modesociologie

Modesociologie, or the sociology of fashion, is an interdisciplinary field within sociology that studies clothing, dress, and fashion as social and cultural phenomena. It investigates how fashion expresses identities, signals social position, and circulates through networks of producers, retailers, media, and consumers. It also analyzes how fashion both reflects and shapes power relations, gender norms, class distinctions, and collective life.

Core topics include consumption practices and everyday dress, the organization of the fashion system (design, production, marketing, and distribution), media representation and hype cycles, globalization and cultural exchange, sustainability and ethical concerns, body image and beauty politics, and subcultures and street style as forms of social expression. Researchers explore how trends emerge, spread, plateau, and disappear, and how individuals negotiate conformity and distinction through attire.

Theoretical frameworks draw on classic sociologists such as Simmel and Barthes, as well as Bourdieu's habitus and concepts of taste, Baudrillard's critique of consumer society, and contemporary studies of identity and gender. The field also engages with fashion studies, cultural studies, and consumer sociology.

Methods are diverse, including ethnography of fashion workplaces and consumer spaces, interviews and life histories, discourse and content analysis of media and advertising, archival research on fashion houses, and digital ethnography of online communities and influencer networks.

Modesociologie addresses questions of globalization, labor and ethics in the clothing industry, sustainability, and the cultural politics of dress. It informs fashion design, marketing, policy discussions, and curatorial work in museums and festivals.