Fashion refers to a style or trend that is adopted and followed by a group of people within a culture or society during a specific period of time. It can also be used to describe an art form or a mode of self-expression. It is often influenced by cultural, social, and economic conditions. Fashion changes from season to season and era to era, sometimes disappearing altogether before reappearing in a completely different form.
A lot of fashion is driven by media and pop culture, from the ripped jeans and bare midriffs on 90210 to the baggy pants and top hats of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, as well as music and art trends. Designers and manufacturers can also be heavily influenced by what celebrities wear, and the popularity of certain garments among women or men at any given age can drive the market.
A major aspect of fashion is how fast or slow a particular fad becomes popular. Fashions can go from unpopular to hot in a very short amount of time, and it is often difficult for consumers to understand why something is so fashionable right now when it was so unfashionable the last time around. This quick turnaround is critical to a fashion industry that is driven by marketing, and many designers or manufacturers are willing to risk the loss of intellectual property rights to entice consumers to purchase clothing based on new trends. However, the speed of the fad can also make it hard for a designer or manufacturer to create quality garments because they need to be made in mass quantities and with a short time frame.
