What is the difference between modernism and avant-garde fashion? The answer lies in its underlying ideologies. Modernists love fashion. Fashion is of supreme importance to them because it signifies their ability to shape the cultural patterns of the time.
Fashion, in the eyes of modernists, is a means to express the cultural values of the moment. Thus, what is the difference between modernism and avant-garde fashion? The answer lies not only in the designs of the clothes, but also in the way they are conceptualized, and in what they represent.
What is the difference between modernism and avant-garde fashion, then, lies in their divergent interpretations of the same phenomena. Modernists on the one hand see fashion as a direct means of communicating their cultural theories. By conforming to the commonly accepted stereotypes, they make fashion statements. Modernists do not, however, see fashion merely as a means of expressing ideas but, in their words, as a direct way of producing changes in social conditions. They see fashion not merely as an expression of ideas but also as a direct apparatus for bringing about changes in the material conditions of the day.
On the other hand, avant garde fashion goes far beyond mere expression. It seeks to alter the material conditions of the day by suggesting new ways of doing things, by questioning convention and by reinterpreting old images. So, what is the difference between modernism and avant-garde fashion? It lies in the ways in which they conceive of fashion.
The conceptual framework of modernism is relatively straightforward. According to this school of thought, fashion exists essentially to serve as a device for communicating a certain set of values to the public. Unlike the more conservative schools of fashion which, in its approach, seek to promote a particular type of style as a sinecure to aesthetic appreciation, the modernists claim that fashion should itself be an artform. It should encourage reflection and change, thus producing works that can be considered as significant works of art.
However, while all this is true, modernism’s conceptual framework leaves something to be desired. In order to fully grasp what is the difference between modernism and avant-garde fashion, one must also attempt to understand how each influences the others. In other words, we need to be able to discern what makes each style distinctive, as opposed to similar styles that share certain commonalities. And this task becomes much more difficult when we take into consideration that there are actually four main schools of modernism, and each has its own unique visual language and sensibility.
The first school of modernism, known as the “Minimalist” school, believes that style is meaningless and should exist only to accentuate the specific characteristics of a physical object. This school’s most famous member, the artist Seurat, broke with the tradition of his time and designed his clothing around the bare essentials of a garment, rather than including them because they enhance its meaning or aesthetic value. His work, which still sells well, is a testament to the power of this school. By contrast, the second school of modernism believes that form should mirror content and instead encourages the visual arts to be highly abstract, so as to provide a blank canvas upon which to present new ideas and concepts.
The third school, known as the “postmodern” style, prefers to build forms on the basis of tradition, and to include decorative elements that go beyond the obvious. The most famous member of this school, the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, built his clothing around the ceremonial aspects of dress. However, he also included elegant details, such as metalwork and colored motifs, in order to create a more complex appearance. While postmodern fashion does not stray far from the traditional avant-garde fashion style, it has managed to expand its borders and take on an avant-garde twist.