Fauna-inspired fashion through the English language glass
Abstract
The article deals with representation of animal-inspired fashion highlights in the English fashion discourse with the focus on evolution of naming systems, categorization, multimodality, advertising and marketing strategies valid for online commerce. Animalistic motifs are considered on the basis of language-naming practices for clothes, footwear, accessories, jewelry and make-up. Fashion has become an important field of communication in modern world. Now it generates multimodal fashion discourse and refined fashion narrative with countless articles and innumerable posts on social media, Instagrammable looks of celebrities and influeuncers imitated by thousands of fashion fans. Glamorous fashion events are prominent social gatherings, which entail extensive international media coverage making a noticeable domain of online landscape. In the 21st century, radical changes in fashion were triggered by ecology movement and animal advocacy movement. Wild and domestic animals were used for clothes making for centuries but in the 21st century due to animal personhood movement and vegan fashion animals are likely to turn into a mere source of inspiration for designers. The shift in world vision and values triggers changes in customers' mentality and promotes creativity of fashion designers. Animal-inspired prints, gowns, footwear, accessories become means of self-expression and personification. Modern designers reinterpret the iconic images of the past bringing fashion to a new level what results into new word coinages in English, new distribution of fashion lexemes. Ergonyms – names of fashion items – contain indexical signs and might get associative meaning and emotional meaning being connected with famous people and celebrities. The list of animalistic fashion terms with indexal names is getting longer in the wake of the attempts to introduce new prints into fashion industry. Online business dictates advertising and marketing strategies with catchy names, slogans and detailed linguistic description of goods. Naming conventions are being changed as animal-prints get connotations, associations; lexical units acquire occasional intensifiers and determiners. Playfulness of animal-inspired fashion items is conveyed via humorous names and naming components. Zoomorphic accessories give rise to new portmanteau words. Modern fashion discourse proves linguistic practices and naming conventions are becoming more sophisticated and intricate.
Downloads
References
Ainiala, T. (2016). Names in Society. In C. Hough (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming (pp. 371-381). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Albright, M. (2009). Read my pins: Stories from a diplomat’s jewel box. Harper Collins e-book.
Aldrin, E. (2016). Names and identity. In C. Hough (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming (pp. 382-394). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bergson, H. (2007). L’Évolution créatrice. Paris: PUF collection Quadrige.
A Lasting Reign — Marie Antoinette’s influences on 21st century style (2015, April 30). Retrieved from http://monarchyofstyle.blogspot.com/2015/04/marie-antoinette-today.html
Bochkarev, A. Е. (2011). Epistemological bases of categorization. Cognition, communication, discourse, 3, 6-15. https://doi.org/10.26565/2218-2926-2011-03-01
Borelli-Persson, L. (2022, February 1). How the tiger – and its stripes – inspired fashion designers. Vogue. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.com/article/how-the-tiger-and-its-stripes-has-inspired-designers
Bossy, A. (2023, January 24). Animals are trending on the spring 2023 haute couture runways. Fashionista. Retrieved from https://fashionista.com/2023/01/animals-trend-spring-2023-haute-couture
Buttolph, A. (2001). The fashion book. London, New York: Phaidon Press.
Croft, W.A., & Cruse, D.A. (2004). Cognitive linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dali Universe. (2018, September 25). Dalí’s fascination with the rhinoceros. Retrieved from https://www.thedaliuniverse.com/en/news-dalis-fascination-the-rhinoceros
Espada, M. (2023). Why cats dominated the 2023 Met Gala Red Carpet. Time. Retrieved from https://time.com/6276254/met-gala-2023-cats/
Farameh, P. (2008). Luxury for cats. New York: teNeues.
Fasel, M. (2019, n.d.). Monica Bellucci revived an iconic jewelry look. The Adventurine. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from from https://theadventurine.com/culture/celebrity/monica-bellucci-revived-an-iconic-jewelry-look/
Faverie. (2022, July 28). Animal print: Types, patterns, tips and outfit ideas. Retrieved from https://www.faverie.com/magazine/animal-print/
Friedman, V. (2023, January 25). Controversy in the Wild Kingdom of Couture. Fake fur at Schiaparelli, a menagerie at Chanel and an ode to Josephine Baker at Dior. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/style/paris-haute-couture-fashion-week-lion-dress.html
Gonzalez, T. (2023, March 1). I exclusively wore animal-shaped bags to fashion week. I’ve never been so popular. Harpers Bazaar. Retrieved from https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/street-style/a43008927/new-york-fashion-week-2023-editor-experience-animal-bags/
Hines, S. (2022, August 2). Animal print is back! Here are our top picks from the high street. YOU magazine. Retrieved from https://www.you.co.uk/animal-print-fashion-trend/
Hooykaas, M.J.D., Aalders, A.K., Schilthuizen, M., & Smeets, I. (2022). Animals in fashion: Portrayal of animal biodiversity on children’s clothing. Society and Animals, 1(aop), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685306-bja10109
Hoyesarte. (2012, October 3). Jean Paul Gaultier. The path to the stars. Retrieved from https://www.hoyesarte.com/sin-categoria/jean-paul-gaultier-en-la-fundacion-mapfre_101673/
James, D. (2023, February 18). How Isamaya Ffrench turned Dion Lee’s FW 2023 snake skin pattern into a reptilian third eye. Elle. Retrieved from https://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/a42951896/ismayah-french-dion-lee/
Jana, R. (2020, January 22). Jean Paul Gaultier’s most talked about catwalk moments of all time. British Vogue. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/jean-paul-gaultier-greatest-catwalk-moments
Kessler, A. (2023). Cats were on the prowl at the met gala. British Vogue. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/choupette-tributes-met-gala-2023
Kirkpatrick, E. (2016, May 24). 15 Celebrities guilty of using their pets as fashion accessories. People. Retrieved from https://people.com/style/celebrities-using-pets-as-fashion-accessories/
Kratofil, C. (2021, June 30). Luxury fashion brands that are anti-fur. People. Retrieved from https://people.com/style/fur-free-luxury-fashion-brands/
Langendonck, W. van, & Velde, M, van de (2016). Names and grammar. In C. Hough (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming (pp. 17-38). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lankarani, N. (2017, December 17). In France, Jean Paul Gaultier styles the euro. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/fashion/monnaie-de-paris-jean-paul-gaultier-euro-coins.html
Larouci, S. (2021, January 10). Once there was a tiger. Animals in fashion photography. Vogue Italia. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.it/en/article/tiger-exotic-animals-fashion-photography
Leibring, K. (2016). Animal names. In C. Hough (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming (pp. 615-627). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Léglise, I., & Migge, B. (2006). Toward a comprehensive description of language varieties: Language-naming practices, ideologies, and linguistic practices. Language in Society, 35(3), 313-339.
MacSweeney, E. (Ed.). (2012). Vogue. The editor’s eye. New York: Abrams
Makmanee, T. (2013, October 16). 100 Examples of animal-inspired footwear. From savage safari sneakers to animal print oxfords. Retrieved from https://www.trendhunter.com/slideshow/animalinspired-footwear
Miller, J. (2016). Jewel. A celebration of earth’s treasures. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited.
Montgomery, J. (2023, February 3). 6 Vogue-approved ways to wear leopard print in 2023. British Vogue. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/how-to-wear-leopard-print
NStixx, M. (2023, February 10). Collina Strada’s fw23 beauty took glam on a “zoomorphic” fantasy ride. Retrieved from https://hypebae.com/2023/2/collina-strada-new-york-fashion-week-hair-makeup-isamaya-ffrench
Nyström, S. (2016). Names and meaning. In C. Hough (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming (pp. 39-51). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Oparina, O. I. (2018). Irony in Ch. Darwin’s works: a complex approach. Cognition, Communication, Discourse, (10), 69-85. https://doi.org/10.26565/2218-2926-2015-10-05
Pauly, A. (2023). Sans fur and skin, fashion’s animal attraction evolves. Retrieved from https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/animal-fashion-trend-fall-2023/
Radley London. (2023, February 13). Animal prints used in fashion: A guide to different animal prints. Retrieved from https://www.radleylondon.com/radley-stories/style-notes/animal-print-fashion
Seeling, Ch. (1999). Das Jahrhundert der Designer 1900 – 1999. Potsdam: Ullmann Publishing.
Setiawan, B. L. (2011, July 7). Birds! Jean Paul Gaultier Couture: Plume-Filled Show + Menswear. Retrieved from https://www.racked.com/2011/7/7/7758977/birds-jean-paul-gaultier-couture-plumefilled-show-menswear
Shevchenko, I.S. (2017). Evolutional mechanisms of cognitive semantics. Cognition, communication, discourse, 13, 132-141. Retrieved from https://periodicals.karazin.ua/cognitiondiscourse/article/view/8635
Simmonds, B. (2021). Pets AREN’T fashion accessories or toys! Retrieved from https://ecolookbook.com/pets-arent-fashion-accessories-or-toys/
Singapore, E. (2022, September 14). Trending: See-through shapes, androgynous tailoring and animal prints are fall’s best statements. Elle. Retrieved from https://elle.com.sg/2022/09/14/trending-see-through-shapes-androgynous-tailoring-and-animal-prints-are-falls-best-statements/
Siti, F.A. (2022, August 5). Who runs the world? Pets! The finery report. Retrieved from https://tfr.news/articles/2022/8/2/who-runs-the-world-pets
Sjöblom, P. (2016). Commercial Names. In C. Hough (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming (pp. 453-464). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Smitherman, G. (1991). ‘What is Africa to me?’ Language, ideology, and ‘African American’. American Speech, 66, 115-32.
Stefani, E. de (2016). Names and discourse. In C. Hough (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming (pp. 52-66). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sunio, P. (2022, n.d.). Flora, fauna, and fashion. Elevate everyday looks with fashion accessories inspired by nature, the tropics, and the wild. Retrieved February 20, 2023, from https://fameplus.com/touchpoint/flora-fauna-and-fashion
Ungerer, F., & Schmid H.-J. (1996). An introduction to cognitive linguistics. London: Longman.
Vernose, V. (2020, May 28). How feathers became fashinable. CR Fashion Book. Retrieved from https://crfashionbook.com/fashion-a32629144-feather-trend-fashion-history-carnival/
Volandes, S. (2020). Jewels that made history. 100 Stories, myths, & legends. New York: Rizzoli International Publication.
Weber, C. (2007). Queen of fashion: What Marie Antoinette wore to the revolution. New York: Picador.
Copyright (c) 2023 Alla Belova
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors, who publish with this journal, accept the following conditions:
The authors reserve the copyright of their work and transfer to the journal the right of the first publication of this work under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Non-Derivs License (CC BY-NC-ND), which allows other persons to freely distribute a published work with mandatory reference to the authors of the original work and the first publication of the work in this journal.
Authors have the right to enter into separate additional agreements for the non-exclusive dissemination of the work in the form in which it was published by this journal (for example, to post the work in the electronic institutions' repository or to publish as part of a monograph), provided that the link to the first publication of the work in this journal is given.
The journal policy allows and encourages the authors to place the manuscripts on the Internet (for example, in the institutions' repositories or on personal websites), both before the presentation of this manuscript to the editorial board and during review procedure, as it contributes to the creation of productive scientific discussion and positively affects the efficiency and dynamics of citing the published work (see The Effect of Open Access).
