I am increasingly interested in how certain actions first become acceptable to society and then, ultimately, something that you feel obliged to do. Following on from that, why do society and culture come to see certain behaviours or beliefs as acceptable when they are clearly damaging to the individual?
Posts by Frances Corner
Great Expectations
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In the opening chapter of his biography, Dickens, Peter Ackroyd points out the parallels between our time and that of the Victorians. Dickens’s death came as evidence of a giant…
Model Of A Woman
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Flicking through a magazine, fashion seems so ephemeral, lightweight, shallow, that the notion of authenticity appears to be its very antithesis. But get beyond the apparent glitz and celebrity coverage to the people who create and work in such a dynamic industry and you will find that to make an impact, authenticity is essential.
The Fur’s Flying
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Why are fur sales rising? The case against fur was made so strongly in the 1980s that many people in the fashion industry wondered if it could ever make a comeback, particularly as technology was producing faux fur that no longer looked cheap and nasty but could easily be mistaken for the ‘real thing’. Yet this realism itself could be part of the reason for fur’s quiet reacceptance.
Making It Big
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We see a lot of talent at the London College of Fashion. That’s what we are about – nurturing future world leaders of fashion. I am privileged to see talented young designers at the birth of their career. But watching students progress through the college, and looking at their experiences afterwards, I know that success demands a great deal more than just talent.
Tailored Choices
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Or those of us who see clothes as adornment, rather than an external display of internal thinking, fashion is often dismissed as trivial. However we dress, we make statements about ourselves, whether we want to or not.
The Skin You’re In
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A recent trip to New York was revealing, not because of the shopping or the food, although these were as varied and wonderful as ever. This time, I was struck by the number of tattoos proudly worn by people from across the social strata. These tattoos were extensive, and showed a permanent commitment to ritual and adornment that clothes cannot and do not involve.
Going Full Circle
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Roland Barthes says, that ‘The wearing of an item of clothing is fundamentally an act of meaning that goes beyond modesty, ornamentation and protection. It is an act of signification and therefore a profoundly social act right at the heart of the dialectic of society.’
Fashionable Soul
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As Head of the London College of Fashion, a college that has recently celebrated its centenary, I have spent some time contemplating the idea that our current delight in all…
