Unit 2c - Fashion Leadership in a Multicultural Society

Introduction

It now appears that some fashions, as well as some analogous nonfashion phenomena, climb the status pyramid from below, trickling up, as it were. If this is true, the process, which we call the Status Float phenomenon, deserves careful study.
--George A. Field, 1970.

The third section of the theoretical perspectives related to sociological theories focuses on fashion leadership from various segments of a society. There are various names for this phenomenon; "Status Float" , "Trickle Up", "Bubble Up". Before you complete this section, you should have completed Units 2a and 2b.

So far, we have examined how various sociological perspectives have been related to fashion: social class, imitation and differentiation in social groups, and collective behavior. The third area under Sociological Theories is identified as "Fashion Leadership in a Multicultural Society." In this section we will explore how various groups within our society can serve and have served as fashion leaders. In 1970, George Field published a paper in Business Horizons that addressed what he called the "status float phenomenon", that "sub-cultures" within a society often introduce fashions that serve as group identification which are then adopted by other segments of a society. Rather than calling these various groups "sub-cultures" (which infers that they are somewhat "lesser" than some over-riding umbrella culture), I prefer to refer to this phenomenon in terms of the diversity of fashion leadership within a multicultural society, such as the one we live in. As you read Field's work (which remember, was published in 1970 -- how our language has changed!), think about how current fashions are a reflection of this multiculturalism. The other two articles are included as examples of work that has focused on examining fashion within a multicultural society. I found Steele's article on the 1970s an excellent analysis of the role of fashion during that decade. Kelley's article on the history of the Afro hair style highlights the importance of symbolism in the adoption of fashion.

In thinking about fashion leadership within a multicultural perspective, the basic premise is that a group within our society serves the fashion leadership role. According to the work, in order for any group within a society to serve in the fashion leadership role, they must meet several criteria:

• the group must be have a critical mass (be large enough) and be a visible segment of society
• the group must have the ability to "invent" new styles (often the styles are a symbol of group membership)
• the group is typically not catered to by the fashion industry. In fact, the fashion industry often co-opts the styles of these groups and makes them available to other segments of society through mass production.

Think about groups within our society that serve as fashion leaders. Do they meet this criteria? Where do you see the fashion industry co-opting the styles of these groups? What generalizations can you make about these groups?