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'Post modernism has impacted fashion, and has changed the role that fashion plays in everyday life'. Kratz, C. and Reimer, B. 1998 Fashion in the Face of Postmodernity, in A. A. Berger (ed) The Postmodern Presence: Readings on Postmodernism in American Culture and society Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press p.194

q. What is the nature of this impact and change?

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Introduction

Enormous social changes have taken place over the past twenty years (note;1970-90). Some writers have argued that these amount to an upheaval on a par with the Industrial Revolution and that we are living in 'Post-industrial' or 'Post-modern' times. (:Wilson,E;1999)

All the evidence suggests that the, age of 'Post-modernism' is not yet over though it could be argued that the meaning of Post-modernism is in its questioning of the values of Modernism.
It's difficult to evaluate the nature of 'Post-modernism' as Post-modern theory covers such a wide range of different disciplines .

Early in the 20th century, the age of 'Modernism' was a defining movement.
It has come to mean the movement against intellectualism at the end of the19th century, and became the prevailing the traditional style of the early 20th century. It was characterized by rationality, autonomy, (and definition of development toward a definite with any object.)

After the Industrial Revolution, society and culture were swallowed up by waves of information. Mass communication expanded enormously, and technology expanded with it. Mass media has also made a huge impact on world culture. And these trends spread out into all artistic fields of endeavour, including fashion. But it is important to bear in mind that the world of fashion is not just about what we wear, but also trends, and the even changing situation around us.
Iﾕm going to attempt to look at how the fashion scene is related to Post-modernity, through the following 4 strands.

1. Before post-modernism (summary of modernism and the theory of fashion)
2. Post-modernity
3. Beyond Subculture
4. Postmodern fashion and distribution

1.Before post-modernism
-Summary of 'modernism' and the theory of fashion.

Postmodernism is found in many field of culture: architecture, music, cinema, fashion, and so on. Accordingly, that theory as a whole is to be ambiguity.
However, Cultural studies was to be, theoretically, the study of postmodern culture in comparison to Modernity.
The key words of modernism fashion are simplicity, functionality, sharpness, and so on. These must be, that has got in addition, characterized by an intellectual design and sharp colours.

Chanel is the representative designer in modernism. Her design was switched from follow, by the corset line along movement of the human body. She created a new beauty. This agreed with the tide of modernism in 20th century.
James Laver says [modern male wear evolved out of 18th century country clothes for men, and, a hundred years later, Chanel brought about same transformation for women. ] and it referred to Paul Poiret. [Paul Poiret simplified the female silhouette; the first decade of the 20th century saw the end of the fashion for tight-lacing and constricting corsets, and the introduction of looser clothing for women, short hair and rising hems.](: Wilson,E. 1990.)
These fashions seemed classless. They did not show luxury. They were equally valid as a uniform for the girl in the street, an office typist, a shop assistant or as fashions for the international jet set. They represented democracy, and to that extent the appearance of the fashionable women of the 1920s. They represented ﾔthe modernﾕ. (:ditto)

The institution of modernity can be seen, at least in the account of Giddens(1990), to consist of:
- industrialism (the transformation of nature; development of the crested environment);
- surveillance (control of information and social supervision);
- capitalism (capital accumulation in the context of competitive labour and product markets);
-military power (control of the means of violence in the context of the industrialization of war);

Developing technology after the Industrial revolution made to mass production possible, and western society was being enlightened by rationalism and therational. Even the two World Wars, which can be seen as the very antithesis of rationalism, produced great developments in technology that in advertently improved the technical sophistication of society.

2. Post-modernity
Key words: fragmented, anti-structure, trickle down effect

Basically, post-modern theory is composed of a relativity to Modernism.
Almost of Post-modern theory has a paradoxical meaning of modernism; like anti-structure (against structuralism as Modernism), or in this situation, people and society head toward fragment from the public.

The era of Post-modernism is also defined as the age of the media. Both information and high-tech. Mass media has made a huge impact on culture.
As in cultural contexts, Jameson,F. says ['break down in the signifying chain.', which leads to the destruction of narrative utterance and its replacement by the intensification of aesthetic affect, can be interpreted as having identical consequences for fashion.(1991)]
He also insists that the aesthetic meaning of Modernism invented a new style or world through and through, it is just possible to combine something together.
And he says ﾔPostmodern consumers, who wish to construct their own identities through the wearing of 'stylistic masks'(1985)

Post-modernism as a movement happened many cultural scenes; architecture, art, music, fashion, and everyday life.
After the second world war, the world economy became more stable. People could afford to create their lives. These circumstances made people more inclined toward post-modernism.
The slogans of Ewen and Ewen best captured the prevailing mood of the times. These were statements ['No rules, only choices.' 'Everyone can be anyone.'(1982)]

3. Beyond Subculture
Key words: Punk, Global, Mass media, pastiche

'In which stylistic innovation is no longer possible. All that is left is to imitate dead styles, to speak through the masks and with the voices of the styles in the imaginary museum'.(Jameson,f. 1985)
Teddy boy, mod, skinhead and hippy subcultures have all made their reappearance since the end of 'linar' subcultural epoch in the late 1970s (Redhead 1990.1993)
Punk really does seem to have been the historical turning-point here. Punk style defies interpretation, ﾔrefuses meaning.ﾕ (Hebdige 1979)
Punk is the style of progressive rock. It is not only about music, but also an experimental expression include fashion.

In Post-modern world, different subcultures were born and found at the same time, in same societies. Actually, however, there was no ﾔmain cultureﾕ for the 'Sub-culture to go against. Infinitely divided sub-cultures on the cultural particularity of postmodern society.
Information is the most important key word in these circumstances. Developing mass media made world society into a globalised one, so we can see the state worldwide or collection of the past fragments.
The past has clearly existed as information, so we could choose any style most suitable for ourselves. Designers and artists have sophisticated and renewed the past by various 'postmodern' techniques. 'Pastiche' is a characteristic technique.
That situation is also evidence of a maturing society. Post-modernism is the first culture to find anything acceptable.

4. Postmodern fashion and distribution
Key words: Post-fordism, Irony, pastiche, bubble-up,

Certainly, over the past fifty years, fashion has been competely transformed.
The empire of fashion has fragmented into hundreds of competing looks. -what Ted Polhelmus calls "style tribes".(: The fashion business)
One role of fashion is visually to enable categorizing into different tribes.
Mainly as the effect of youth culture on street styles, different looks are associated with groups such as goths, punks, and rappers. Adults also fall into different style tribes, epitomized by different fashion labels.

Jullien,F says [It is widely agreed that clothing is a language, but a very ambiguous one. Its vocabulary changes or evolves, and can express different times according to the wearer and the observer.
By then the fashion theory mentioned the 'trickle down process'. Innovative ideas are transmitted from the elite top layers of the social pyramid to the bottom. Each style creates an anti-style that defines it, and stimulates further change.
Vivianne Westwood was a pivotal figure in the transmission of punk style, with her notorious pornographic tee-shirts and bondage trousers. Soon Jean Paul Gaultier was producing underwear-as-outerwear, and black leather became mainstream.
(This kind of situation has been called the 'bubble-up effect'; street culture effect fashion, against 'trickle-down'.)

Other fashion designers who is kind work in this field are John Ghalliano, Hussein Chalayan, Alexander Mcqeen, Junya Watanabe, Issey Miyake, is considered to be a Post-modernism designer. They have all made constant use of representative techniques of Postmodernism. There are for example, Irony, Bricolage (is talked by Henbdidge,D), Pastiche, and so on. One technique that idea here in common is to cut out from the past, connect, and strip a meaning from it. And often these link to a kind of subculture.

One characteristic of post-modern fashion is that there are now a lot of brands that have been produced as small-lot production; defined post-fordism. By this time, classes had been made by modern society have gone, and this fashion scene clearly exists within a new society and culture whose that only difference was to be important.

Conclusion

Art, or the whole of culture, is constantly renewed by waves of self-contradiction.
Postmodernism has been part of this spiral, and its most recent form. People and trends cannot help constantly modifying, because we rapidly lose interest in things. In the 20th century, Postmodernism has had more impact on fashion and people, than any other trend as people and life tend towards 'Postmodernism', This interaction continues.

Identity must be the most determining factor for any particular period and culture. People define themselves instinctively but, paradoxically, express this sub-conscious process as both a 'desire for self-expression' and 'a wish both to be individual but also to be accepted. 'do not want to be regulated' 'wish to identify' 'but want to communicate with anyone' 'wish to be accepted on existence' at all times. Post-modernism stated as an idea but built up into a whole movement which became a success. Because people found their identity constrained by elegance and a sameness of culture. They were screaming out for self-expression and, with time, this scream became an entire explosive movement.
Then the factor in time, it pulled the trigger on the explosion.

People's identity has always tended to be reflected firstly in fashion because 'Fashion' is a phenomenon, and an artistic expression of the human body and spiritﾕs deepest concerns. Capitalism then promotes individual designers which sophisticated distribution systems help to crystallize.
Postmodernism continues as a movement.
It is bound to be so. It is a historical inevitability.

09.Dec.2003

*Bibliography

-Barker, C. 2000 Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice London: Sage

- Taylor, L. 2000 The Hilfiger Factor and the Flexible Commercial World of Couture, in, N.
Write and I. Griffiths The Fashion business: Theory, practice, Image Oxford, Berg

-Wilson, E. and Taylor, L. 1989. 'Style for all.1960-1990' in E.Wilson and L.Taylor
Trough the Looking Glass London: BBC Books

-Muggleton, D. 2000 Inside Subculture: The Postmodern Meaning of Style Oxford: Berg

-Wilson, E. 1990 'There new components of the spectacle: fashion and postmodernism'
IN R. Boyne and A.Rattansi eds. Postmodernism and Society London: Macmillan