Functioning logics of the field of fashion

In this article, we will focus on the functioning of the field

of fashion through the work of two sociologists, Pierre
Bourdieu and Yvette Delsaut. In particular, we will see how
fashion, beyond a simple phenomenon of imitation-
distinction, is also constructed in a given space governed
by its own logic.

The polarity of the Haute Couture field

Bourdieu and Delsaut, in the article “The ‘couturier’ and his

‘signature’: contribution to a theory of magic” (1975), aim to
study the logic of the functioning of the “field” of French haute
couture. They perceive a quite decisive polarity in explaining the
behaviour of the main actors of this market, that are qualified as
an incessant struggle between the dominant companies of the
moment, corresponding to an established bourgeoisie, and new
companies, rather supported by the new bourgeoisie. While the
former are defined as old prestigious houses characterized by
their austerity and sobriety, the latter, on the contrary, carry
“modernity”, “hatred of perfection”, “mass openness” in order to
convince the new (younger) fringes of the bourgeoisie. In this
respect, Dior or Balmain are opposed to firms such as Paco
Rabanne or Ungaro who were the emerging talents at the time
the article was written. The design of the stores reflect this
opposition quite strikingly: while the first two are defined by their
use of “white walls” and “grey carpet” and “monograms”, and
are located in old school prestigious buildings on large arteries
such as rue François Ier or Avenue Montaigne; the second two
signal themselves by “white and gold metal”, “modern” shapes,
significantly younger sellers, and are preferably located on the
left bank of Paris. For the former, it is a question of retaining an
acquired clientele; for the latter, of convincing new clients.

This dual logic of the fashion field may be explained by the

attempt of the new actors to send the old ones back to their
past, which, by the way, would ensure continuity. The function
of the “dominants” would be, on the opposite, to maintain their
positions through conservation means, i.e., “ostentatious refusal
of conspicuous strategies of distinction”. For them, it would be
better to tend towards “classic” elegance, to confine oneself to
using strategies that deny the subversions of newcomers, so as
to establish a high cost entry barrier from a symbolic point of
view. Quite different is the logic of the contenders, who must
necessarily claim a certain form of exaggeration, close enough
to the “slightly too sustained brilliance of the first generation
intellectual”. On the one hand, we have the rejection of
conventions (introduction of new subjects, for example),
“freedom”, “new”, on the other hand, the negation of these
contributions for a certain form of “balance”, “refinement”. As
one can see, the field of French couture is not only structured
by economic parameters but also by cultural or symbolic ones:
old and new players on the field align themselves with cultural
codes and references that are as different and opposed as
possible.

Developed by the authors, the attached diagram allows to

visualize the functioning of the field with efficiency.
Corresponding respectively to the turnover and the number of
employees, the circles allow us to see the rise in importance of
houses such as Courrèges, Saint Laurent, as well as the way in
which new entrants actually obtain their “initial capital of
authority” from former dominant houses (Courrèges from
Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent passing through the Dior
house). Nevertheless, Bourdieu and Delsaut note that seniority
cannot be the only explanation for hierarchies. Thus “the
relationship between seniority and capital can only be
maintained within certain limits”, for example, the exploitation of
the brand in the mass production of perfume. Basically, the
couturier would obey operating logics opposed to those of the
writer or artist, its necessarily declining value being based solely
on the fashion/decay succession.

Although the fashion trend can therefore be expressed here in

terms of field polarity and the struggle between newcomers and
dominant actors, Bourdieu and Delsaut also defend the idea
that this polarity is anchored within the restructuring of the field
of power. The last entrants would address the women of the
new bourgeoisie eager for a new way of life based on the
importance of sport, a liberation of the body, a new professional
life, and would distinguish themselves from the established
houses aimed more at the dominant classes.

The interest of Bourdieu and Delsaut’s analysis resides in the

way they manage to reconcile the logics of social distinction
between the new and the old bourgeoisie and the logics of the
field. If fashion takes shape with a view to distinction, it is
nevertheless born within a defined field governed by its own
logic.

The field of contemporary fashion

This is how we could try to analyse the field of contemporary

fashion. The career path of designer Marine Serre is evocative.
Having worked for Alexander McQueen, Maison Margiela, Dior
and Balenciaga (dominant in the field), the young woman
defines her company as a “start-up”, preaches “equal wages
and positions” between men and women, underlines her totally
Parisian manufacturing in opposition to the brands
manufacturing in Bangladesh, as well as her “100% radical”
approach and her practice of sport. The position of Hedi
Slimane, artistic director of the Celine house, is quite different.
Claiming to put youth “at the heart of everything he undertakes,
creates”, he nevertheless highlights the heredity of the figure of
the “Parisian woman”, to highlight his way of “drawing and
redrawing in an obsessive way” a “cloakroom codified to the
extreme”, to think of “new classics”, to have “a stylistic
grammar, a heritage and a silhouette or an invariable and
identifiable appearance twenty years later”.

Which one of these two strategies is most relevant to attract

new clients of the fashion field? In your opinion, which profile of
clients would rather stick to Marine Serre / Celine’s proposals?

Bibliography

Bourdieu Pierre, Delsaut Yvette. “Le couturier et sa griffe :

contribution à une théorie de la magie”. In: Actes de la
recherche en sciences sociales. Vol. 1, n°1, janvier 1975.
Hiérarchie sociale des objets. pp. 7-36.

© Institut Français de la Mode