Fashion: Dystopia, Utopia, Heterotopia

Fashion can be described in many ways. While for some it is unnecessary, for others it is life. In fashion there are many ways in which it can be either a heterotopias, a utopia, or a dystopia.

According to Michel Foucault, “Utopias are fundamentally unreal spaces” (Foucault, 1). Michel Foucault also says “The mirror, is after all a, a utopia, since it is a placeless place. Fashion relates to a utopia in the sense that a mirror is essential for all people who participate in well dressing. Every outfit if looked through a mirror, “a virtual space that opens up behind the surface”.

Foucault describes heterotopias as  a place without geographical markers. Heterotopias can be things that happen nowhere. Essentially in fashion there heterotopias when people shop for items on sale. You get them on sale at the store, but once you are out of the store you don’t really want to associate you clothing as sale items. They were just on sale that tiny moment in time when they were on the rack. Fashion is directly related to heterochronies, which are linked to slices in time (Foucault, 5). Fashion is a collection of all previous trends before the time of the present. While there are new trend appearing, there are old trends coming back. The last thing that makes fashion a heterotopias is how it resembles “colonies” (Foucault, 7). There are many stores for clothing, organized in the sense that everyone knows what to expect when going into one.

Dystopias are often described as negative and futuristic. If Fashion can only be described as a utopia, heterotopias, or dystopia, it would be categorized the best with a dystopia. . Fashion can be very futuristic because it is always a step of head of  everything. While people just went shopping for their spring wardrobe, fall fashion trends are already being established. There are so many problems and controversy associated with fashion that makes many people believe it has a negative impact on the world. While it is important to be well dressed, many people get to involved into fashion and it takes over their life. Another thing that makes fashion a dystopia is that it can make a lot of people feel bad about themselves. Fashion often creates a hierarchy in society. While money and class often define hierarchies in society, fashion is creates a hierarchy with an hierarchy. Even people in the same class compete with each other when it comes to fashion and it causes for many self esteems to be brought down.

Sources:
Foucault, Michel. Of Other Spaces, Heterotopias. 1967. 1-8. Print