Introduction to cultural and historical studies Essay

Introduction to cultural and historical studies - Essay Example Nowadays, however, haute couture is no longer trickling down in the same dominant flow, as subcultures and gender positions evolve (Barker 2000). The postmodern society reflects globalisation of brands, where heterogeneity exists and persists, and where bubbling up mixes with trickle downs to form social identities (Kratz and Reimer 1998). This paper will talk about fashion and appearance of the haute couture in postmodern context and will explore how fashion and appearance help people create their social identities through cloth rite. This paper argues that clothing rite portrays evolving concepts of masculinity and femininity in the new haute couture of the postmodern society through mixtures of trickle down and bubble up phenomena. This section discusses a short overview of haute couture’s evolution from trickle-down theory to bubbles up and to a mix of both. During the nineteenth century, the French led the rise of haute couture, where the elite classes define fashion tren ds and appearance statements (Veblen 1994: 52). The masses endeavoured to copy the elite, a signification of their desire for social mobility: â€Å"The result is that the members of each stratum accept as their ideal of decency the scheme of life in vogue in the next higher stratum, and bend their energies to live up to that ideal† (Veblen 1994: 52). As a result, the masses tried to replicate the clothing rite of the rich, although they were limited by their own resources. Reproduction of the lower class, however, would be undermined by the upper class’ revision of their dress codes. Social demarcation cannot be maintained if homogeneity was too perceptible â€Å"and thus the game goes merrily on† (Simmel 1973: 175). This game is largely a game owned and manipulated by the elite. They use their fashion and appearance to differentiate themselves from the masses and enforce power over the latter (Miller and Real 1998: 19). They form clothing rites that are expens ive and continuously changing. In a way, they are saying that people beneath them cannot catch up that easily, for the former need the same game of life to preserve the status quo that protects and promotes their upper-class interests (Simmel 1973: 175). The rules and language of the game changed at the postmodern era. Postmodernism has no single definition, but is often described in terms of its principles. First, Lyonard argues that postmodernism emerged when the grand narratives broke down, especially the narrative that exhorts the problem-solving purposes and ends of science (Miller and Real 1998: 19). Second, Baudrillard underscores that global communication technologies allowed for a â€Å"culture of mass production and simulacra† and from henceforth, originality has stopped (Miller and Real 1998: 19). Third, consumption transitioned from the puritan ethic of consumption to â€Å"commercial ethic of conspicuous consumption† (Miller and Real 1998: 19). Baudrillard stresses that reality have turned into hyper-reality, where authenticity and representation has exploded and sign systems have replaced objects as a whole