"Fashion victim" is a term claimed to have been coined by Oscar de la Renta that is used to identify a person who is unable to identify commonly recognized boundaries of

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

. Fashion victims are "victims" because they are vulnerable to faddishness and

materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialis ...

, two of the widely recognized excesses of fashion, and consequently are at the mercy of society's prejudices or of the commercial interest of the fashion industry, or of both. According to

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as ...

, "When a woman alters her look too much from season to season, she becomes a fashion victim."

Faddishness

A fad is an intense but short-lived fashion trend. Fads are also by their nature at the extreme range of currently acceptable style, which means they commonly cross the line from the sublime to the ridiculous. Fashion victims can be seen to have crossed this line.

Materialism

Keeping up with fashion is often very expensive. Expensive clothes signal that the wearers are financially successful, but they aren't necessarily " cool" or "fashionable". Designer labels have come to form an important part of identification of style and fashion. Many have become accustomed to the social acceptance that comes with wearing the right brands. The labels have in many cases migrated from the inside of a garment to the outside. Common examples of this type of branding are

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacture ...

, Kelme, and other sports and leisurewear manufacturers. A fashion victim, able to recognise this phenomenon but unable to determine its boundary, may become a "walking billboard". Designer

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

ing is sometimes associated with a higher quality of manufacture and a higher price. The ownership and display of such products of quality is frequently

marketed Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

to suggest that the wearer will automatically embody a personal characteristic of quality by association. Designers have identified this and in some cases are able to exploit it to the extent that prices can be escalated to surprising proportions without reference to the cost of manufacture. Extreme examples of this type of branding are found among accessory manufacturers such as

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragranc ...

and

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessorie ...

, scent manufacturers such as

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chane ...

and

Guerlain Guerlain () is a French perfume, cosmetics and skincare house, which is among the oldest in the world. Many traditional Guerlain fragrances are characterized by a common olfactory accord known as the "Guerlinade" (fr). The house was founded in P ...

and watch manufacturers such as

Rolex Rolex SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex'' as the brand name of ...

and

Bulgari Bulgari (, ; stylized as BVLGARI) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1884 and known for its jewellery, watches, fragrances, accessories, and leather goods. While the majority of design, production and marketing is overseen and e ...

. Fashion victims, by their characteristic inability to recognize boundaries, may aspire to the extreme end of what is available, seeking expensive products (or copies of these products), believing that the outward display of such items will draw admiration in proportion to their actual or apparent cost. Because of this, "the term 'fashion victim' became the ultimate insult to the aspirational." In the Cameroonian artist Alioum Moussa' solo art exhibition ''Fashion Victims'', he described fashion victimization as "global games of seduction". He states that such process drains people's unique identities and exacerbates the unfair dynamics created by capitalist interaction.

Faddishness

Materialism

See also

References

Further reading