In Fashion-ology by Kawamura, she discusses the diffusion of fashion through gatekeepers such as magazine editors, journalists, moguls, and a variety of mainstream designers. One road through which fashion disseminated to the public was the motion picture industry, as discussed in class by Professor Valverde some time ago. Fashion influences from the film industry can be seen in movies, TV shows, and advertisements. Two such movies included “The Seven Year Itch” starring Marilyn Monroe or the more recent film “The Devil Wears Prada” which directly focuses on the hierarchy of fashion gatekeeper and fashion consumer. 
These two movies, along with a number of other films and TV series, have influenced concepts of fashion and what is fashionable.
The problem with this, for me at least, is that some fashion trends were widely accepted, copied, and mass produced for consumption while others fell to the wayside. One example, though a little farfetched, is the Star Trek TV series that first aired in 1966. This show dealt with the adventures of deep space travel; a futuristic show that portrayed a wide variety of costumes and fashion. However, besides a large fan base who may have dressed up in costume to emulate the show, none of the fashion trends within the series made it into the mainstream. If Hollywood can be considered a gatekeeper of fashion, than why do some shows transcend the set and others do not? Is it because people can relate more to one show than another? I will dwell on this idea this weekend and see if I can come up with an answer!
Kawamura, Yuniya. Fashion-ology. New York: Berg Publishers, 2005
http://whenfashionmeetsmovies.blogspot.com/
http://www.shefinds.com/blog/index.php/archive_86/The-Devil-Wears-Prada----Fashion-in-Film/
Jesse Kailahi Blog Post # 4
1 comment:
I think that what's important to look at when you're trying to do this analysis is the intended audience for the films or t.v. shows. Shows like Star Trek are trying to attract men, who are seen as the traditional consumers of science fiction. At the same time, men are not seen as the consumers of fashion trends. However, if you take a show like "The O.C."....remember how much everyone emulated that one girl's style on there? With all the cardigans and converse and shit. Don't get me wrong, I did it too. But that's my point. Their target audience was the teenage female, who is currently seen as the number one consumer of trends. Therefore, the know that they can market fashion to her through the show.
-Alison Tanner
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