How a Fragmented American Culture and Society Affect Fashion Design, the Fashion Industry, Style and Dress, and Consumer tastes Since the 1990s

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How a Fragmented American Culture and Society Affected Fashion Design, the Fashion Industry, Style and Dress, and Consumer tastes Since the 1990sThe scope and scale of globalization in the 1990s were unprecedented. Globalization refers to the process by which people, cultures, investments, information, and goods flow across national borders (Foner, 2017). As a result of globalization, culture spread instantaneously across America and other parts of the world. Also, multiculturalism was spread in the 1990s. According to Foner (2017), multiculturalism in America came to denote new awareness concerning a diverse American past and demands that politics, jobs, and education reflect that diversity. Cultural fragmentation was widely spread in the US due to multiculturalism. The idea of cultural fragmentation means the breakdown of single cultures and the emergence of various varied cultures, whether they are linked to specific religions, ethnicities, religions, notions of people groups, or lifestyles, values, or forms of commodification. The US society was also fragmented in the 1990s. Fragmented American society and culture had a significant impact on the fashion industry. This paper discusses how consumer tastes, fashion industry, fashion design, and style and dress since 1990s have been affected by the fragmented American society and culture.

To begin with, the fragmented American society and culture affected style and dress since the 1990s because clothes manufacturers and designers had to produce clothing and accessories that matched the different cultures in the US. For instance, the increased immigration in the US in the 1990s changed the nation’s religious and racial map, and there were many Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists in the US. Foner (2017) reveals that even though the majority of immigrants in the US settled on the East and West Coasts, some relocated to other regions of the nation, bringing racial and cultural diversity to hitherto homogenous communities in the American Midwest. The new immigrants in the US had their preferred fashion designs and styles. They also had the values upheld by their culture in regards to how people should dress. As a result of this, clothes manufacturers and designers had to make the clothing according to the culture of these particular groups as the groups could preserve their culture. For instance, since it is difficult to find Muslim women putting on miniskirts, clothes designers and manufacturers had to start designing and making burqas for Islamic women.

Secondly, the fragmented American society and culture affected the consumer tastes, fashion industry, fashion design, and style and dress since 1990s through the culture wars. Culture wars refer to the battles over the moral values that raged throughout the US in the 1990s (Foner, 2017). For instance, the evangelical Christian Pat Robertson formed the Christian Coalition, which rose to prominence in Republican politics by leading campaigns against gay rights, secularism in public schools, and government support for the arts. At times, it appeared as though the country was rehashing old disputes between traditional religion and contemporary secular culture (Foner, 2017). The culture wars are also characterized by evangelical Christians fighting against the cultures that promote immorality (Foner, 2017). This affected the consumer tastes, fashion industry, fashion design, and style and dress since 1990s as designers and manufacturers strived to design and make decent clothes for the Christians who were against clothes that were too exposing as they considered them a means of promoting immorality.

Furthermore, the fragmented American culture has affected the consumer tastes, fashion industry, fashion design, and style and dress since 1990s by introducing workplace diversity in the companies that manufacture clothes. A diverse workforce is a workforce where there are employees with differences and similarities in terms of their values and beliefs, personal characteristics, backgrounds, and behaviors and preferences. This was achieved as the companies started hiring employees from diverse populations. According to Foner (2017), post-1965, immigration formed the most significant part of the global uprooting of labor arising from globalization. The author further adds that multiculturalism in the US denoted new awareness of a diverse American Past and demands that jobs reflect that diversity. Therefore, the fashion industry hired employees from diverse backgrounds to reflect this diversity. The diverse employees were hired from the significant number of immigrants that moved to the US in the 1990s. Foner (2017) reveals the new immigration in the US as a result of the displacement of labor caused by globalization. The migrants included poor refugees from political and economically affected nations, as well as educated professionals seeking skilled work (Foner, 2017). As companies in the fashion industry hired a more diverse workforce, this affected the fashion styles. This is because the diverse workforce fostered creativity and innovation among employees serving in the companies that manufacture clothes. A diverse workforce led to diverse and new ideas during decision-making and came up with new fashion designs. Also, The educated professionals who moved to the US and sought employment in the fashion industry also led to new fashion designs.

The fragmented American culture and society also affected the customer tastes since the 1990s because of the emergence of values the customers focused on. Notably, the culture in which an individual is born and brought up significantly influences their preference for clothing. People tend to purchase clothes that they are familiar with and at ease with. Since an individual’s preferences and degree of comfort are determined by the innate factors that influence their decision-making and point them in a specific way, a person’s inclination for clothing is greatly influenced by the culture in which they were brought up. Therefore, the fragmented American culture adjusted the customer’s sense of taste and their preferences depending on the acceptable values of their culture. Foner (2017) reveals that racial and cultural diversity in the US has become more apparent as a result of changes in immigration. Prior to the immigration law of 1965, ta significant number of immigrants originated in Europe, but following that year, the immigration landscape drastically changed. Millions of immigrants arrived in the country from the Caribbean and, Latin America, Asia, and a few immigrants were from Africa and the Middle East. Individuals born in America, where most Muslims resided, these individuals were likely to prefer burqas. Also, individuals born into Christian families were likely to prefer decent clothes that did not expose their bodies.

Furthermore, the fragmented American society and consumer tastes, fashion industry, fashion design, and style and dress since 1990s by introducing new fashion designs from the new cultures that were moving into the US. As new immigrants moved into the US, this led to the introduction of new fashion designs through the introduction of new customs, art, and designs. Immigrants from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America all had different fashion designs. Therefore, consumers in the US were likely to change their tastes as influenced by the new immigrants. Consequently, this led the fashion industry to design clothes that most people were interested in.

Overall, globalization in the 1990s was unprecedented. Globalization led to the spread of cultures across America. Consequently, this led to the fragmentation of the American culture, which significantly impacted the consumer tastes, fashion industry, fashion design, and style and dress. Firstly, the fragmented American culture and society affected style and dress since the 1990s because clothes manufacturers and designers had to produce clothing and accessories that matched the different cultures in the US. For instance, the fashion industry had to design and make burqas for Islamic women who do not wear miniskirts. Also, the industry had to design decent clothes for the Christians who were against the culture that promoted morality. Also, the fragmented American society and culture affected consumer tastes, fashion industry, fashion design, and style and dress since 1990s through the culture wars. The evangelical Christians were fighting against the modern secular culture that they considered to be a culture that promoted immorality. As Christians stood up against a culture that promoted immorality, the fashion industry had to design and make more decent outfits. Also, the fragmented American culture has affected the fashion industry since the 1990s by introducing workplace diversity in the fashion industry. As employees from diverse backgrounds were recruited in the fashion industry, this led to creativity and innovativeness due to new ideas from the diverse population. The diverse workforce also included professional employees who brought in more innovative ideas. Additionally, the fragmented American culture and society have affected customer tastes since the 1990s because of the emergence of values the customers focused on. Since people tend to purchase clothes that they are familiar and at ease with, the fashion industry had to make outfits of different designs to meet the needs of the different people. Also, consumer preferences were influenced by the fashion designs and styles of the new cultures. To adjust to the market demand, the fashion industry designed and made clothes of the designs that were in high demand. Lastly, new cultures also introduced new customs, arts, and designs that the US fashion industry emulated. Thus, there is sufficient evidence to showcase the fragmented American society and culture significantly impacted the consumer tastes, fashion industry, fashion design, and style and dress since 1990s.

References

Foner, E. (2017). Give Me Liberty! An American History: One Volume. WW Norton & Company.