The
spread of fashion to other areas of life and its importance from the
point of view of consumption give it a significant place in history.
The establishment of fashion museums (Musée des Arts Décoratifs,
Palais Galliéra, etc.)in France, successful exhibitions devoted
to haute couture and the place of fashion in the media corroborate
the idea that historians must not neglect this aspect (perhaps ignored
because of its ephemeral nature) of contemporary life.
The
CNRS "Institut d'histoire du temps présent" (Institute
of contemporary history) has undertaken a project to study the hitherto
neglected field of life styles in the contemporary world, beginning
with 'Fashion in the Sixties,' which concentrates on the phenomenon
in France. Although history has clearly identified the cyclical phenomena
of events such as fall-winter collections, and fashion has studded
recent history with unmistakable landmarks, such as the mini-skirt
of 1964, the approach of the group is not to study events, but to
draw on multidisciplinary levels of explanations. England has a clear
lead in the field, but the French have also made significant contributions
for earlier periods.
From
1958, the period of the nouveau roman in literature and the
Nouvelle Vague in cinema, fashion began to revolutionize daily
life. The system of fashion gave way to trends and counter-trends.
A striking example of a landmark event was the dress Brigitte Bardot
wore for her second wedding. The pink and white checked cotton fabric
normally associated with functional clothing for children illustrated
the fact that the arbitrariness of sign was becoming a game. By wearing
this dress, she created the image of a child-woman and emancipated
herself from the constraints of the rite of marriage and female sexuality.
Starting
in 1960, fashion rid itself of links to social status. Age rather
than privilege, and specifically the 16-20 age group, was an important
factor. Class distinctions in clothes disappeared. A distinctive youth
culture came into being, together with a specific press, advertising
media, the rise of the "idoles" (idols) and a predominant
theme, "le temps des copains" (buddy times), in music, TV
and the press that marked this era in France.
Technological
progress, the general availability of ready-to-wear clothes, and the
coming of age of the baby-boomers, who spent a sizeable part of their
budget on dress, meant that clothing was transformed into a product
of mass consumption. The changes in fashion that the 16-20 year-olds
wrought had economic, social and cultural repercussions and became
the driving force behind the changes in fashion and the consumers
of fashion. Clothes may be produced, but what is consumed is fashion,
which is now omnipresent.
