The Face of Fashion: Technical Bodies and Technologies of Self
Jennifer Craik in her book The Face of Fashion maintains that the bodily self is expressed through fashion elements such as clothes, adornment, and gesture, and cites the poem of Blaise Cendars, which recognizes this relationship. From my perspective, I strongly agree with this statement because I believe a person’s personality can be related to their clothing style. For example, a contemporary fashion brand like Chanel clearly illustrates this connection. Chanel’s clothing has a unique style that can showcase a lady's elegance when worn, thanks to its fantastic fabric texture, classic black and white color combinations, and perfect fit to the body’s curves. Moreover, there is a minimalist modern fashion brand called Ganni, known for its expressive patterns and clothing styles, with various colors that can also reflect a person’s personality.
Simmel’s theoretical framework regarding fashion civilization is that he views fashion as a marker of civilization. However, Craik considers it ‘remarkably inflexible’ because it rigidly distinguishes between traditional and modern fashion, and it is limited to Western and European societies. Instead, Craik argues that “the relation of bodies to clothes is far deeper than the equation of fashion with the superficial products of ‘consumer culture’ allows.” In Craik’s view, personal ‘habitus’ can be defined as the way individuals use their bodies to present themselves to their social environment. ‘Personal’ can be understood as the behavior through which people express their identities via their clothing and conduct—specifically, how they wear and act. The term ‘habitus’ can be interpreted as a set of habits and a space in which people exist as a way of being in the world, formed by bodily training. Moreover, according to Craik, ‘habitus’ somewhat imposes constraints on how individuals perform in society. Craik points out that the concept of ”personal habitus” is a better method to analyze fashion because in this way, fashion can be served as a tool in the progress of civilization, and allows the rules and codes in a fashion to be revised flexibly. Moreover, in this sense, fashion is less exclusive but more inclusive for different cultures because this method is more personalized and socially acceptable.
Based on the author’s theory of personal ‘habitus,’ as a lover of fashion, I think it is very important for me to show my disposition when I socialize with others and present myself as a unique individual in society through my personal codes of clothing. For example, as a participant in an academic debate, I will definitely dress more formally and wear black suits with gold-plated jewelry to maintain my aura when speaking in front of the public and also make myself look more authoritative. Moreover, to me, fashion also gives me the first impression of a person when making friends. It can help me find people who have similar personalities to me.
I think fashion is essential to civility because, according to Mauss’s concept of fashion, fashion relates to the moral values an individual possesses and their consciousness of moral being. To people who believe fashion simply equates to the style of clothes, I want to say that fashion can also serve as a restriction on a person’s personality or as an expression of it. Fashion has many faces.