Fashion Is A Verb

Society is filled with a wide variety of control mechanisms which are designed to maintain order and stability. The most obvious examples would be religion, education, and mass media. Ironically, they’re all forms of mind control as well. Religion defines the moral parameters within which society is expected to function, teaching us what is right and wrong. Education provides the skills necessary to best serve the State. But more importantly, it teaches obedience to authority figures. 

Mass media is a relatively modern invention, and its fundamental purpose is strategic perception management. Movies, television, books, newspapers and magazines all work in harmony, perpetuating belief in the illusion we call reality. Mass media forms the very walls of the “matrix”. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are more powerful than traditional mass media. Users of these platforms consume the carefully selected information that’s presented via memes and streams, then spread it amongst themselves. As a result, social media users are actively involved in the perception management process, helping to maintain the very matrix that entraps them.

There’s another control mechanism that’s less obvious, but just as influential as religion, education and mass media, perhaps more. It’s called fashion. When we think of the word fashion, we tend to think of clothes, clothing designers, and the industry that produces them. Fashion is indeed a noun, but it’s also a verb. To fashion means to create, construct and fabricate. To fashion is to control. 

Society is very much controlled by fashion. Consider the uniform… which literally means “one form”. The policeman, the soldier, and even the corporate businessman in his suit and tie, they all wear uniforms. The uniform is society’s favorite strait jacket. 

One of the most fascinating forms of fashion in modern times is sagging. Sagging is a fashion statement (and strait jacket) that’s an integral part of Hiphop, the self proclaimed genre of thug culture. The iconic heroes of  Hiphop all sag, most notably the Christ figure of the genre, Tupac Shakur. Indeed, sagging is as much a part of Hiphop as beats. Therein lies the mystery. Hiphop culture is characterized by an aggressive form of masculinity where machismo and bravado are celebrated, and even worshipped. How ironic that sagging is a fashion statement that originated from behind prison walls. It’s long been a sign of sexual availability. Basically, it’s a gay thing. The hyper masculine thug culture of Hiphop has been punked all along, and never even realized it. Such is the power of fashion. 

Do we choose our own wardrobe, or is it chosen for us? It’s an important question, because when we choose our own clothes, we essentially define ourselves. It’s been said that clothes make the man. This may be more true than we even realize.