Influence Vs Inspiration

Hannah Smith
Aug 13, 2020
4 min read

Updated: Aug 15, 2020

Personal style is a quintessential form of self-expression and reflecting the individual’s personality, it more than just clothes, it is a medium in which the consumer can reveal aspects of themselves, their interests and hobbies, their morals and values, everything that makes the individual, themselves. Although its personal and unique, it’s something that is showcased to the public and used as a cultural currency to gage who the individual is; “It is a reflection of your unique complexity as a human being” [PSYCHOLOGY TODAY. 2016][1]

However, this idea of an individual style has typically had an external input from contextual factors, as throughout the decades it is clear platforms such as music and film have had a considerable impact on the world of fashion and style.

Image. Pinterest. 2020.

Film, being one of the most notable aspects of popular culture to have an impact on fashion, began in the early 1920s with the rise of cinema accelerating, with consumers looking to the glamorous Silver Screen Stars for inspiration. However, this relationship between the two industries continued to grow and in today’s society it is necessary for brands to “keep an eye on what Hollywood is wearing in order to anticipate [their] customers’ needs” [NYFT.2017][2].

This timeline reveals key moments in which the world of film has had an impact on style.

Image. Author. 2020.

This effect can also be seen between music and fashion, as music is a crucial style inspiration source which acts a vehicle to drive the use of personal style as a platform to reveal ones likes and interests. Music and fashion taste feed each other and help to create the many genres involved in this relationship; if an individual dresses a certain way, their music taste can be recognised. Using the perfect example of the Mods and Rockers of the 1970s, this idea becomes clear as social groups were extremely divided, not in age, gender, race, etc. but simply just in style and music preferences. The youth of late 1960s- early 1970s Britain was “split along stylistic and tribal lines: between smart, scooter-riding, of-the-minute Mods, and leather-jacketed, scruffy Rockers” [SAVAGE.2014][3]. It was the start of an explosion of subcultures.

The timeline below highlights how the relationship between style and music has evolved throughout the decades.

Image. Author. 2020.

However, with the 21st century development of social media platforms, this idea of inspiring style has morphed into the modern social media influencer. Social media platforms are flooded with influencers pushing consumers to buy into particular products and clothes. The direct definition of this ‘influencer’ is someone who has “the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience” [INFLUENCER MARKETING HUB.2020][4]. This definition is utterly terrifying! The rhetoric used with lexis such as “power” and “authority” connotes negative, dominant actions and are not typically words used to describe shopping or personal style; it takes all control away from the consumer and deems them powerless.

Image. Pinterest. 2020.

This only begins to illuminate some of the many negative impacts social media can have, not only on the fashion universe, but also with the consumers mental health. A BBC Future study found that “more than half of users feel inadequate, according to a survey of 1,500 people by disability charity Scope, and half of 18- to 34-year-olds say it makes them feel unattractive" [BROWN.2018][5]. The report also revealed that using social media can have catastrophic effects on self- esteem and having studied Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the individual should aim to reach the main goal of self-actualisation by first meeting esteem needs. However, in today’s social media society, the consumer can never reach their full potential of contentment, as social media platforms are continually setting unrealistic goals of ‘perfection’ that the consumer is never able to meet.

Therefore, when it comes to style and self-expression, there is a transparent difference between influence and inspiration. The individual can build a personal style unique to them using the contextual inspirational factors such as film and music to express their individuality. Whereas when one considers influence, it is extremely one-dimensional, leaving little room for creativity and personality.

Image. Pinterest. 2020.

“Fashion is in the clothes. Style is in the wearer” [NYFT.2017][6], the consumer just isn’t aware on how to take inspiration from contextual factors because they are continually polluted with the content social media influencers promote. However, with a platform such as Devastatingly Obvious, the individual is encouraged to celebrate the styles seen on Television, a key contextual inspiration, and use it to develop dress style that reflects their personality.

BIBIOGRAPHY

[1] Psychology Today. 2016. Online. ‘Value of Style’. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/articles/200507/the-value-style Accessed on: 09/08/2020 [2] NYFT. 2017. Online. ‘Hollywood Influences Fashion’. Available at: https://nyfashiontrade.com/hollywood-influences-fashion/ Accessed on: 09/08/2020 [3] Savage, Jon. 2014. BBC, Culture, Pop Music. Online. ‘Mods v Rockers: Two Tribes go to War’. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140515-when-two-tribes-went-to-war Accessed on: 27/07/2020 [4] Influencer Marketing Hub. 2020. Online. ‘What Is an Influencer?’. Available at: https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-an-influencer/ Accessed on: 20/07/2020 [5] Brown, Jessica. 2018. BBC Future. Online. ‘Is social media bad for you? The Evidence and the unknowns’. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-you-the-evidence-and-the-unknowns Accessed on: 29/07/2020 [6] NYFT. 2017. Online. ‘Hollywood Influences Fashion’. Available at: https://nyfashiontrade.com/hollywood-influences-fashion/ Accessed on: 09/08/2020