be informed and entertained yet left alone.

Oddly enough, this has fostered a sense of isolation and growing disconnect from our fellow man, more recently illustrated in a film aptly titled “Disconnect”. The subject resonates as we concede that our technology is taking us away from the human experience. And yet we have, within our isolating technology, new ways to connect and it is resulting in a form of tribalization. Whereas before it was based on geography, this type is based on beliefs and values alone while transcending borders. These virtual tribes fortify confidence in our interests and in our sense of selves as we learn how, despite being physically isolated, we are in another way more intimately connected. As we find expression for this tribalism, artists may repurpose inspiration that would have resulted from different sources to produce similar effects.

Early exploration of our globe brought forth exposure to other cultural treasures and, from this, inspired our culture more broadly. For example, excavations in Egypt and continental exploration of places such as Africa and Asia heavily influenced art and fashion of the early twentieth century. The romance and exoticism of travel resulted in the incorporating of animal print and tribal print into fashion, especially in the mid twentieth century. The increased accessibility of global travel that brought out our inner explorer in the 70s and 80s brought safari wear and animal print back into fashion. Some prints, such as zebra and leopard, have become classics as a result.

But if the lure of the unknown was impetus for inspiration before, our wild and crazy jungle of a world and the tribes that are forming online resonate more this time around. When factoring in the economic interest in rising economies, Asia isn’t the only place people are looking. The uncharted hunger for luxury in Africa has caught the attention of the fashion world. And if any place comes to mind when thinking of tribes, Africa places high here. However it degrees of one or the other, when the individual inspirations come together there is no missing them. Some designers such as Donna Karan, Libertine, Skaist-Taylor, Peter Pilotto, Tom Ford, and Roberto Cavalli have incorporated more exotic touches such as tribal prints within their Fall/Winter collections while some, such as Peter Som, Versace, Sacai, Roland Mouret and Veronique Branquinho incorporated animal print in their collections. Mary Kantranzou had one long leather dress embossed with a pattern; the effect seemed almost archeological.

What will cultural anthropologists make of our social habits in the years to come? Or will there be anything for them to find? Or will they have only physical remnants to speculate on? In that case, they may not know exactly what tom make of where our minds arte at especially given that the tribes within fashion are of many thoughts and this aspect is but part of a larger, more international dialogue.

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