Fashion images

Fashion may be defined as the "prevailing style during a particular time the prevailing style(as in dress) during a particular time. It may also be known as "social standing or prominence especially as signalized by dress or conduct." The following article addresses the issues of fashion as a symbol, fashion images as a symbol, and the aftermath of these images.
Fashion as a symbol
Fashion in early France was a statement of art. Mass-produced clothes were often thought of as low class trash. However, fashion in the United States seems to take a different approach. Fashion in the United States is used as a form of fitting into the social code, not standing out from the crowd as a form of artistic statement.
In the world of fashion, two branches emerged, haute couture and ready-to-wear. Haute couture is more artistic and high fashion, while ready-to-wear is mass merchandized.
The French culture thought of fashion as haute couture. Fashion was designed to be superior pieces of art. According to Green, Count Leon de Laborde “argued that the connection between art and industry was a God-given imperative and railed against the degeneration of good taste and the invasion of bad taste.” This idea foreshadowed France’s worst fear, the mass production of fashion.
Although Davies believes that each individual brings his or her interpretation (through cultural values and perceptual codes), the magazine itself is used as a collection of social signs for femininity and pleasure. He ends the article by saying “the image and behavioral ideologies presented within the magazine covers become the stereotypical norm for the teenage girl”

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