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Abstract
This paper explores the implications of contemporary sharing—a central cultural activity in the twenty-first century related to social media, the shared economy and ways of communication—on fashion. First, it maps the connection between fashion, body and personality. Later, following a theoretical model presented by John, it argues that sharing and fashion are internally connected and that sharing is the driving force behind the appearance of new consumer concepts such rental services and digital collections. Finally, the article analyzes these services to demonstrate how they disrupt the historical relationship between subjects and fashion objects in terms of ownership, physical connection and speed of circulation. It arises from this that in fashion, where the object used to be owned or literally attached to the body, and is part of a constructed personality, sharing is motivating a radical shift in the bond connecting subjects and clothes.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interests was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/
2 A good example is Identities Through Fashion (2012), edited by Ana Marta Gonzalez and Laura Bovone.
3 This is a real-life experience for the sake of illustration alone.
4 Be it a gift economy or any other activity of distribution. In this paper, as I have mentioned above, I am focusing on selected aspects of sharing and mainly on sharing in social media, and other aspects of the word are outside the scope of this paper.
5 A homonym that is not polysemic is the word “spring.” It can either mean the season or a piece of metal. There is no connection between the two.
6 The question of whether a sharing economy, or anything else in this regard, is really sharing is something that John and others address, but what it is relevant for this article is that it is called sharing and referred to as sharing.
7 The pages of the article are not numbered in the version that was available to the author.
8 A hashtag acts as an aggregator and connector of posts on social media. Other popular hashtags relevant to fashion-related activity are #style, and #luxury.
9 All posts are edited to some extent. The meaning here is what might be termed “storytelling” through social media.
10 The quote is from an interview I conducted for Haaretz newspaper with a fashion brand owner and is for the sake of illustration alone. The interview was conducted in Hebrew. The translation is mine (Choufan Citation2019).
11 I am borrowing a term from Bruno Latour (Citation2005). Actors, or actants, are organized in a network, physical or virtual.
12 The quote is from an interview I conducted for Haaretz newspaper with an influencer and is for the sake of illustration alone. The interview was conducted in Hebrew. The translation is mine (Choufan Citation2019).
13 Retrieved from: https://www.renttherunway.com/unlimited?nav_location=submenu&action=click_rtr_unlimited&object_type=top_nav
14 Renting fashion is seen as an alternative to buying more clothes, which can be considered as more ethical or “honest.” This is beyond the scope of this article, although the implications are to sharing as a positive activity that was set out earlier.
15 Retrieved from: https://digitalcollection.carlings.com/products/decrypt-racer-jacket
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Liroy Choufan
Liroy Choufan is a PhD student in the Cultural Studies Program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a lecturer in the Unit for History and Philosophy of Art, Design & Technology at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. He has published articles in The Fashion Studies Journal, The Business of Fashion, Wallpaper* Magazine, The Fashion Law and Haaretz. [email protected]