Eco Fashion Paper

One very important in the evolution of early humans was the act of decorating the body. All known cultures embellish the body either with marks on the skin or clothing (Entwistle 2001: 33). Body adornment recognizes the individual as a person and communicates aspects of his or her personal and social identity. In the 21st century, fashion as body adornment is still a universal part of a person’s everyday experience (Entwistle 2001: 41-43) yet, there is no one specific definition of fashion. Social scientists, philosophers and gender theorists present distinct understandings of the complexities of the fashion system. The modern definitions of fashion are derived from the foundational works of Bourdieu (1984), Veblen (1899) and Simmel (1957), who discussed fashion as a tool for social class distinction. Social class is just one element in the study of fashion in the 21st century, where gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and subculture affiliation play equally influential roles in the meaning production of dress (Andrew 2008; Calefato 2004; Crane 2000; Crane and Bovone 2006; Clark and Turner 2007; Entwistle 2001; Kaiser 1997; Swain 2003; Taylor 1997; Tompson and Hayiko 1997). The notion of fashion as a non-verbal communication system is discussed by Barthes (1990, 2006), Calefato (2004), Entwistle (2001), Kaiser (1997), Crane (2000) and Taylor (1997) through the use of semiotics in their analysis of fashion, and their focus on the ways that fashion communicates the wears identity in the daily application of dress. The commonly held notion of fashion as superficial is addressed with its connection to modernity by Kawamura (2005) and Taylor (1997) in their discussion of the constant fluctuations in trends and social drive for reinvention. With no common understanding of what fashion is, the studies and theories surrounding the praxis of fashion are expansive and often contradictory. The scholarly research on fashion that does not relate to a specific study focuses on

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