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Culture, structure, and the market interface: Exploring the networks of stylistic elements and houses in fashion.
- Source :
-
Poetics . Jun2018, Vol. 68, p72-88. 17p. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- This paper explores how culture and social structure are intertwined in markets. Starting with the notion that markets are composed of both producers and cultural elements, a two-mode and dynamic social network approach is used to define social structure as a set of relations among producers through cultural elements, and culture as a set of relations among cultural elements through producers. The example of global high-end fashion in London, Milan, New York, and Paris between 2008 and 2013 is used. Data were gathered from a prestigious and influential design forecasting bureau which synthesized data about the stylistic elements selected twice-a-year by fashion houses for their collections. While at a granular level of analysis (looking at specific seasons), both stylistic elements and houses are less clustered than expected, they form in the long run a highly clustered structure, both culturally and socially. Intermediate-level analysis reveals that while elements are still less clustered than would be expected by chance, houses appear to some extent to be randomly clustered. This sheds light on a long-standing conundrum in fashion: why does it appear to be completely random, and yet highly legible? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0304422X
- Volume :
- 68
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Poetics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 130224021
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2018.04.004