Fashion is art. I am not sure how contestable this statement is today, but in case of any doubt I would like to quickly outline its case.

Creative elements run through almost everything we do, but at what point can creativity be described as art? To answer this as succinctly as possible: when self is injected into purpose.

Take for example the building of a bridge. There are necessary rudimentary engineering requirements i.e. the suspension of an elevated platform from one point to another. To achieve this end requires nothing more than the fulfilment of the engineer’s brief. But if every bridge was built as such all bridges would look familiar. Only advancements in technology would evolve the construction of a bridge with the same requirements.

Bridges are unalike because of the subtle difference between the engineer and the architect. The architect brings human consciousness to the blueprint. They give it an additional, abstract use – they reflect the personality of the self in connection with the environment.

Architecture and fashion share many qualities. Architecture is the conscious cloaking of a community. Fashion is the conscious cloaking of an individual. They are both world-facing and expressive. A fashion decision is communication of the self with that outside of it. An architectural decision is communication of a community with that outside of it.

Also, it is through fashion that we most commonly see self-expression in an all-consuming Western world. It is a consumption that triggers creative choice, in contrast to most aspects of consumerism that is passive, introvert and aloof. Uniqueness of dress is a lonely indicator of the ever deepening diversity of personality.

Not all expression is art and some may argue that on this basis fashion should not bear such a title. But I would counter that if the expression has that paradoxical quality to both challenge and illuminate the universal and remain a faction of it then art it clearly has to be.

This month's favourites:
   Camille, Le Fil
   Zelda Fitzgerald, Save Me the Waltz
   Batman Returns (1992)