"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, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

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

fad A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors tha ...

dishness and

materialism Materialism is a form of monism, philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental Substance theory, substance in nature, and all things, including mind, mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. Acco ...

, 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 elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...

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

Faddishness

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 in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

, 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 goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

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 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 Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

and Burberry, scent manufacturers such as

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

and Guerlain and watch manufacturers such as

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

and Bulgari. 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's 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