The role of the fashion journalist has become diversified, but it is without a doubt that fashion writing has remained essential in mediating and creating symbolic value for the fashion industry, especially in the field of digital media. Not only has it become a communicator but also a reflector of fashion; from the inside – runway shows and fashion week – to the outside and especially to the fashion consumer. With digital media giving everyone...
The role of the fashion journalist has become diversified, but it is without a doubt that fashion writing has remained essential in mediating and creating symbolic value for the fashion industry, especially in the field of digital media. Not only has it become a communicator but also a reflector of fashion; from the inside – runway shows and fashion week – to the outside and especially to the fashion consumer. With digital media giving everyone the possibility to participate in fashion, it has become difficult to identify professionals and especially fashion writing by fashion journalists.
In ‘The Fashion System,’ French linguist Roland Barthes studied the connection of words and images in fashion magazines, by looking at words as an essential and descriptive tool that turn garments into alluring fashion. He introduced fashion writing as one of the three essential shifters, mainly the one “from the real to language,” as “it is not the object but the name that creates desire; it is not the dream but the meaning that sells.” In this context, images cannot exist without linguistics, as words add meaning and value not only to photographs but to garments and products.
