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Casey Bragg
Ms. Bennett
British Literature
16 September 2011
The Wonders of the Fashion World
The word “fashion” has many different meanings but it is the jobs inside of fashion (such
as designers, models, agencies, etc.) that create the word itself. Without them, fashion would be
nothing. The fashion industry is a world beyond any other, but what people think of it is another
story. Is modeling good or bad? Is it a place of criticism or an art where people can be free? How
much has it changed throughout the years that have made people think so strongly or poorly
about it?
Although fashion has been around since the invention of clothes, the fashion industry has
only just begun. In the early 1900s, fashion was important and set a social standard. For example,
if someone wore out-of-date clothes, he/she would be seen as poor or not high class. If someone
wore the latest fashions he/shewere seen as rich or high class (Lindholm). France, most people
say, is the fashion capital of the world. It is said France is where the heart of fashion started
when Charles Frederick Worth hired a woman to put on his clothes in his store because a client
wanted to see what they looked like on. By the 1920s, fashion spread throughout the world,
appearing in magazines and newspapers. Journalists would write about what the latest fashions
were and there was also a mannequins' school dedicated to teaching fashion modeling
techniques. Then in 1923, the first American modeling agency was opened by John
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Powers(Evans). It was not until the 1940s when the word “supermodel” came into use.
Supermodels were different from regular models because they were known for their
independence. They would run their own careers, marketing, and pricing when it came to getting
paid. Supermodels were also more serious when it came to their careers. Most supermodels
started working on their career as young as fourteen or fifteen and would also work overseas in
Europe to get started (Cokal). Although the French did not open their first modeling agency until
1959, French fashion houses had always employed their own models, giving the models the
training and experience needed in order to succeed in their modeling careers. In other words,
fashion houses acted as agencies. Paris fashion houses housed around fourteen to eighteen
woman who all had different looks and styles in order to fit the range of the clients. It was not
until after World War II when the modeling industry really started to launch along with some
famous businesses such as the wonderful Cover Girl in 1944. In the 1950s, the catwalk (runway)
was created but was not improved until the 1960s when models spiced up the runway by turning,
dancing, and posing down and at the end of the runway (Finamore). Models doing these dances
and turns helped show off the clothes more and the clothes’ accessories. As the 70s, 80s, and 90s
hit, iconic figures came into place like Twiggy and Tyra Banks. Towards the end of the twentieth
century, models were being looked at as celebrities and their salaries greatly increased (Evans).
Models were taking more control over their own careers and their days from the early twentieth
century of being known as poorly paid girls with few standards were over; now in today’s time,
jobs in the fashion industry have grown and people have their own thoughts of models and the
fashion industry.
Models, designers, photographers, and more all make up the wonderfulness of the fashion
world and bring it together to become an industry. Though all these jobs are important in making
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the fashion industry come alive, there is only one that is more important than the rest and that
particular job is fashion designing. Fashion designers are the ones who create the fashion. They
use their imagination to make beautiful clothing designs and fashion would not happen without
clothes (Sterlacci). Then again, we would not have a fashion industry without any of these
important jobs. Back before photography, people would paint models and some artists still do.
Some artists feel that painting the model captures more of the emotion in the picture and the
color of the clothes designers are advertising. This is how art and fashion came together as one.
Not only the art of the clothes bring the two together but the beautiful paintings and work people
put into them is what makes it special (Lehmann).In today’s time, more people do fashion
photography than painting. Although most people adore paintings, photography works so much
faster and can get more than one image. Fashion photography has been around since the 1850s
and 1860s. The man that introduced fashion photography to America is known as Baron Adolf
de Meyer but like modeling, fashion photography really did not take its course until after World
War II when fashion photography studios came into place and more models began rising
(Inventions that Changed the World of Fashion).It was then the wonders of this beautiful art that
helped build the fashion industry into what it is today had been discovered (Duncan).
A lot of people like to question the fashion industry on if it is good or not. One of the
biggest arguments the people are bringing up today is food disorders and whether the fashion
industry is the reason behind it or not (Cottle). Being in the fashion world, there are standards
that certain people have to meet. Such as in order to be a high fashion model, you must be and
maintain a size 2 or lower simply because they like the models to be hangers for the clothes.
Most models are in the industry are naturally born skinny and fit but sadly some strive to be that
way and turn to the wrong ways in becoming skinny. Such as dieting or simply not eating at all.
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Although, the thing most people are forgetting is that people are in charge of their own lives. It is
not the fashion industries fault; it is simply the fault of the model herself/himself. Another
problem people have with the fashion industry is they believe it is the cause of gay men. As you
may know gay marriage has been a problem for a while. Ever since the fashion world has come
into effect, gays have come out more proud than ever to join in the industry. Some people
however have many problems with this. Having gays in the industry is not the fashion world’s
fault. In fact it is no one’s fault. People are people and you cannot for them to be someone there
not. The fashion world accepts gays for who they are and that is no one’s fault (Zarembo). The
fashion industry is a world like no other and is a place to express individuality and art in your
own way. What a person does for the fashion industry and to get in it, is his/her own choice and
should not be blamed by the industry itself.
The beautiful world of fashion has many downfalls but also many new and exciting
things that could happen once in a lifetime. Life is all about taking chances and especially when
it comes to making a statement and that is exactly what fashion is, making a statement but in the
form of clothes. Fashion is not just a piece of clothing, but a work of art that expresses one’s
individuality of not only the person wearing it, but the one who created it as well. Our world
would not be what it is today without the fashion industry and though many people still have a
lot of arguments to make towards it, it will never die.
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Works Cited
Cokal, Susann.“Supermodels.”Gale Virtual Reference Library.CengageLearning , 2005. Web. 7
Sept. 2011. <http://go.galegroup.com//
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Cottle, Michelle. “The Fashion Industry Should Not Be Held Responsible for Eating Disorders.”
Eating Disorders. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in
Context.Web. 2 Sept. 2011. <http://ic.galegroup.com////
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750fcf7727>.
Duncan, Nancy Hall. “Fashion Photography .”Gale Virtual Reference Library.CengageLearning
, 2005. Web. 1 Sept. 2011.
<http://go.galegroup.com//.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true
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Evans, Caroline. “Fashion Models .”Gale Virtual Reference Library.CengageLearning , 2005.
Web. 1 Sept. 2011.
