Protean Images of Fashion: Revaluation of Past Styles in New Settings

More Info: Mihalic, Alicia (2016) 'Protean Images of Fashion: Revaluation of Past Styles in New Settings'. in Paić, Ž. and Purgar, K. (eds.) Theorizing Images. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 245-259. Page Numbers: 245-259 Publication Date: 2016 Publication Name: Theorizing Images Fashion is defined most prominently by its association with perpetual metamorphoses and rapid changes constantly driven by the demand for novelty. Traditionally, fashion mechanisms were known to function cyclically in relation to social ideals and epochs of thought. Following the democratization and decentralization of the fashion system in the twentieth century, these cycles became shorter and shifts in visual expression started moving away towards reinvention and revaluation of the past. Both authentic and reproduced, former styles became acceptable as sources of fashion and notions of time and space have been suspended throughout the postmodern condition giving way to anything-goes aesthetics and fluidity in fashion. The endless rebirth of former styles within the frantic pace of contemporary fashion challenges our perception of fashion semiotics while constantly re-exploring the concepts of "past" and "present".