Why is fashion writing important?

While Barthes emphasizes the importance of fashion writing as a tool to describe garments, Miller argues that it would not be as persuasive without the concept of taste. This was first developed by British philosopher Anthony Ashley-Cooper, then adapted by David Hume and followed by Edmund Burke, who all desired a method to “discern a beautiful object” from a less alluring one in consideration of its experience. Criticism in this context is of importance to describe objects beyond “personal preference[s]” leading to “intersubjectively valid aesthetic judgment [s].” Taken together, it can be said that fashion journalists, therefore, act as mediators through their skill of fashion writing that turns fashion into trends, and makes them desirable to be seen by the reader and the world.

With citizen journalism dominating the field of digital media, it has become difficult to recognize fashion writing by fashion journalists, which have often been mistaken for one of the fashion bloggers. Now, with bloggers “occupy[ing] a contentious position within the field of fashion media” and possessing multiple skills that include writing, photography, creative direction and styling, it has raised debates regarding whether or not journalists can keep up with the competition. Also, as I have argued in Chapter One, social media has become a must for fashion journalists, who now find themselves at struggling when writing for online; this has to be authentic and different to the style of writing that comes with the ground rules of journalistic writing.