Senior project research paper

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Casey Bragg

Ms. Bennett

British Literature

16 September 2011

The Wonders of the Fashion World

The word “fashion” has many different meanings but it is the jobs inside of fashion (such

as designers, models, agencies, etc.) that create the word itself. Without them, fashion would be

nothing. The fashion industry is a world beyond any other, but what people think of it is another

story. Is modeling good or bad? Is it a place of criticism or an art where people can be free? How

much has it changed throughout the years that have made people think so strongly or poorly

about it?

Although fashion has been around since the invention of clothes, the fashion industry has

only just begun. In the early 1900s, fashion was important and set a social standard. For example,

if someone wore out-of-date clothes, he/she would be seen as poor or not high class. If someone

wore the latest fashions he/shewere seen as rich or high class (Lindholm). France, most people

say, is the fashion capital of the world. It is said France is where the heart of fashion started

when Charles Frederick Worth hired a woman to put on his clothes in his store because a client

wanted to see what they looked like on. By the 1920s, fashion spread throughout the world,

appearing in magazines and newspapers. Journalists would write about what the latest fashions

were and there was also a mannequins' school dedicated to teaching fashion modeling

techniques. Then in 1923, the first American modeling agency was opened by John

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Powers(Evans). It was not until the 1940s when the word “supermodel” came into use.

Supermodels were different from regular models because they were known for their

independence. They would run their own careers, marketing, and pricing when it came to getting

paid. Supermodels were also more serious when it came to their careers. Most supermodels

started working on their career as young as fourteen or fifteen and would also work overseas in

Europe to get started (Cokal). Although the French did not open their first modeling agency until

1959, French fashion houses had always employed their own models, giving the models the

training and experience needed in order to succeed in their modeling careers. In other words,

fashion houses acted as agencies. Paris fashion houses housed around fourteen to eighteen

woman who all had different looks and styles in order to fit the range of the clients. It was not

until after World War II when the modeling industry really started to launch along with some

famous businesses such as the wonderful Cover Girl in 1944. In the 1950s, the catwalk (runway)

was created but was not improved until the 1960s when models spiced up the runway by turning,

dancing, and posing down and at the end of the runway (Finamore). Models doing these dances

and turns helped show off the clothes more and the clothes’ accessories. As the 70s, 80s, and 90s

hit, iconic figures came into place like Twiggy and Tyra Banks. Towards the end of the twentieth

century, models were being looked at as celebrities and their salaries greatly increased (Evans).

Models were taking more control over their own careers and their days from the early twentieth

century of being known as poorly paid girls with few standards were over; now in today’s time,

jobs in the fashion industry have grown and people have their own thoughts of models and the

fashion industry.

Models, designers, photographers, and more all make up the wonderfulness of the fashion

world and bring it together to become an industry. Though all these jobs are important in making

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the fashion industry come alive, there is only one that is more important than the rest and that

particular job is fashion designing. Fashion designers are the ones who create the fashion. They

use their imagination to make beautiful clothing designs and fashion would not happen without

clothes (Sterlacci). Then again, we would not have a fashion industry without any of these

important jobs. Back before photography, people would paint models and some artists still do.

Some artists feel that painting the model captures more of the emotion in the picture and the

color of the clothes designers are advertising. This is how art and fashion came together as one.

Not only the art of the clothes bring the two together but the beautiful paintings and work people

put into them is what makes it special (Lehmann).In today’s time, more people do fashion

photography than painting. Although most people adore paintings, photography works so much

faster and can get more than one image. Fashion photography has been around since the 1850s

and 1860s. The man that introduced fashion photography to America is known as Baron Adolf

de Meyer but like modeling, fashion photography really did not take its course until after World

War II when fashion photography studios came into place and more models began rising

(Inventions that Changed the World of Fashion).It was then the wonders of this beautiful art that

helped build the fashion industry into what it is today had been discovered (Duncan).

A lot of people like to question the fashion industry on if it is good or not. One of the

biggest arguments the people are bringing up today is food disorders and whether the fashion

industry is the reason behind it or not (Cottle). Being in the fashion world, there are standards

that certain people have to meet. Such as in order to be a high fashion model, you must be and

maintain a size 2 or lower simply because they like the models to be hangers for the clothes.

Most models are in the industry are naturally born skinny and fit but sadly some strive to be that

way and turn to the wrong ways in becoming skinny. Such as dieting or simply not eating at all.

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Although, the thing most people are forgetting is that people are in charge of their own lives. It is

not the fashion industries fault; it is simply the fault of the model herself/himself. Another

problem people have with the fashion industry is they believe it is the cause of gay men. As you

may know gay marriage has been a problem for a while. Ever since the fashion world has come

into effect, gays have come out more proud than ever to join in the industry. Some people

however have many problems with this. Having gays in the industry is not the fashion world’s

fault. In fact it is no one’s fault. People are people and you cannot for them to be someone there

not. The fashion world accepts gays for who they are and that is no one’s fault (Zarembo). The

fashion industry is a world like no other and is a place to express individuality and art in your

own way. What a person does for the fashion industry and to get in it, is his/her own choice and

should not be blamed by the industry itself.

The beautiful world of fashion has many downfalls but also many new and exciting

things that could happen once in a lifetime. Life is all about taking chances and especially when

it comes to making a statement and that is exactly what fashion is, making a statement but in the

form of clothes. Fashion is not just a piece of clothing, but a work of art that expresses one’s

individuality of not only the person wearing it, but the one who created it as well. Our world

would not be what it is today without the fashion industry and though many people still have a

lot of arguments to make towards it, it will never die.

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Works Cited

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Cottle, Michelle. “The Fashion Industry Should Not Be Held Responsible for Eating Disorders.”

Eating Disorders. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in

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Duncan, Nancy Hall. “Fashion Photography .”Gale Virtual Reference Library.CengageLearning

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Lehmann, Ulrich. “Art and Fashion.”Gale Virtual Reference Library.CengageLearning , 2005.

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Sterlacci, Francesca. “Fashion Designer.”Gale Virtual Reference Library.CengageLearning ,n.d.

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Wilson, Eric. “Fashion Industry.”Gale Virtual Reference Library.Cengage Learning, 2005. Web.

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