This is an era of fashion and fashion is very influential in our lives. In fact, it adds diversity to our lives by offering an aspect of enthusiasm to strive for something new and different, otherwise it would be a monotonous life if we are supposed to dress and act in the same way.
Fashion is an expression of a distinctive style particularly in clothing, footwear, accessories or makeup. It belongs to the style of doing something, looking different and dealing with others. It encompasses a wide range of categorizations such as behavior, speech, actions, manners, and lifestyle. There is a lot of intellectual discussion about fashion and clothing and their importance in today’s society. Fashion and clothing can be defined as many things that hold our society together. Fashion can be defined as an existing norm or style of dress, manners, and way of socializing, while clothing is defined as garments collectively. If fashion and clothing were removed from our lives there would be no room for individuality and the world’s population would be the same. There would also be a loss of distinctions between social classes, which were very well defined in the 18th century but are still present today. The eradication of fashion and clothing would also change the dynamics of the social world and social relationships.
Mod, short for ‘modern’, refers to a youthful lifestyle that emerged in London during the 1960s and quickly spread to other parts of the world. Being fashionable is not only desirable but also satisfying. It is very common for young students to be more attracted to fashion and start following trends instantly, so fashion strongly influences our youth. Fashion continually has an impact on society. It affects our views and attitude towards the social culture. We introduce new ways of life through fashion and create awareness within ourselves to restore a new line of customs. It is a leading social statement for students to make an outward appearance in their social circle. Malcolm Barnard says in his book Fashion as Communication: “Fashion and clothing have always been explained as forms of communication” (39). Students use fashion to exchange their feelings and beliefs. They use fashion as a form of social contact with reference to scrutiny for all kinds of people. Fashion is a form of communication to convey to the world what your personality really says.
The 1920s are called the Age of Flaming Youth because of their wild, jazzy expression. In this period, the energy of youth was released in a new way and no style seemed too ridiculous to become high fashion. Our world has become globalized. Celebrities play a very important role in the lives of young people. Students search for their favorite icons to stay up to date. While watching TV or using the Internet, they can easily be attracted by a variety of fashion concepts. Also, the students idealize their favorite celebrities and always have the desire to look like them, so they do their best to imitate their idols’ appearance and lifestyle. They are trying to capture all the existing fashion in their society to enhance their personality. Every time they socialize, they talk about new things that could be adapted. They use unnatural form of expression, speech and gestures in their routine lives, which is relatively artificial.
From my point of view, there are two categories, that is, the positive and negative impact of fashion on students.
Fashion in our society has a great negative impact on students. They only think about the new fashion and this results in spending a large amount of money. Therefore, they are not able to become aware of other important necessities of life. It always distracts them from their studies. Once a style or fad becomes a trend, it is instantly chased by the student community, no matter how much trouble it creates. On the other hand, they are caught up in the confusion of fashion due to the impact of society. To follow a certain fashion, one has to take some actions and for this some students go beyond their limits just to attract their surroundings. They eventually become useless instead of resourceful and suffered depression from being in fashion. On the other hand, it is also thought that the money spent on fashion could be spent on other purposes, such as charity and helping the poor.
Fashion creates an inaccessible standard for students. Everyone wants to be attractive and glamorous like the celebrities on TV or in magazines, so they spend a lot of time and money just to make a good impression on the people around them. However, they fail to make a statement most of the time which leads to low self-esteem. It also creates a clash of thoughts between them and their friends which can lead to jealousy and as a result ruin their relationship with friends. The students start judging people by their appearance and those who cannot spend enough on their outward appearance, eventually being persecuted, which lowered their confidence level to a certain extent.
Students who concentrate more on fashion are generally less aware of their studies. They think that by adopting certain fashion trends, they will achieve a certain distinction among their peers, so they begin to give less importance to their academic careers.
There are some positive points of being fashionable as well. For example, when teenagers feel good about their appearance, it gives them a high sense of worth and confidence in their personalities. They also feel more independent and acceptable in a social context. If students follow a certain trend, it makes it easier for them to recognize their own personalities by meeting different people in society with the same interests and sense of style. Wearing fashionable clothes shows the status of a person. People assume that you are a more progressive person if you wear fashionable clothes. Malcolm Barnard says in his book Fashion as Communication: “Fashion and clothing have always been explained as forms of communication.”
Students eventually come to know that it is not good for them to follow or imitate others all the time. Instead, they must learn to be innovative and create their own sense of style. That helps them to be stronger, independent and imaginative. Fashion is the name of expressing yourself, it shows that people have the freedom to feel comfortable with themselves and that results in a more successful and prosperous society.
Fashion is an art form and because art is beneficial to society, so is fashion. Fashion is a great reason for companies to invest more in expanding the latest clothing, trends and a better life. We cannot disagree with the fact that fashion has an important place in the life of every student. Sometimes it can be the source of things that make life more enjoyable. On the other hand, it can be destructive to the lives of certain people. Therefore, it is better to stay up to date with fashion, but if you are harming your academic performance in any way, you should stay away from it. Generally, fashion can be entertaining, exciting, and harmless. Fashion is a method of making money that can employ thousands of people.
There must be stability in the lives of students while they pursue fashion. They should be aware of the fact that fashion within the limits is admirable, but when the limits are crossed, they have to face many problems. Your main responsibility is to fill yourself with the asset of knowledge instead of running after the debauchery of the deceitful world of fashion. There must be a fair balance between being fashionable and moving away from our roots. Students should know the fact that they have the maximum time to indulge in the world of lavishness after completing their studies, so they should devote their greatest devotion to education in the present for time and the tide waits not.
Being trendy and trendy is just our wish, no one can force us to do it and it is our own decision how much and what kind of fashion we prefer based on the place and requirement. Although in this time of the 21st century in Pakistan, most people are affected by the glamorous world and fashion style, but they still haven’t forgotten our traditions and culture which is the priority and symbol of our country.
