Fashion: Art or Business?

[Creative]

Art

Art has to sell too.

 

[Creative]

Don't you see when you're walking along the street many art shops???

I think you can difference between ready to wear and haute couture, from my point of view both are art, a way of expressing your emotions. Art has a function too, in many ocasions it is made just to decorate a room. Fashion is made to decorate women's body.
It is the same, I am absolutely convinced of that.

How many differences do you find?

rtw is like pictures which are sold in cheap shops, and HC is like pictures which are in a museum.

 

[Creative]

And there are dress museums too...

 

[m.j.]

somehow, art become business. no one wants to be dead and then famous, and that makes sense as long as artists don't sell.

 

[gius]

exactly

artists have to stay alive too they need to make money
but it doesn't mean they are sell-outs

 

[obsvr]

^Yes, you have a good point, but if artist themselves started to paint things that they thought others want to see, then they already became a designer not an artist. IMO artist to me is someone who didnt care much about money and do things according to what their heart desire. They did it or do it for the sake of art and only art. Designer on the other hand, has to cater or seduce their customers in order to make a living. So they have to take a lot of things into consideration. I'm not sure about artist tbh simply because I'm not an artist or an expert.

Between an artist and a designer, I think designer is much more business minded. Whereas artist do it for the sake of passion, not so much about money, and I've always admired people like that because there's not many of them around us. I love this intellectual discussion, keep it coming guys!

 

[k-a-t-e]

I think Fashion firstly originated as an art form. Just look back to the 'Golden Age of Couture' where Fashion was completely about the form and function of design with the added benefit that people wanted to buy it. Designers were one women (or man) shows... think Dior and Chanel.

Like the majority of the world now Fashion is without a doubt a business. This doesn't necessarily have to have negative connotations associated with it. Without commercialisation, Artists and Designers might have something special to share with the world but without the communicative tools to share it! Buyers, Marketers, Planners, Accountants, PR Specialists, Managers and so forth add to a House's organisational structure.

It's comparable to Education. No longer is it about just about knowledge transfer, Institutions are businesses, marketing their products and services for profit. This even aplies to Government funded schools to some extent.

 

[Creative]

^Yes, you have a good point, but if artist themselves started to paint things that they thought others want to see, then they already became a designer not an artist.

I don't think that...
I believe designers do what they want, nobody has a similar style.
Don't you think that what Chanel was doing wasn't what people want? Don't they prefer to rescue the lost luxury that Dior was bringing?
It was a revolution, as it happens in art.
Fashion, as art (beacuse it is art) can be a revolution, without thinking of the general point of view. Later there is people's role to think if they like what that designer is doing.

 

[m.j.]

fashion is part of art, inspired by other arts and IMO designers are under much bigger pressure to satisfy people than lets say painters. that is however related to the fact that fashion become fashion industry and industry is well business. so like in music or movies, you can either make money and sell yourself or project your visions and take risks. that's why there are so many lines. you have HC that is arty, pret a porter and even cheaper lines for middle class.

i mentioned music, cos i can relate myself best to it, as an art form. you see, no one would hear for blur if there wasn't for parklife but when they got to the top they got back to doing what they felt like doing.

so, today, i am not sure there is art in its pure form. we live in a material world. everything have to be wrapped up in something that will make it prettier therefore the value will be higher...

 

[Plisskin]

Isn't everything in the art world a business these days?

Yeah "baby's gotta eat", but somewhere along the line that same quote holds too much focus over the art. It overshadows the creativity and produces watered down products.


I'd rather die a starving artist than compromise myself so much that the original vision isn't even recognizable. But I guess I'm crazy to most people. Money and sales isn't everything to me.

 

[obsvr]

Like the majority of the world now Fashion is without a doubt a business. This doesn't necessarily have to have negative connotations associated with it. Without commercialisation, Artists and Designers might have something special to share with the world but without the communicative tools to share it! Buyers, Marketers, Planners, Accountants, PR Specialists, Managers and so forth add to a House's organisational structure.

I agree. I guess back in the day more people appreciates arts compare to now. And I think that is sad. Art in its true form is just too subjective, thus people find it hard to relate to or just couldnt be bothered. I'm not oppose to the idea of fashion as an art form, not at all, it is still there but very little in this present time. Too much risks for some fashion designers, and that's neither a good thing or a bad thing. It's a reality. Not many designers wanted to do what Alexander Mcqueen or Hussein Chalayan do. And that's also the reason why Mcqueen is highly praised by fashion insiders, because his vision is rare and unique. He is willing to take risks. Most designers play it safe to keep their business growing, hence they keep making what most of their customers want. These designers are mainly being more creative (put more effort) in their business (marketing, ads, etc..) and lesser in their designs. Having said that, fashion being business oriented is not really a bad thing because when you come across designers like Mcqueen it is such a breath of fresh air you know B). Something that will shock your senses. Can you imagine if all designers in the whole world only creates avant-garde designs? It's too much for the senses. You can't really force people to appreciate arts, you either love it or hate it or neutral. And to me that's a good thing because if art appeals to too many people it will loose its luster and it becomes common .

 

[urbanebloc]

Since every other celebrity has come out with their own fashion line (most of which is unwearable and amateur at best), I really think that it's become highly business oriented. I'm weary of people pursuing fashion because of it being their true passion. These days people are competing to see who can sell items as high as they can justify through their brand equity and popularity.

 

[kahlilg]

^I don't know... most actors/ actresses turned musicians haven't been very successful and vice versa. I just think that you really can't judge fashion by using celebrities and what not. All they want to do is get richer and richer...

i think fashion is still pushing the envelope in terms of wearable art. Sure it's a business, but it needs to be if it wants to succeed. I'm not really seeing to big of a problem right now.

 

[urbanebloc]

I can definitely agree with it being wearable art, we wouldn't be interested in fashion if it weren't for our passion of mixing styles and clothing pieces. I think that the backbone really needs to be in the quality of what is offered, and from there building a brand.

Too bad that the fashion lines that seem to garner a wealth of resources just so happens to be in celebrity fashion lines (ex. Lauren Conrad is being sold in high end retailers such as Holt Renfrew in Canada). But it's good to recognize that much of the time they fall short (ex. "Chick" by Nicky Hilton? Who buys that?)

 

[John_M.]

I am an art person. I learn to appreciate things as art to accept them for what they are. I think back to the one "Ugly Betty" episode in which Betty was concerned about Mode using super-skinny models to show off only the fashion and not so much the models themselves. I am really concerened about this issue of if fashion is art or business. I don't delve into deep topics like this. It seems too easy to give an opinion that would ultimately get you on the bad side of someone truly passionate about the issue. I can't guarantee this post is going to get me one billion karma points or 100,000 +rep. I'll explain my views as only I can.

So what do I think about art vs. business? I would point more towards business, and I'll tell you why. The common goal for most designers is to design clothing to clothe men, women, and children. They make clothing not only to keep us warm and clothed, but to also be stylish in what we wear. The style can be casual, romantic, cute, flirty, whatever. The main goal is on business. Now if you're talking business, you're making me assume that the business side of fashion is to simply cash in on customers buying and wearing your products. This is true to an extent. Why do you buy clothing (besides warmth and protection)? It's because you want to have style that expresses you. This is where fashion as an art comes in. Some people just buy clothes to express a creative side and express their creativity through the language of fashion. It can't be spoken, it can't be translated, but there is a medium of communication in wearing a variety of garments together.

Even still, it all comes down to business. If companies and designers can't sell their clothing, the company doesn't last very long. Especially if you are a big-name company trying to remain at the top, it's business. You're trying to sell your stuff so that you can show everybody else just who the best designer is. You can make some of the most stylish and creative fashions for people of all ages and of many body types. It all comes down to business more than art. Is it perfectly fine to think of fashion as art rather than business? Yes it is, but fashion itself still comes down to business more than art often times. Those who make wonderful garments prosper while most others fall flat or go out of business. The real extremes of fashion are more about business and marketing than art. This, speaking as a person who's loved art since childhood. I'm going to buy a garment for artistic value, not so much for helping designers generate revenue. Fashion is art. Success in fashion is business. Trying to market and get people to love certain fashion all comes down to business. And if you're not doing your very best showing your style of fashion is the best, then you won't be in business all too much.

That's just my take. We love fashion for artistic value, but the real extremes come down to business.

 

[ElectricAlyce]

I think one of the great things about fashion is that you have to have both. Of course there is a moneyaspect to it, and of course there is an artside. Without one, in fashion, the other can't live. You're gonna have a hard time selling your clothes (and showing them) if you fail on the art-side, and you'll have a hard time beeing able to make and showcase your clothes if you can't sell them. I think that's one of the things that make fashion interesting myself