Impact of Fashion on Students

 Fashion is something that we deal with every day of our life. In general, fashion is a term for a popular style or practice, especially in clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup, body piercing, or furniture. Fashion is something that is always changing and one can find a lot of changes in fashion since its evolution in the history. Fashion refers to a distinctive and often habitual trend in the style with which a person dresses, as well as to prevailing styles in behaviour. Fashion in general sense is promoted by the way celebrities dress. These may include popular pop stars, film-stars or sports person. People generally follow the latest style statement adopted by these celebrities. Fashion also refers to the newest creations of textile designers. The more technical term, costume, has become so linked to the term "fashion" that the use of the former has been relegated to special senses like fancy dress or masquerade wear, while "fashion" means clothing more generally and the study of it. Although aspects of fashion can be feminine or masculine, some trends are androgynous.

Fashion has entered our lives and taken a very important spot in our lives. There was a time when the concept of fashion was only on the occasions. Though it would be pointless to compare the present generation with our generation, today fashion has become an important part of our lives. But there is a very clear difference between the present and the older generation. Fashion has strongly taken up even in the lives of school students. The bags they carry, the watches they wear and the way they carry themselves involve so much of fashion. These days’ students are more conscious about fashion rather than their studies. The teenagers seem to be more fashionable than the adults now. In fact, they can be good trendsetters themselves. Fashion is always changing like the wind, which makes it difficult for the common man to keep pace with the latest fashion but still, fashion is the keyword for today's teenagers, hence there are many teens that invent their own styles and aim at becoming an icon among their groups.

Fashion is a non-verbal form of communication that conveys a lot about your personality. Earlier, fashion was something that used to be found only among the affluent class of people. But now the times have changed. These days the class doesn't matter in any way on the road to becoming fashionable. In fact, everybody is fashionable these days. Fashion not only embraces clothing or makeup but in a broader sense also includes the accessory that you carry and the way you carry yourself and your attitude plays a major role in the way you practice fashion. Fashion and the fashion industry can be important and inspirational to people in all walks of life, especially students. There is no problem in following the latest Fashion and looking attractive. On the other hand, getting too involved in fashion and clothing when your time would be best spent studying is an obvious danger. Hence you need to balance in yourself accordingly.

Impact of Fashion on Society

Fashion has taken to our society for ages. The concept of fashion is not new, it’s just that definition of the fashion has changed a lot these days and so is fashion. Fashion is like wind and is changing rapidly and there is a lot that has added on the fashion these days. Earlier accessories were not an important part of fashion whereas these days accessories like bracelets, studs and fancy watches have become a part of our daily fashion routine and at times these accessories are even more costly than our dresses. We can hardly see anyone on the streets who isn't fashion conscious. From school going students to the working-age professionals, everyone wants to look the best and keeps up with the fashion regularly. One of the many factors responsible for the spread and the craze of fashion among people are television and the media. These mediums highlight the fashion statement of the celebrities regularly and watching them on television also creates an ardent among inside the viewer to look best. Fashion or "style" in the colloquial language can be called contagious because people get influenced by one who already is fashion conscious. Everyone wants to follow the latest fashion.

Fashion enhances human life because not only it allows you to dress fashionably but also gives an opportunity to be independent in your thinking, helps to maintain positive self-esteem, and serves as a form of entertainment. Fashion has taken us all stronger and there is no harm being fashionable but in a limit. Being fashion conscious not only makes you popular among your folks but also tends to boost your confidence level to a great extent. Fashion is the prevailing custom, usage or style during a particular time. For some, fashion is a way of releasing their inward feelings and expression. There is no doubt that fashion has taken up the present generation in every possible manner, also the decision is in our hands to decide what to wear and what not.

A lot of people define their fashion statement as their comfort and always wear whatever they are comfortable in. but maintaining the decorum of an event it is really necessary to dress specifically for an occasion which is often known as dressing sense and is very closely related to the fashion. You cannot imagine yourself in a marriage function wearing your tracksuit and sports shoes or go on jogging or to the gym wearing a formal suit. Hence there are times when fashion and dressing sense are very important for us to accommodate ourselves with the customs of society. If we are living in a society then we have to follow certain rules and regulations. Hence there is no harm in the following fashion but in a limit.

Impact of Fashion on Students

Fashion has taken up the lives of a teenager so much that most of them are more concerned about their style statement at an age where they should be more concerned about their grades. Teenagers of the present times have involved themselves so much with fashion that they don't get sufficient time for any other work; time that they should be spending mostly on their studies is being wasted checking out new fashion styles and thronging markets and malls to find something like that. Instead of reading textbooks youngsters these days prefer to read fashion magazines and try hard to imitate the models or celebrities so as to resemble them. Though fashion at this age is quite an important part and they should be conscious of their looks, but not at the expense of other important activities like studying, sports and relaxing.

Most part of the student time should be spent on studies, but there are few who spend most of their time watching programmes on TV, reading fashion articles or finding the recent trendy clothes on the web. This has led to a lot of changes in teenage behaviour. Unlike earlier, now the teenagers do not go out with their parents on weekends, rather they plan their outings with their friends. Earlier parents used to buy clothes for their kids which have been replaced by children themselves going out shopping. The prime zones for outings have now become malls for most of them because they can do a lot of shopping there apart from having fun.  Fashion consciousness has changed the environment and there is a completely different scenario that has both advantages as well as disadvantages in the life of students.

Positive Effects of Fashion on Students

Nowadays most students mainly follow fashion trends to get a sense of identity and belonging out of it. The way you dress gives an insight into your personality. Dressing in a "hip-hop fashion" for instance conveys a certain type of personality that differs from other fashion trends, and categorizes you in a certain group of people. It is very obvious that a person who dresses this way draws an identity from it, he will most likely also adjust his behaviour or personality more to fit into it; and as a result of this person often becomes more accepted by others who are taking on the same identity "template" and follow the same fashion trend. Also, fashion is a way you communicate visually about yourself. Teenage is the part of life when everyone wants to look colourful and the best. No one wants to compromise with their personality at this age. Positive effects of fashion on students include:

• Following your own fashion statement gives you a sense of free-thinking and you tend to become more of an independent thinker.
• Whatever you wear, if you think that you are looking best; it gives you a great sense of confidence.
• Helps you connect with people of the same interests.
• Fashion seems like a magical fix for many problems like bullying and connecting with peers. It has been observed that those dressed up smartly are always low on the target of bullies as they think that a person with great fashion sense must be high on fashion and general abilities and may retaliate and prove out to be a threat for them.
• Leads to an attractive personality and bonding with like-minded people
• It is a way of colourful living and exploring the diversity of life.
• Following their fashion at an early age tends to make them independent.
• Having a greater fashion sense can also land them into a job in the fashion industry.

Negative Effects of Fashion on Students

Besides the positive effects, there are also a lot of negative effects that are associated with the fashion rage among the students. It is believed that fashion is corrupting the young minds and they are constantly thinking about the new fashion trends and ways to get those trendy clothing and accessories. It is obvious that the main task of the students is to study, and these days they spend more time on fashion and hence are left out with limited time to study and also fashion distracts them away from their studies. Things have changed a lot, earlier children used to dream of becoming Scientists, Doctors or Engineers or even teachers, but the priority and taste of the children of these days have changed a lot and most of them desire to enter into the glamour world. A lot of youngsters these days find the fashion world better than any other job and also think that it’s very easy to be a model or an actor and they can earn some huge money as well as fame in this profession. In fact, it is a shame that one who is not fashion conscious these days don't get much importance. These days one who looks trendy in the first appearance takes away all the limelight. However other negative effects of fashion on students include:

• These days’ youth are becoming so obsessed with fashion that whole day they think only about fashion and waste most part of their time and money on fashion, useful time which they should be spending on studies.
• At study place also most of the time students spend checking out each other’s dresses and are not able to study well.
• Fashion policing in school often leads to groups.
• In order to follow the style statement of their celebs, teenagers often pick up their smoking styles also.
• As well as the financial repercussions of getting too involved in fashion, a student who spends his or her time worrying about the latest trends and styles are being distracted from the primary objective of a student: To study.
• Students try to buy almost all new fashionable products as a result of keeping their good image on others. However, such a big loss of the money leads to a heavy financial burden on the parents. Even some people who do not afford to supply the basic needs prefer buying such expensive products.
• To fit into skin-tight dresses, girls often start dieting which can distract them away from studies.
• Students are not well known to the side effects of some chemical products like hair colour and bleach and a lot of time use then which lead to allergic reactions that can cause pimples or some severe reactions.
• The desire to look nice can take over life and money.
• If you become really obsessed with fashion clothing then it is also possible that you may feel anxiety, depression or eating disorders when you are not dressed up to the mark.

Conclusion
Fashion consciousness is increasing day by day and everyone wants to look best. There is practically no harm in looking good, until and unless you tend to become obsessed with the fashion. Students need to understand this well. Student life is times when you have to sacrifice a lot of things. You need not sacrifice your fashion statement but also at the same time you should strike a balance in such a way that your studies are not compromised. Also, it is the duty and responsibility of the parents to keep a watch over their children of whether they are wasting much of their time in grooming themselves or in their studies. Parents should also restrict their spending on clothing and fashion products. Too much information regarding recent trends and styles block the minds of the children and distract them from their studies. Schools also should make some strict rules to avoid using fashionable accessories on the school premises. There is no harm to keep yourself updated with fashion but it interferes with your academic performance and your time, it should be avoided.

Ultra-fast fashion is eating the world

 

As best as I can tell, the puff-sleeve onslaught began in 2018. The clothing designer Batsheva Hay’s eponymous brand was barely two years old, but her high-necked, ruffle-trimmed, elbow-covering dresses in dense florals and upholstery prints—bizarro-world reimagining's of the conservative frocks favored by Hasidic Jewish women and the Amish—had developed a cult following among weird New York fashion-and-art girls. Almost all of her early designs featured some kind of huge, puffy sleeve; according to a lengthy profile in The New Yorker published that September, the custom-made dress that inspired Hay’s line had enough space in the shoulders to store a few tennis balls.

Batsheva dresses aren’t for everyone. They can cost more than $400, first of all, and more important, they’re weird: When paired with Jordans and decontextualized on a 20-something Instagram babe, the clothes of religious fundamentalism become purposefully unsettling. But as described in that cerulean-sweater scene from The Devil Wears Prada, what happens at the tip-top of the fashion hierarchy rains down on the rest of us. So it went with the puff sleeve. Batsheva and a handful of other influential indie designers adopted the puff around the same time, and the J.Crews and ASOSes and Old Navys of the world took notice. Puff sleeves filtered down the price tiers, in one form or another, just like a zillion trends have before—streamlined for industrial-grade reproduction and attached to a litany of dresses and shirts that don’t require a model’s body or an heiress’s bank account. And then, unlike most trends, it stuck around.

Four years later, the puff sleeve still has its boot firmly on the neck of the American apparel market. If you have tried to buy any women’s clothes this year, you already knew that—the sleeves are everywhere, at every size and price level, most of them stripped of the weirdness that made the originals compelling and ready to make you look like a milkmaid in the most boring way imaginable. At a time when most fashion trends have gotten more ephemeral and less universal because of constant product churn, some manage to achieve the opposite: a ubiquity that feels disconnected from perceptible demand. Right now it’s puff sleeves, but we’ve also seen cold shoulders, peplums, crop tops, pussybows, fanny packs, and shackets—a host of looks that have generated their own aesthetic feedback loops, iterated until the buying public can’t stand them anymore. Americans now have more consumer choice than ever, at least going by the sheer volume of available products, but so much of the clothing that ends up in stores looks uncannily the same.

When you take creative decisions out of the hands of actual humans, some funny stuff starts to happen. For most of the 20th century, designing clothes for mass consumption was still dependent in large part on the ideas and creative instincts of individuals, according to Shawn Grain Carter, a professor of fashion business management at the Fashion Institute of Technology and a former retail buyer and product developer. Even most budget-minded clothing retailers had fashion offices that sent people out into the world to see what was going on, both within the industry and in the culture at large, and find compelling ideas that could be alchemized into products for consumers. One of these employees might see some weirdo dressed like a frontier bride at a bar in the East Village and later say in a meeting, “What if we did a couple of pieces with puff sleeves?” Development and design work still involved plenty of unglamorous business concerns—sell-through rates, product mix, seasonal sales projections—but the process relied on human taste and judgment. Designers were more likely to be able to take calculated risks.

At the end of the 1990s, things in fashion started to change. Conglomeration accelerated within the industry, and companies that had once been independent businesses with creative autonomy began to consolidate, gaining scale while sanding off many of their quirks. Computers and the internet were becoming more central to the work, even on the creative side. Trend-forecasting agencies, long a part of the product-development process for the largest American retailers, began to create more sophisticated data aggregation and analysis techniques, and their services gained wider popularity and deeper influence. As clothing design and trendspotting became more centralized and data-reliant, the liberalization of the global garment trade allowed cheap clothing made in developing countries to pour into the American retail market in unlimited quantities for the first time. That allowed European fast-fashion companies to take a shot at the American consumer market, and in 2000, the Swedish clothing behemoth H&M arrived on the country’s shores.

Fast fashion overhauled American shopping and dressing habits in short order. The business model uses cheap materials, low foreign wages, and fast turnaround times to bombard customers with huge numbers of new products, gobbling up market share from slower, more expensive retailers with the promise of constant wardrobe novelty for a nominal fee. Traditional brands, which would commonly plan new collections and develop products for more than a year in advance, couldn’t keep up with competitors that digested trend and sales data and regurgitated new designs in a matter of weeks.

Read: Why urban Millennials love Uniqlo

Fast fashion has only gotten faster. Shein, a Chinese company that has existed in its current form since 2012, has grown at breakneck speed by marketing the wares of domestic garment factories directly to Western consumers, and by turning around new clothing in just a few days. A 2021 investigation by Rest of World found that, over the course of a month, Shein added an average of more than 7,000 new items to its website every day. The company’s success, like that of Spain-based Zara before it, is built on taking the guesswork out of trends: By constantly creating and test-marketing new products, it can measure consumers’ immediate reactions and quickly resupply what sells. That is to say, it can just trawl the internet for anything that shoppers already find vaguely compelling, make a bunch of versions on the cheap, and track responses to them in real time.

Doing exactly that has made Shein very successful. The company generates new garments to capitalize on whatever is happening on the internet at any given moment, turning out pastoral frocks to maximize #cottagecore’s TikTok virality or cadging the work of independent artists and designers, as the company has repeatedly been accused of doing. To stay afloat, traditional retailers have had to become more like their fast-fashion competition, relying more on data and the advice of large consulting firms and less on the creativity and expertise of their staff. “The days of the designer saying, Look, this is what I’ve done, and this is your choice or forget about it—those days have gone,” Grain Carter told me

When enough brands and retailers begin using these inventory tactics and trend-prediction methods, the results homogenize over time. At the top of the food chain, a designer has an interesting idea, and bigger, more efficient retailers don’t just copy it—they copy one another’s copies. The sameness persists on multiple levels—not only do lots of companies end up making garments that look very much alike, but for efficiency’s sake, they’re also often the same garments those companies made in past seasons, gussied up with new details. That these trend feedback loops often center on sleeves or necklines or trim is no coincidence, according to Grain Carter. Changing a dress’s flutter sleeve to a puff or a blouse’s collar to a pussybow is unlikely to affect the garment’s fit or sizing. Those kinds of changes appeal to customers who want certain parts of their bodies concealed, making the trends marketable to the largest possible audience, across size, age, and income level.

Read: Ultra-fast fashion is eating the world

Bringing back old garments with new details is among the oldest tricks in the apparel book. But when you optimize that trick to wring every last dollar from it—and do so at the expense of trying out new, unproven ideas—you get a perpetual-motion machine, generating dress after dress that is difficult to distinguish from the ones that came before. Even clothes from different brands will look almost exactly the same; in fact, they might actually be the same. As supply chains have become more dispersed and complicated, multiple brands can end up buying inventories of the same garment, from the same supplier, and putting their own labels in them. You, too, can sometimes buy (and then resell) wholesale quantities of that same garment on AliExpress, a website that aggregates stock from Asian factories for sale to international buyers.

The unglamorous realities of production have long been hidden from the public in order to preserve the magic of mass-market consumption. A century ago, this was achieved largely through cathedral-like department stores, but now the sleight of hand is a little different—lavish ad campaigns and sponsorship deals with celebrities and social-media influencers help elevate the vibes of largely dreadful clothing. That’s not just because shopping for clothes has become an ever more internet-centric pursuit. The garments in question, most of which don’t exactly jump off the hanger in person and fit poorly once tried on, benefit from careful photography and liberal photo editing—and from requiring shoppers to pay up front. Not only does this create an extra step between buyers and the realities of modern clothing design and production, but it opens a chasm between buyers and the clothes themselves. At a certain point, you are not really paying for a product, but for the hopeful experience of buying something new. Whatever dress eventually shows up at your house is largely incidental to the momentary rush of acquiring it.

For the average shopper, this opacity can magnify the sense that a particular style has become inescapable overnight, largely unbidden. Who asked for all these tops with holes in the sleeves? Were people’s shoulders getting too hot? An idea that would have been moderately popular a few decades ago, before petering out naturally, now sticks around in an endless present, like an unattended record that has begun to skip. Shoppers may encounter the farcical limits of algorithmic selling on a regular basis, but those limits are more plain when Amazon is trying to sell you a second new kitchen faucet, after interpreting your DIY repairs as an indicator of a potential general interest in plumbing fixtures. With clothes, the technology is less obviously stupid, and more insidious. We know you love these shirts, because you’ve already bought three like them. Can we interest you in another? Frequently enough—which may be just one in every 100,000 people who see the product—the answer is yes, and the record skips on.

This problem is not limited to fashion. As creative industries become more consolidated and more beholden to producing ever-expanding profits for their shareholders, companies stop taking even calculated risks. You get theaters full of comic-book adaptations and remakes of past hits instead of movies about adults, for adults. Streaming services fill their libraries with shows meant to play in the background while you scroll your phone. Stores stock up on stuff you might not love, but which the data predict you won’t absolutely hate. “You have too many fashion companies, both on the retail side and the manufacturing side, being driven by empty suits,” Grain Carter said. Consumable products are everywhere, and maybe the most we can hope for is that their persistent joylessness will eventually doom the corporations that foist them upon us.

BEST REDHEADS TO INSPIRE YOUR NEXT SALON VISIT

 

20 of the Best Redheads to Inspire Your Next Salon Visit

BY 

July 29, 2023

Photo: Getty Images

In the words of Emily Ratajkowski: “Being a redhead is…a mood.” She should know, having just switched up her cool chocolate locks in favor of sizzling hot cinnamon hues. Of course, she’s not the only A-lister to tap into the fiery aesthetic, having followed in the footsteps of everyone from Kendall Jenner to Bella and Gigi Hadid. “Red really communicates strength,” notes master colorist Josh Wood. “The great thing with reds is that you can change the tone, so you can go from a cherry red to copper or a copper-gold red.” Looking to dip your toe into the trend? Below, Vogue rounds up the best redheads to inspire your next salon visit.

Ice Spice

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Lucille Ball

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Nicole Kidman

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