Fashion-ology

Yuniya Kawamura is Professor of Sociology at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, USA. She is the author of Doing Research in Fashion and Dress (2011), Fashioning Japanese Subcultures (2012), and Sneakers (2016).

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction
Etymology of Fashion
Fashion as a Concept and a Phenomenon
Proponents and Opponents of Fashion
Studies of Fashion in Social Science
Outline of the Book

2. Sociological Discourse and Empirical Studies of Fashion
Classical Sociological Discourse of Fashion
Fashion, Modernity and Social Mobility
The Origin of Fashion Phenomenon
Contemporary Sociological Studies of Fashion
Fashion and Sociology of Culture
Fashion as a Manufactured Cultural Symbol
Conclusion
Guide to Further Reading

3. Fashion as an Institutionalized System
Theoretical Framework of Fashion-ology
Fashion as a Myth Supported by the System
Different Approaches to Fashion Systems
The Beginning of the Fashion System
Fashion Production as Collective Activity
Empirical Study: The French Fashion System as a Prototype
Conclusion
Guide to Further Reading

4. Designers: The Personification of Fashion
Designers in the Studies of Fashion
Designers, Creativity and Social Structure
Legitimation of the Designer’s Creativity
The Star System of Designers
Hierarchy among Designers in the Fashion System
Conclusion
Guide to Further Reading

5. Production, Gatekeeping and Diffusion of Fashion
Diffusion Theories of Fashion
Gatekeepers: Making Aesthetic Judgments
Diffusion Strategies from Fashion Dolls to Fashion Shows
Fashion Propaganda through Advertising
Conclusion
Guide to Further Reading

6. Adoption and Consumption of Fashion
Consumption: A Historical Perspective
Consuming Fashion as Symbolic Strategy
Consumption and Social Status
Consumers as Producers
Conclusion
Guide to Further Reading

7. Youth Subcultural Fashion as an Alternative System
The Theoretical Foundation of Subcultures
Post-subcultural Theories and Contemporary Youth Subcultures
A Systemic Approach to Youth Subcultures and Fashion
Punk as a Prototype of a Less-structured Alternative Fashion System
The Internal Mechanism of the Alternative Fashion System
Conclusion
Guide to Further Reading

8. The Impact of Technology in the Changing Fashion Systems
Trickle-Across Theory in Practice: A Collapse of Categorical Boundaries
A Changing Occupational Structure in Fashion
The Decentralization of Fashion Geography from Paris to the World
Conclusion
Guide to Further Reading

9. Conclusion

Appendix: Practical Guide to Sociological Research in Fashion and Dress
Notes
Bibliography
Index