Week 3 theory review Obsolescence and desire

Obsolescence and desire: Fashion and the commodity form

This reading discussed fashion as a commodity and its relationship to the consumerist values of capitalism. Most intriguing is the discussion of the relationship between symbols and their transition into signs. The Webster dictionary defines symbols as an object or act representing something in the unconscious mind or an object that has some cultural significance. A sign is a type of gesture that refers to an action or idea. With in the terms of Post modern consumerism, in order to turn the object into a commodity it is important to turn he symbol into a sign. “A sign must liberate itself from the concreteness of symbolic exchange…then the sign can become a value for consumption (238). As a result, for example Ralph Lauren, or other fashion labels, their product has a temporal position of being fashionable before it is out of fashion and a new product needs to be produced and sold for consumption. “What is important for Baudrillard, is that we understand consumption not as the consumption of objects as such, but as the idea of the symbolic relation that is supposedly expressed by the object (240).”
In relating a label with a belief system, the consumer is then able to confirm or support their identity by wearing this label. The only problem with this is that this identity is based on pure illusion. The example of the cosmetic industry selling individualized products that suggest that you are an individual takes this illusion one step further. We are walking billboards, suggesting that our beliefs are change as quickly as the fashion industry.