Fashion & The Wedding Industry

The first video is based on the cost of the basic necessity for a wedding; it will provide a rudimentary overview of the average spending for a wedding.  The second video shown is Four Weddings.  This show transforms weddings into competitions where assess are based on venue, experience, dress and food.  Presently, weddings are becoming more fashionable than traditional. Weddings are meant to symbolize love, commitment and unity of a couple; however, it is now solely focused on style; opposed to the entire purpose and meaning of a wedding.  With dozens of bridal magazines and shows, we begin to want more.  In present day, when wedding planners speak of a “traditional” wedding, they are referring to the theme and style of the wedding.  Thus, our modern day wedding has taken the true essence out of weddings in order to produce a mass wedding industry.


 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FnEce9O3zo


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTPCHPPxOvI

FASHION: HARAJUKU GIRLS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hghjAEzIS-c

The video posted is based on the four Japanese girls Gwen Stefani adopted as her backup dancer called Harajuku girls.  The idea of Harajuku girls derive from a street in Japan where individuals would dress in unique, mixed matched clothing with funky hair and makeup every Sunday called Harajuku.  The Harajuku girls frequently dress in unique Japanese based style in Stefani’s music videos; for example, Hollerback girl, Rich Girls and more.  Although the Harajuku style has been around for a long time in Japan, it was only introduced by Stefani a few years ago.  Harajuku girls display racial, ethnic and cultural differences since it was not common to see girls in colourful mixed matched clothing before Stefani’s introduction.  Therefore, when you see a girl dressed in Harajuku girls’ sense of style, it would be assumed that she is into the Japanese culture. Also, due to the arrival of this style, girls wear more mixed matched clothing and funky hair and makeup to show a sense of style and uniqueness since Harajuku is one of world’s most fashion iconic streets.  Thus, dressing like Harajuku girls can emit the impression that you are unique.  Additionally, this video relates to our discussion we had in class when we were debating the issue of commodifying race or culture.  Commodifying culture should not be an issue since it is not taking away individual’s culture but embracing it.  If Stefani had not introduced the Harajuku girls to mainstream Western society, people may not know who they are and what it is. 

This form of consumption is impractical since attempting to unique is essentially what mainstream society is about.  By consuming the Harajuku girls’ style, when Stefani introduced them to the Western society, you are not showing uniqueness; rather you are consuming what others are consuming.  In Western society, it is hard to be completely unique since the majority of our fashion and clothing are mass produced.  Therefore, if you bought the “unique shirt”, there is a big chance that someone else did too.  Also, when you do stumble upon something unique, it is very likely that it will later become the mainstream style.  Thus, attempting to separate oneself from the mainstream by consumption is unfeasible.