Throughout the decades music has inspired various aspects of life. It has been the center of inspiration for sculptures, drawings, and paintings. Music has been incorporated into movies, television shows, and short videos. It is evident in today’s society that music holds an important role in numerous art styles, but has anyone ever considered how music plays a role in personal fashion styles?
The youths of the world go through numerous phases of fashion styles. A majority of those fashions fit together with different music styles. Sydney Saylors, a junior at Woodstock High School, shares how her fashion style has been influenced by her preferred music choice, saying, “My style has become more relaxed like the music I listen to. Now that I don’t listen to pop anymore, I don’t wear bright colors that often. Listening to alternative has relaxed my style and made it more casual.” Ms. Christine Lauer, an environmental science teacher at WHS, elucidated her view of how she sees music influencing the styles of teens and young adults by commenting, “I believe that teens, especially the girls, are likely to see a favored musician wearing something they like and then incorporate it into their own style of clothing.” Supporting Ms. Lauer’s view, Mrs. Laura Colvin, a WHS algebra teacher, stated, “I feel teens see how their favorite musicians dress, and they try to emulate it. For example, when Lady GaGa became big, I saw lots of girls starting to dress really crazy.”Looking back at the 60′s, society believed music was something promoting love and peace. The fashion was hippie style, consisting of flowing dresses and bell-bottom pants. Then in the 70′s there was the disco era with polyester suits, silk shirts, and elevator shoes, like those expressed in the movie Saturday Night Fever. The 80’s brought the punk rock music phase; the common fashion style for women of that era was dressing in colorful clothes with fishnet stockings on their legs, arms, and in their hair. The common fashion style for men of the 80’s included big hair, spandex, and more make-up than the women wore. As the decades transitioned, music and fashion trends changed with them. There was a great deal to learn about these transitions after hearing from some students and faculty members of Woodstock High School.
Although fashion choices receive much influence from music, people of today are not as heavily influenced as previous generations had been. Exploring the past relations of the two opened a view of vivid creations. Ms. Lauer helped put an image on the past fashion trends after commenting, “At one time I went through a phase where I only dressed like Annie Hall. I also went through a hippie phase, and there was a time when I dressed like Tommy Tutone. I remember going through a punk rock phase as well and wearing safety pins in my ears.” Trying to shed some light on how her fashion choices had been influenced by music, Mrs. Colvin noted, “I tried to dress with the 90′s trends, but I think I failed.” Some common fashion trends of the 90’s included flare jeans, overalls, crop tops, and tube socks. These trends were often mused by the pop music culture.
Music cultures influence an individual’s fashion trends to an extent, and after collecting these views, it was easy to conclude that a majority of people believe music has a role in helping them determine their own fashion style. However, there are times when music does not have anything to do with what the people of today’s society wear. They could wake up one morning and say, “Who cares?” or they could have such differential musical tastes and feel it is too difficult to incorporate it into their own fashion style. Evidence of this very occurrence was able to be provided after listening to the views of Woodstock High School junior, Victoria Weatherly, who asserted her view by claiming, “I don’t usually follow any specific music or fashion trends. I listen to lots of different types of music and dress in a lot of varying styles, so when it comes to the two, they never really relate.” Weatherly did however, express, “There are times I’ll listen to a more up-beat song when I’m in a bad mood, and it’ll encourage me to dress in brighter, more positive colors.”
Music does seems to affect what some people wear, but not to an excessive extent. Regarding the views of the faculty and students of WHS helped prove that though music does not play as big of a role in helping individuals determine their fashion trends as it once had, it does still hold some influence over style. Whether the music influences color, mood, or the overall article of clothing does not matter. What matters is the fact that music is incorporated into the world’s personal fashion trends of the past, present, and the future.
Found: http://whspawprint.com/2012/09/14/musics-effect-on-fashion-trends/
Below is another article found online that highlights the key relationships between the music industry and the fashion industry, this emphasises that personal identity and style choices are heavily influenced by this music industry:
Music has long been the passion area that brands have associated with to build their credibility among youth audiences and trendsetter consumers. Music and the lifestyles that surround it truly sculpt personal identity and help create or propel social movements. The immediate manifestation of music’s influence on personal identity building and social trends is its interdependence with fashion. Simply, a fan will dress like his or her idol, and the rebelliousness and honesty of the street influence what we see on runways. The relationship between music and fashion have evolved considerably over the last decade as musicians have launched their own fashion lines or fashion designers have deeply associated/immersed themselves in a specific music scene.
While I am not sure who was the first artist to launch a line, I am sure that the hip-hop and R&B community has played a huge and instrumental role. Pioneers such as Russell Simmons with his Phat Farm labels paved the way for other serial entrepreneurs like Puffy and Jay-Z. They, in-turn, have sparked the creative flairs of many others. Today we see many artists bring new marketing intelligence to their respective clothing launches by infusing attributes to their lines that are uniquely associated with them (their personal brand) which will help fend off potential competitors and reinforce the artist’s own image. A great example is the new clothing line by Macy Gray called Humps. The line is for plus size women only. This attribute is both directly associated with the look of Macy herself and the honesty (to proudly merchandise her weight) of the attribute will bring positive feelings towards the line and positive associations to the artist.
Designers too have been blurring the boundaries between music and fashion. As I mentioned above, each music genre has its own visual (fashion) identity. Designers who love a certain scene frequently dedicate their work to the look of that scene. The punk era immediately springs to mind with designers such as Vivienne Westwood. However, we can see this relationship very alive today. A quick look at the work from Wasted German Youth says it all. True to its name, Wasted German Youth is an underground fashion label with a hardcore, punk and electronic attitude. WGY’s T-shirts have become the new style icon of the electronic music scene. Nokia has leveraged this special relationship between designers and music by showcasing cutting-edge designs at this year’s Berlin Fashion Week by “music genre immersed designers” such as Wasted German Youth, +41, Surface2Air, and Cassette Playa. Nokia’s role in helping propel these designers onto the world fashion stage is excellent and very smart. We all know that cell-phones are more fashion accessories than functional tools. In that vain, customization is a critical ingredient for success. Add the fact that music is increasingly important in that customization process (ie. ringtones, mp3 listening capabilities, etc.) and that youth really help drive the popularity of mobile brands, then a strategy to get involved with street fashion brands makes a lot of sense.
Found: http://expressions-that-inspire.com/the-intimate-relationship-between-music-and-fashion-observations-and-marketing-explorations/
Another article discussing the meanings within music:
The Subjective Sounds
So just why does music carry so much meaning for us? Because music draws on so many different parts of the brain, it's hard to say with certainty, but that might actually help give us an answer. Music is extraordinarily complex even before it enters the brain - the pitch of music, for instance, has to be much more stable than frequencies we normally sound, or else it would just devolve into chaotic noise. The same is true of rhythm, tone, and other musical properties - these have to be highly complex to cohere into anything even vaguely musical in the first place.
And it's not as though there's any real objective measure of what counts as "musical" and what doesn't. That shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone who's ever read a music review, but it's crucial to remember just how much the brain is involved as an active participant in shaping our interaction with music. Memory is one of the most obvious influences here - you're more inclined to like a particular piece of music if it carries positive associations, for instance.
It's also possible that a person's particular brain chemistry can affect his or her appreciation of music. Considering how many different parts of the brain are activated by listening to music, even one unusual link in that chain can drastically alter the person's response. There's also plenty of more everyday factors to consider - how much a person knows about music, whether they themselves play an instrument, whether the music has lyrics, and even whether it's a recording or a live performance can all dramatically change the particular neural response to the same basic piece of music.
Influences
On a greater level, music doesn't just influence fashion, it has a huge influence on a persons life. 'Music has been integral to a civilisations culture and identity.' Music can have a major impact on people all over the world, and there is music for every mood.
- music is the creative heart of civilisation
- music can be suited to any event
- music can relax and motivate any individual
- music effects emotions
However, some people may look at music with diverse opinions, there may also be negative opinions, below is an article found on the New York times addressing certain negativities that following the music industry can result in. For example the article discusses the issues relating with violence within certain recordings, and how the younger generation of today are following the examples set.
Teenagers listen to an average of nearly 2.5 hours of music per day. Guess what they’re hearing about?
One in three popular songs contains explicit references to drug or alcohol use, according to a new report in The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. That means kids are receiving about 35 references to substance abuse for every hour of music they listen to, the authors determined.
While songs about drugs and excess are nothing new, the issue is getting more attention because so many children now have regular access to music out of the earshot of parents. Nearly 9 out of 10 adolescents and teens have an MP3 player or a compact disc player in their bedrooms.
Studies have long shown that media messages have a pronounced impact on childhood risk behaviors. Exposure to images of smoking in movies influences a child’s risk for picking up the habit. Alcohol use in movies and promotions is also linked to actual alcohol use.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine studied the 279 most popular songs from 2005, based on reports from Billboard magazine, which tracks popular music. Whether a song contained a reference to drugs or alcohol varied by genre. Only 9 percent of pop songs had lyrics relating to drugs or alcohol. The number jumped to 14 percent for rock songs, 20 percent for R&B and hip-hop songs, 36 percent for country songs and 77 percent for rap songs.
Notably, smoking references aren’t that common in music today, with only 3 percent of the songs portraying tobacco use. About 14 percent of songs spoke of marijuana use, 24 percent depicted alcohol use, and another 12 percent included reference to other substances. About 4 percent of the songs contained “anti” drug and alcohol messages.
The study authors noted that music represents a pervasive source of exposure to positive images of substance use. The average adolescent is exposed to approximately 84 references to explicit substance use per day and 591 references per week, or 30,732 references per year. The average adolescent listening only to pop would be exposed to 5 references per day, whereas the average adolescent who listens just to rap would be exposed to 251 references per day.
Whether any of this matters remains an open question. While the impact of exposure to images of smoking and alcohol in film has been well documented, less is known about the effect of music on childhood risk behaviors.
Although music lacks the visual element of film, adolescent exposure to music is much more frequent, accounting for an average of 16 hours each week for music compared with about 6 hours each week for movie images, according to the study authors. But frequency of exposure is not the only factor. Unlike visual media, music is a powerful social force that also taps into an individual’s personal identity, memories and mood.
“Music is well-known to connect deeply with adolescents and to influence identity development, perhaps more than any other entertainment medium,” said the study authors.
Found: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/under-the-influence-ofmusic/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
Below is an online article discussing certain issues and negative influences that are caused by music:
Teenagers use music to escape from their life problems, however the media and parents are blaming music for the cause teen problems. Do the parents ever think about what they do that can cause their children to become such aggressive melancholy disturbed kids? Maybe it is something that the parents are doing or not doing that can cause this. Growing up in an one-parent household, living in violent community or household, hanging around the wrong people. These things can affect the minds of a teenage more then music can. If someone were to grow up in a violent family, they might be influenced to do the same and thus becoming an aggressive teen. Yet, if the child grew up in a suburban area with both parents and no violence they will turn out differently. Another aspect of why kids act the way they do might be because their parents don’t pay any or enough attention to them and they may begin to think that being troubled is the only way to get their attention. Parent need to start thinking of what they could do to help their kids become better people, cause it’s not the music’s fault.
The media blames music for the problems with teens in today’s society. They blame rap music for drugs, murders and sex; They blame rock for melancholy, evil thoughts mixed with hate. But the truth is rap lyrics are rapping about the struggles in life and the societies problems. Rock lyrics is about the soul, rock lyrics are deeper then any other kind of genre of music out there. Music is so widespread and is the universal tongue that connects us to each other in someway; that’s why music is always going to be essential to someone.
http://itstheskittlee.hubpages.com/hub/Music-and-the-Influence-on-Society
