How the trickle-down theory works in China
The Trickle-down theory, a well-known theory in fashion industry, has significant meaning in 19th to 20th century Europe. The American economist and sociologist, Veblen, published The theory of the Leisure Class by 1899, in which he discussed the split between the leisure class and the industrial class in the US critically. He concluded that leisure class treats dress as a sign of their status and possessions, furthermore, ‘Dress must not only be conspicuously expensive and inconvenient; it must at the same time be up to date’(Veblen 1994), by saying that, he refers to upper class was tend to create new fashion trend which was the top of the trickle-down theory. In the 20th century, Simmel, the
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However people have little idea about how fashion trends flow in both ancient and contemporary Chinese society, which is an essential issue no matter when people want to explore Chinese fashion history, or promote brands and run their business in China in the future. Actually, in the Han dynasty (206BC-220AD), the trickle-down theory worked in the Chinese Royal Palace. At that time, it is said that all the maid-in-waitings in imperial palaces stimulated the Empress Xiaocheng, Feiyan Zhao (32BC-1BC), wearing fairy retaining skirts (Barbara 2000). And according to Lang huan ji which was a classic novel written by Shizhen Yi, a scholar in the Yuan dynasty (1206-1368), in the Tang dynasty (618AD-907AD), young girls loved to manipulate imperial Concubine’s and Princess’s makeup and hair styles, which indicated that fashion flows from the upper class, such as royal family, to general people. But inevitably, the study had its own limitation, sometimes, things in China influenced by several specific factors, such as traditional Asian culture and social classes, in addition to that, the situation of contemporary China is more complicated which was because of ideology, social structures and fashion industry of China are so different from European countries. This essay will discuss that how the trickle-down theory works in China, what hinders the theory’s utilization and what situation these sociological and cultural factors cause.
First of all, the
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In 1997, Dorothy Ko published an article in the Journal of Women’s History called “The Body as Attire: The Shifting Meanings of Footbinding in Seventeen-Century China”. The article is organized with a brief introduction as to what footbinding is, the negative outlook on this practice due to problematic archives, and then she discusses the examples she gives to support her thesis. Ko’s thesis was “Chinese elite males in the seventeenth century regarded footbinding in three ways: as an expression of Chinese wen civility, as a marker of ethnic boundaries separating Han from Manchu, and as an ornament or embellishment of the body.” Since Ko is a celebrated and established author on women in early East Asia, the article “The Body as Attire: The Shifting Meanings of Footbinding in Seventeen Century China” is an accurate and useful source if one is trying to study that area.
John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life. Those who look only to the past or present are sure to miss the future.” Between 600 C.E and 1450 C.E, gender roles in China changed drastically when it came to job opportunities and the belief that women should remain compliant. A significant continuity also took place in regard to the effects that society’s concept of beauty has on women.
While the other side of the world’s fashion was ruled by the pop culture, Vietnamese women’s fashion in the 1980s was in desperate stage. After the country reunited, the national economy from older systems collapsed and needed to be reconstructed, leading to the subsidy period. There was hardly any private businesses but only supplies from the government on the market. Everybody had to use ticket to get the supplies that the government gave to them with the exact portions like others. This policy initially aimed to create a society with no division in class and to enhance the equality between the North and the South. However, with the limitation in the supplies, most people lived in poverty with the lack of many basic needs. Therefore, women
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As an American economist and social scientist, Thorstein Bunde Veblen worked hard to apply a distinct approach to the study of economic establishments. He also developed the theory of the leisure class which led him to win fame in the literacy circles (Pierce, n.d). Veblen further put in writing many aspects of wealthy individual lives, therefore “coining the phrases conspicuous consumption and pecuniary emulation” (Pierce, n.d). His intellectual criticism of capitalism landed him with fame in the field of economic and sociology.
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Relevance of the topic is that today the interest in the culture of Asian countries, including China grows and so does the number of works related to the history and way of lifestyle of the Chinese people throughout time. Moreover, we should take into account the fact that patterns of traditions affected the lives of modern Chinese women 's behaviour. When we analyze the situation status of modern Chinese women, you can see a lot of similarities with the behaviour of women in ancient China, which can help to explain the phenomena of modern life of Chinese women, looking into the past.
As many other countries around the world China has its long history of a struggle for equality and prosperity against tyrants and dictatorships. The establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949 seemed to have put an end to that struggle for a better life. “The Chinese people have stood up!” declared Mao Tse-tung, the chairman of China’s Communist Party (CPP) – a leading political force in the country for the time. The people were defined as a coalition of four social classes: the workers, the peasants, the petite bourgeoisie and the national-capitalists. The four classes were to be led buy the CPP, as the leader of the working class.
the trickle-down effect is most prominent in fashion where those of a higher class are able to have access to more options faster and utilise clothing as a means of expressing identity while still establishing themselves within their social group. Eventually more affordable clothing stores adopt the fashions of the upper classes making it more accessible, this however causes those of the upper class to lose their desire for the item and trend adopting instead new fashions perpetuating the cycle and creating fast fashion. The trickle-down theory creates a simple method of predicting the spread of fashion and trends for clothing companies (Bertrand and Morse, 2016)
This essay will be considering the historical development of haute couture by analysing Charles Frederick Worth’s (father of haute couture) key factors in the success of haute Couture. I will then discuss Coco Chanel’s thriving impact on haute couture as well as ready-to-wear caused by the second world war. Saint Laurent’s drift to ready-to-wear and the high street fashion system will also be discussed in order to answer if haute couture is relevant in fashion today. The books I will be analysing and referencing are ‘A Cultural History of Fashion in the 20th Century’ by Bonnie English, ‘Couture’ by Ruth Lynam, ‘How Fashion Works’ by Gavin Waddell. Which will thoroughly breakdown the evolution and historical development of fashion by cultural, economic, environmental and social changes to finally come into a conclusion.
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