Oriental Influence on Western Fashion

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that clothing is rarely recognized as a political force; yet fashion and design may be one of the most internationally regarded forms of trade, communication, and influence among countries worldwide. The author points out that the Orient has been a wellspring of fashion influence for both the Eastern and Western world since ancient times; the Edo period in Japan was the beginning of several Japanese styles that remain popularized by Western culture fashions for centuries, including the "Kamishimo," worn by both males and females of the Samurai warrior class during special occasions featured stiff shoulder garments that crossed the shoulders and chest, elements vital to the Samurai image held by Hollywood and other popular culture creations in the West today. The paper relates that today very young Japanese girls, as seen in exported Japanese movies, manga comic books, and anime television, are setting global fashion trends, including miniskirts, short pants flared out at the bottom, and loose, baggy socks deliberately allowed to lap over the tops of their shoes.

From the Paper:

"Fashion evolves as quickly as any other fast-paced element of society, never becoming stagnant. Some people are critical of the movement and growth of the industry, claiming it encourages people to become materialistic, rushing at every opportunity to spend more and more money on unnecessary items. However, this change and growth is precisely what makes fashion a true form of human expression. Diversity, experimentation, expression, and metamorphosis are what define human culture and fashion culture. As cultures touch, fashions exchange and spread. The in-look for the young rebels is eventually passed on to the older generations. The styles of one region are sent to another. "Young people, enjoy the diversity that changing fashion can apparently provide, seeing the constant change as a way to satisfy their desire to experience 'new' and 'interesting' things. Note too though that fashion can change to enforce uniformity, as in the case where so-called Mao suits became the national uniform of Mainland China." "

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