Is Fashion Forceful/Powerful?

Embracing fashion is totally a voluntary activity. There are many trends which are there but these fashion trends are not necessarily to be followed. Every individual is free to embrace it or ignore it.

However, on the flip side, I believe that fashion exerts a manipulative force of materialism. It promotes and reinforces the idea that satisfaction comes from through material things. Not just consumerism, Fashion is forceful in other ways too.  All around the world, many countries, religions and cultures, have strict laws which governs what people should wear. Like in Saudi Arabia, if a woman whether a resident or foreigner, wear clothes which shows even an inch of bare skin, it is deemed to be as a criminal act.

Likewise, in North Korea, it is forbidden to wear blue jeans and people are not allowed to grow long hair. They can choose a haircut among the 15 haircuts recommended by the government.

Fashion helps in strengthening or reinforcing the sense of freedom by using it to show dissent from certain beliefs or laws. People, all around the globe have been using it to break old age taboos and sending the social messages. For instance, during the hippie movement, hippies developed their own distinctive lifestyle, long flowy granny dresses with floral and tie dye patterns were popular among women, many men grew beard, both men and women wore sandals and beads and they favoured long hair. Thus, fashion has been a powerful medium to express our beliefs, ideas and to connect with each other.