Approaches to fashion

[MJRH]

they are not mutually exclusive, i just like the broader definition because, though someone could argue fashion (using one of the provided, narrower definitions) does not present enough meat for serious inquiry/analysis, its difficult to imagine something with broader implications than clothing in general. sometimes clashes over semantics seem indicative of other things, pent up and unrelated directly to the discussion we've been having. maybe i'm guilty of it too, going knives out over things that do not warrant it. it has been entertaining at any rate.

anyway, what i don't get is why fine art is being used as a point of contrast for something that does merit serious inquiry, because, as someone already mentioned, that term applies to damn near fucking everything under one set of circumstances or another...

not really a point of contrast, more a direct isomorphism; the fine arts are a helpful framework for anyone unused to thinking of fashion design in roughly the same way they think of literature or film (that's me!)

this discussion's entertaining indeed, aside from the knives i suppose one thing myself (and Faust, if i understand him right?) do disagree with you on, is that designer narratives bring less grist to the analytic mill than do personal narratives. i think a lot of the folks arguing against fashion's viability for such purposes at the designer level would argue the same at a personal level (cf. aforesaid professors)

[Faust]

I don't think merz is saying they are less interesting, only that he is not interested in them.