Social and philosophical analysis of brand clothes : the Ukrainian context

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to consider the prospects of social and philosophical analysis of the product (clothes) of fashion brand. In social and philosophical analysis of brand clothes, its fashion shows there is a range of discursive questions: the use and the definition of the concepts «designer» and «brand»; thematic focus of the brand (fabrics, colors, prints, shapes) its semantics; format of representation of fashion collection in dependence; and a number of other structural elements. In the analysis of fashion trends or seasonal collections the concepts designer or brand are used. The concept «brand» contains an economic component, certain calculations, and intangible assets (goodwill); design work is subject to market needs and the interests of consumers (for analysis of the individual designer the biographical method is used). Theoretical analysis of fashion cannot be made apart from empirical material. A performative approach of K. Wolfe can be the methodology of the social and philosophical research of fashion show. The advantages of this method of the research are to determine fashion as performative space, staging ideas of the designer in the fashion show and making clothes. Implementation of performative approach allowed considering thematic focus of the brand of clothes and format of its representation in seasonal fashion shows on the example of Ukrainian brand «Domanoff». Social and philosophical analysis of brand clothes can be divided into the following main components, excluding aesthetic and economic aspects: the use of the concepts designer and brand (a set of aesthetic, economic, social and subjective components and design`s view); review of the semantics of clothes and staging (by providing clothes) in the form of seasonal fashion shows of collections. For complex social and socio­philosophical analysis of fashion brand it necessary to have: the press release (description), designer`s interview (disclosure of early ideas, connection with sociality), photo (analysis of the semantics of clothes (color, shape, fabrics) and materialization of designer`s ideas), video (expand functions of photographs by performativity and latent sense). Social and philosophical analysis of brand clothes contributes to enrich the theoretical framework of analysis of space fashion and to reveal new perspectives for the research of this issue.