The Origins Of Fashion

The concept of being fashionable has been around for centuries but the fashion industry as we know it today only really emerged with the formation of haute couture fashion houses and the emergence of prêt-a-porter, or ready-to-wear, clothing. Fashion has its roots in cultural traditions and customs relating to dress and appearance. It is common knowledge that the first clothes made of furs and skins were for the purposes of protection from the elements rather than to enhance the appearance and it was only many centuries after that when people began to dress according to customs and traditions.

The ancient Egyptians rimmed their eyes with kohl, shaved their heads and donned wigs instead but this was not due to the dictates of fashion. No, the striking appearance of these ancient people was due to practical reasons. Egypt is an extremely hot country, and the Egyptians shaved their heads because it was cooler to wear a wig than their own hair. They outlined their eyes in black to protect them from the sun because they knew, even then, that black reflects light, and that the black kohl would act kind of like sunglasses. The Picts painted their faces blue but this was to scare enemies in battle rather than to enhance their appearance but even rituals like this indicate a conscious knowledge of the effect of appearance on the beholder. It was from this consciousness of appearance, from the gathering of shells and feathers for adornment of the body that fashion grew.

The aesthetic of appearance was further emphasizes as class distinctions emerged. The wealthy upper classes of European cultures in particular would have fine garments made for them to display their wealth and difference from the peasants. They commissioned clothing from craftsmen who made clothing especially for them and herein lies the origin of the professions of tailor and seamstress. In the 1800s, people were still having clothes made for them and it was only really in the twentieth century that the French couture houses were born. When ready-to-wear clothing became the norm and the seasonal fashion cycle of trends emerged, fashion finally came into its own.