Fad Fashion: Definition & Meaning


Fashion is a highly volatile term, as it comes into the market and goes. However, some fashion designs come and stay for a long time, while others come and go in a matter of weeks. So, fashion design that comes for a short duration, is an example of fad fashion.

What is the Meaning of Fad?

The literal meaning of fad is: a strong passion for something or an intense and extensively shared interest in something, but for a short period of time. For example, suppose you became obsessed with learning the piano and thus purchased an expensive piano, enrolled in a prestigious music school, and paid a one-year non-refundable fee. But in the next few weeks, all your enthusiasm to learn piano disappeared and you left it all. It means your interest in learning the piano has faded.

What is the Fad Fashion?

Fad fashion is the latest and most preferred style in clothes, dresses, and behaviors, but for a short period of time. For example, some of the fashion designs or behaviours inspired by a movie or inspired by a celebrity who wore it in fashion shows or in parties or in any casual way, started trending in a couple of days. Everyone wants to have such a design, but in the next few weeks, people forget it and shift to a new fashion. Likewise, the start of fad fashion is very exciting and inspiring, but its journey is very short.


The success or failure of any fashion design or trend is determined by a variety of factors, including who designed it, what brand it is, who is/is promoting it, how it is advertised, how society reacts to this fashion trend, the price range of the dress, and so on. However, among all, social acceptance is the most important, which is guided by different motivational forces that emphasize on the people’s values and behaviors.

In today’s technologically advanced world, becoming popular is just a matter of hours. It is the world of social media platforms, where someone or something can become popular through the finger tips in a few hours. But what would be the endurance of this popularity? It depends upon the quality and attractiveness of the fashion design and fabric.

The present world’s consumer culture is driven by their aspiration to have it, which ultimately shortens the gap between the rich and economically volatile sections. So, they want to have the new trending dress if they like it. In today’s world, there are many examples of this. If you look around, you can easily find such people, who spent their two-or three-months’ entire salary on buying some luxurious item, which they actually did not need at all.

What is the cause of a sudden liking for a fashion design followed by a sudden dislike for the same design?

In this digital world, where things become popular through the touch of a finger, it is really very easy to trend a fashion design by using the different social media platforms. So, if a particular fashion design is endorsed by a big brand or/and advertised by a top movie star, who has millions of followers, in this case, under the influence of favorite stars, consumers don’t pay much attention to the quality of products nor the price. They just buy it. But in a few days, as people start using it, they realize the quality, price, or comfortability of the design, and last but not the least, society’s response to a particular design. And, if such a response is negative, its demand all of a sudden falls.

Conclusion

Moreover, the sheer fact is, no fashion design comes into the market to rule for ever. In fact, every fashion design has a life; some have a relatively long life and some have a short life. Fads, which are a part of short-lived trends, start trending quickly and then fade out of the market in a short period of time.

References

  • Dr. D. Saravanan. Fashion Trends and Its Impact on Society (URL - https://www.researchgate.net)
  • Swami Vivekanand Subharti University (Study Materials). Concept of Fashion (URL - https://www.subhartidde.com)
  • Chapter 1. Overview of Fashion. Fashion Studies - Class XI, NCERT.

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Updated on: 13-Oct-2022

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