The world of fashion is not all that is seems. What we see on the outside is flashy clothes with big price tags. In actuality, if you were to be thrown into this world you would see that it is much more than just that. This is the same realization that Amy Odell had in her book, Tales From the Back Row.
When you first start reading Odell’s book you can automatically tell that this book is directed toward a younger audience that has big dreams of working in the fashion world, just as she did when she was younger. Her style of writing is laid back that you feel as if she is sitting there with you telling you her stories and experiences in the fashion industry. The overall theme is to show people that sometimes your dream job might actually not be the job meant for you, and that’s okay.
Odell’s overall purpose for writing Tales From the Back Row was to inform those who are considering going into work in the Fashion industry about the… She states that it may seem
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I am not J. Lo, I don’t need makeup on my feet, and I don’t need someone to lie on the floor to apply it. But having gone from making restaurant reservations for someone who fired me to . . . having makeup applied to my feet while I got my picture taken proved that hard work could take you further than you ever expected. Invisibility for many in the fashion business is only temporary. “
Overall, this book was a big eye opener for me. For the longest time I was worried that I was the only one who wanted a career in fashion, that had no idea about anything inside the fashion world. Odell was able to make me feel like I was not alone and gave good insight on what to expect when going into job interviews and working in this industry. This book is a must read for not just people interested in the fashion industry, but also for younger adults who are wondering what they should expect during interviews, and how they should put themselves out there in order for them to grow in any
In the article, “The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual” by Hanna Berry, Berry discusses how for decades women have been told to use certain products and that if they used those products they would be beautiful. Women over the years have believed this idea and would purchase items that promised to make them prettier, thinner, smarter and even more loved. However, in reality it was never what they wore on their bodies that helped them be any of those things; but what it did help with was to empower women to become fearless and bold by what they chose to wear on their bodies as a form of expression.
A recent episode of "The Maury Povitch Show" featured make-overs of women who worked in "manly" professions. There was a tow-truck driver, a car mechanic, a bike messenger, an electrical repairperson, a firefighter, a "pooper-scooper," a zoo-keeper, and a lumberjack. Each of the guests made there entrance dressed in their working clothes, some with appropriate props, strutting to the tune of "She Works Hard for the Money." After each guest had the opportunity to talk about her job, she was whisked away by stylists with makes-up brushes and blow-dryers only to be returned in fancy ball gowns to work the runway for the approving audience, pausing for a brief moment to pose beside their "before" photo.
With African Americans being apart of the fashion industry, they faced many hardships. However, they created a distinctive voice in the history of fashion. Throughout the early twentieth century, Blacks designers influenced the fashion industry in America, having, “a system and structure for maintaining their particular type of fashion.” African American fashion was very popular and caught the attention from the media. Department stores held successful fashion shows, screened fashion movies, and staged fashion pageants. Fortunately, African Americans were allowed to attend these events, yet they were not welcomed. Fast-forward to today, the fashion industry has opened up several doors for African American designers, stylist, and models. However,
Werle, Simone. Fashionista A Century of Style Icons. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1977. Print.
In the 19th century play, FASHION, Anna Mowatt develops the character plot as a contrast and comparison between being “natural” and “artificial in a world becoming preoccupied with fashion, and being fashionable. In the head notes, it was stated that Daniel Havens said FASHION is “the ugly image of the American Dream gone sour.” (Watt and Richardson) Fashion has a complex definition. The word ‘fashion’ can mean anything from the type of clothes you wear, how you communicate with others, the place you live, how you present yourself, or who you associate yourself with. In FASHION, Mowatt took a comical yet sober look at the definitions of “fashion,” applied it to real life in 1845, and through her characters, provides a mirror with which an audience/reader can evaluate themselves. I do not believe updating this play would be difficult because America has continued down the fast and destructive path in an effort to keep up with the “fashions” of the day.
“My lips and fingers were blue because I was so thin that my heart was struggling to pump blood around my body”, said teen model fashion Georgina (Carroll 1). The new skinny has become excessively scrawny. Is it definitely not normal for today’s society models to walk around with blue fingers starving themselves until their organs start failing! As for the model agencies, they couldn’t care less of the pressure and dangerous practices they put the models through in order for them to stay thin for the runway. Even fashion Designers continue to produce the smallest couture sample sizes and scout for the slimiest bodies to wear the designs not aware of the consequences of the pressure they not only put on models, but on the society girls to look like these starving models. And when the models continue to get offers from the most important fashion industries like Prada, it motivates them to keep doing what they are doing to stay in the shape they are in (Carroll 1). But little did the outside world know what this pressure had on the models and what they were doing to their bodies to peruse their modeling careers.
With more than thousands of stores operating in over a hundred different countries, Tommy Hilfiger is one of the most recognized brands in the world when it comes to fashion. The designer clothes allow people to have the classy yet cool look at the same time. In this essay I will be discussing with you Tommy Hilfiger more specifically about the man of the company Tommy Hilfiger, Tommy Hilfigers growth as a global company, as well as its success and awards. As Hilfiger once said, “ The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it's possible to achieve the American dream.”
It’s no secret that some women believe fashion portrays who they are. Therefore follow every season’s new trend. This leads to spending money that they don’t have. Waller Lea, a journalist, suggest that “for some communities, purchasing knockoffs or generic products are frowned upon, forcing minorities to spend more money. Now businesses and companies are targeting minorities, causing more debt problems.” Addicted to retail or brainwashed? Opponents claim that fashion is simply a creative way to express themselves. There are others ways to express ourselves that are no based on our appearance. Through drawing, painting or through our thoughts and ideas. What happens when someone can’t afford expensive clothing or doesn’t have access to fashionable clothes? They are singled out and excluded from society for being different.
Fashion plays an important role in the lives of billions all over the world; people, as part of a status craving society, turn to “fashion capitals” of the world for ways in which to dress and carry themselves. New York, Milan, and Paris are leaders among this fierce industry that the world lusts after. Fashion can speak volumes about ones personality, or also about the condition the world is in at the time. In France, fashion changed rapidly and feverously as the times changed.
As Ralph Lauren once said, “Fashion is about something that comes from within you.” I desire to have my own clothing line and express myself through my clothing. The Academy of Art University, the fashion school, is best known for its fashion courses, and will provide me with the right amount of education to succeed in the fashion industry.
Gardner, Marilyn. "Fast Fashion Is a Problem." The Fashion Industry. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Fashion Industry Gives Rise to a 'Disposable Culture, '." The Christian Science Monitor. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 Nov.
Fashion in the 21st century is a big business, as its production employs millions of people and generates billions of dollars in revenue. Fashion has for the past century been, and is still today, used as an indicator of social change and progress, as it changes with the social norms of the society and the political changes of the world (Finkelstein 3). Works Cited Finkelstein, Joanne. A.S.A. & Co. Fashion: An Introduction to Fashion. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
...r became more creative person in the fashion shoot, after the designer. The overall photograph would sell your garment to the best ability that the photographer could achieve. It was not just about being a beautiful model in the photograph, there had to be other ways of making the photograph appealing than the simple lacklustre way of being beautiful. Although, every woman wants to be beautiful, the photographer wanted to challenge the appearance of beauty. And also challenge the way we looked at people that were not beautiful, but had a unique quality to them. The fashion photographer had a lot of power in Fashion; they could make a normal street person become the key icon for desire and envy. The photograph had the power to sell the clothes using anyone the photographer pleased, and the designer didn’t mind as long as their clothes were being recognized, and sold.
Fashion takes on many different facets and concerns many subsets— a model sashaying down the runway in a gown encrusted in real gems, Lady Gaga’s infamous dress made of cuts of raw beef, a teenage girl obsessing over the season’s latest styles— it is all an expression of our minds and who we are or want to be, made tangible. It is a medium just like any other, for while artists wield brushes and paints, designers use thread and cloth to illustrate their vision. The artistry is none more so apparent than in the exclusive world of haute couture, a world of extravagance that caters to aesthetics, producing one-of-a-kind wearable masterpieces that are made to be admired rather than worn. It is without doubt, high fashion and its design is an art.