Brother Feng
preface
With the continuous progress and development of material civilization in modern society, people's attention to fashion is increasing.
After Simmel's theory of fashion philosophy was proposed, many scholars analyzed and discussed the theory, rather than only combining the theory with certain types of fashion clothing, which is precisely the research direction that can give practical significance to fashion problems.
This paper defines the scope of research as three typical clothing types in the European Middle Ages, and analyzes their fashion characteristics.
It enables people to better recognize and understand Simmel's fashion philosophy and theory, and the expression of combining it with real fashion problems.
1. The theoretical points of Simmel's fashion philosophy
The German sociologist and philosopher Simmel was born in a middle-class family in Berlin, and his superior living conditions not only gave him the opportunity to receive a good education, but also provided material security for his later academic research.
The background of the emergence of Simmel's fashion philosophy theory is based on the profound research of natural science in Germany at that time.
With his keen observation, he introduced fragmented social phenomena into philosophical thinking, and created a series of philosophical works on fashion, currency, etc.
Simmel's philosophical theory of fashion mainly contains the following three typical levels.
(1) Fashion satisfaction integrates individuality and universality
"Fashion is satisfied with the fusion of individuality and universality, and emphasizes the permanent factor in change", that is, fashion can satisfy people's dual pursuit of universality and particularity.
Simmel believes that fashion has the power to reconcile people's dual psychology of conformity and excellence, or seeking both common ground and difference, in the form of superficial cooperation. In order to meet the assimilation goal of fashion at the same time, that is, the sense of belonging that people seek in the group society, and the differentiation goal of fashion, that is, the pursuit of individual independence or the display of individualistic style.
(2) People realize their self-worth through the pursuit of fashion
The example of Simmel's belief that there was no fashion for men's clothing in Florence, and the fact that the Venetian aristocracy wore black to distinguish it from the lower classes, also illustrates that fashion would not exist if there were other means of expression for material and cultural pursuits.
On the contrary, if not, then fashion can provide such a way for women, through the pursuit of fashion through clothing, in an indirect way to achieve their own pursuit of material, or cultural and self-worth.
(3) Fashion has the function of reflecting class differentiation
According to Simmel, "fashion has always been hierarchical, and the fashion of the higher strata of society distinguishes itself from the lower strata, and fashion is the product of class divisions".
This kind of fashion migration exists not only in the higher and lower social classes, but also in the different levels of the upper class, which is the essential reason why fashion is constantly changing, and fashion can also be understood as a symbol of the upper class, that is to say, fashion has the function of reflecting class differentiation.
2. The fashion characteristics of typical European medieval clothing from the perspective of Simmel's fashion philosophy
The Middle Ages generally refers to the 5th to 15th centuries, between the classical period and the Renaissance, and the most typical types of clothing in this period can be divided into three main types: Byzantine clothing, Romanesque clothing and Gothic clothing.
(1) Fashion features of Byzantine clothing
Byzantine culture can be seen as the product of a fusion of Greek and Roman classical culture, Eastern mysticism, and Christian culture in order to consolidate the aristocracy and promote imperial worship and Christian culture. Byzantine costumes became popular at the time, and these costumes were initially only allowed to be worn by the aristocracy.
It was the fashion of clothing pursued by the aristocracy at that time, and it was only later that it was popularized to the common class.
The Byzantine style, which emerged from the rich lands and prominent status of the Byzantine Empire, was also characterized by nobility, richness, and luxury. The main costumes include the cross-shaped dalmatica, which symbolizes the nobility of the court, the palum, the women's costume, and the trapezoidal cloak paruda mentom, which was specially made by the royal family or nobility.
At that time, most people chose to wear Byzantine clothing, which was first mentioned in Simmel's fashion theory, and the choice of clothing consistent with the mainstream fashion of society allowed people at that time to find a sense of social belonging.
Although this fashion created by the aristocratic class gradually opened up and became popular among the commoners, it was still possible to intuitively distinguish the class differences between the royal family, the aristocracy and other high classes and the commoners.
Therefore, the fashion represented by the Byzantine dress did not disappear or was quickly replaced by a new fashion in a short period of time, which is consistent with Simmel's mention that fashion has the function of reflecting class divisions, and it also coincides completely with the statement that fashion was created by the higher classes and used to divide and consolidate the existing classes.
(2) Fashionable characteristics of Romanesque clothing
The period of Romanesque clothing refers to the period from the 10th to the 12th centuries, and the birth of this Romanesque culture was actually the result of the Germanic people's absorption of Roman and Byzantine culture, and then the collision and fusion of Christian religious culture.
Romanesque culture is most prominent in terms of architecture, and Romanesque clothing is largely influenced by the aesthetics of Romanesque architecture, showing a rigid and straight style that does not show its own body shape and curves, and is characterized by asceticism.
Even cover the whole body with a veil on the head.
After the two-hundred-year Crusades, many buildings and cultural relics were destroyed, but at the same time, some resources from the East, such as silk fabrics and wool and other materials, were brought into Europe, which not only made a leap forward in the quality of Romanesque clothing, but also promoted the exchange and collision of Eastern and Western cultures, and improved the level of commercial trade development.
The variation of Romanesque clothing shows the cultural context of the time. The second point in Simmel's fashion theory is that women pay more attention to fashion than men, and also mentions that women have been in a disadvantaged social position for most of history.
He also cited that in the 14th and 15th centuries, German women did not get more living space and greater freedom, but paid more attention to and pursued fashion in clothing. During the Romanesque period, men and women used the same style of clothing without any particular distinction, and in fact represented the unity of husband and wife.
Women could not have their own rights independent of their husbands or sons, which also meant that the social status of women in this period was very low, so the aristocratic women of this period could only choose different clothing and fashion according to the power and status of their husbands, such as enjoying some privileges such as wearing mante made of mink fur with their husbands.
Although women in this period were in line with Simmel's statement that they paid more attention to fashion than men, they were not yet able to make their own choices and had independent clothing and fashion rights.
(3) The fashion characteristics of Gothic clothing
The period of Gothic costume refers to the period from the 12th to the 15th century, and the first use of the term "Gothic" was used by Italians during the Renaissance as a derogatory description of architecture, similar to the meaning of the word "barbarism".
The Gothic art style slowly developed throughout Europe, and was reflected in many artistic fields such as painting and architecture. Gothic architecture showcased their quest for power and wealth through the creation of architectural styles.
For example, the construction of tall Gothic churches with pointed vaults creates an artistic conception and atmosphere close to the kingdom of heaven, reaching a height that the people can look up to.
Gothic clothing was also influenced by Gothic architecture, with hats worn by aristocratic women and shoes worn by men with pointed lines, similar to the pointed tops of Gothic churches.
There are also pointed-toe shoes typical of the Gothic costume period, which correspond to the "Hanning" women's hat showing identity through the height of the hat, and the toe length of pointed-toe shoes has the same effect, the royal family has the longest toe, then the aristocratic class, and the plebeian class has only half the length of the foot.
This shows that this kind of fashion created by the royal family and nobles is still different even after it is gradually touched, imitated, and popularized by low-class people such as merchants and commoners.
It is still obvious that the differences between different class groups and the disparity in status are still in line with the function of fashion as reflected in Simmel's theory.
At that time, there was also a widespread saying that "a woman's wardrobe belongs to the devil", which meant that women had far more costume jewelry than they could really use, which was an act of luxury and waste.
But at the same time, it also shows that during the Gothic clothing period, women's pursuit of fashion clothing was quite fanatical.
This also shows that women in this period were still unable to achieve the satisfaction of self-realization from other fields, but could only be limited to clothing fashion, which is also mentioned in the second point of Simmel's fashion theory.
III. Conclusion
According to the enlightenment and thinking brought to us by Simmel's fashion philosophy, through the study of three typical European medieval clothing, namely Byzantine clothing, Romanesque clothing and Gothic clothing, it is found that the content and meaning behind the appearance of fashion are very rich.
In today's society, people's material living standards have been greatly improved, and with it, there is a higher degree of attention to fashion issues, and more and more people are talking about fashion and pursuing fashion.
But in fact, it is not only the use of these popular luxury goods to package themselves and catch up with fashion, or through the way of fashion, with the help of fashion as a means to achieve self-worth, people should pay more attention to how to meet their spiritual needs.
In 2004, FLOWmarket also sold canned air with "food for thought" on various labels in pop-up stores around the world.
It shows everyone how to meet the non-material needs of modern people is a topic worth discussing, which will become the "next generation of luxury".