Street Style. Behind the surface of the ordinary, the insider and the city

Table of Contents

Introduction

1 Street: The City and the Real Street

2 Style: Fashion Identity and the Ordinary

3 Image: Staged Style and the Fashion Insider

Conclusion

Research Objectives and Themes

This dissertation investigates the contemporary phenomenon of street style, exploring its current meaning, its position within the fashion industry, and how the practice relates to modern city culture and social identity. By analyzing the shift from traditional subcultural street photography to contemporary digital imagery, the study addresses how this phenomenon reflects postmodern societal attitudes toward authenticity, self-display, and the construction of identity.

• The evolution of "street style" from authentic subculture to orchestrated "event style."
• The relationship between the metropolitan environment, the body, and fashion as a cultural object.
• The role of "fashion insiders" and the creation of personal identity through digital platforms.
• Theoretical analysis using concepts of hyperreality, simulacra, and social performance.

Excerpt from the Book

Summary of Chapters

Introduction: Provides an overview of the rise of digital street style photography and defines the dissertation's focus on the contemporary meaning and industry position of this phenomenon.

1 Street: The City and the Real Street: Examines the theoretical relationship between the city, the street, and the fashionable individual, highlighting the transition from physical space to constructed media non-space.

2 Style: Fashion Identity and the Ordinary: Analyzes the psychological motivations behind street style participation and the shift in authenticity from modern subcultures to postmodern, fragmented identity play.

3 Image: Staged Style and the Fashion Insider: Investigates the construction of hyperreal identities and the celebrity status of fashion insiders, using Baudrillard's theory of the simulacrum to explain modern street imagery.

Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings to argue that current street style is an exaggerated copy of reality, serving as a postmodern mirror of society rather than an authentic representation of the street.

Keywords

Street style, Fashion industry, Authenticity, Postmodernity, City culture, Fashion insider, Hyperreality, Simulacra, Self-display, Social identity, Digital media, Urbanism, Consumer culture, Branding, Performance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the fundamental focus of this dissertation?

The work examines the contemporary concept of "street style," investigating how it has evolved from documenting authentic subcultures to a highly constructed digital phenomenon influenced by fashion industry events.

What are the primary thematic fields covered?

The main themes include the relationship between fashion and the city, the evolution of social identity, the construction of personal image in digital spaces, and the shift from modernity to postmodernity in fashion photography.

What is the core research objective?

The research aims to discover the current meaning and position of street style within the fashion industry and to understand how this photography practice relates to contemporary society and culture.

Which scientific methods or theories are employed?

The paper utilizes a qualitative approach, drawing on sociologists and cultural theorists such as Georg Simmel, Jean Baudrillard, Daniel Boorstin, and Joanne Entwistle to analyze street style as a socio-cultural performance.

What content is addressed in the main chapters?

The chapters detail the importance of the urban environment (the city as a brand/backdrop), the psychology of self-display (the "ordinary" vs. the "insider"), and the impact of hyperreal image creation on street imagery.

Which keywords best characterize this work?

Key terms include Street style, Postmodernity, Authenticity, Hyperreality, Simulacra, Fashion insider, Social performance, and Urban identity.

How does the author define the "street" in a contemporary context?

The author argues that the "street" in modern street style is no longer a physical, inclusive space, but a constructed, temporal, and exclusive space dictated by media, bloggers, and industry representatives.

What is the "Three-way Exchange" described in the final chapter?

This refers to the interplay between the "star" (the person being photographed), the "viewer" (the consumer), and the "photographer," who all collaborate to maintain the status and visibility of the street style phenomenon.

Does the dissertation consider street style to be "unrealistic"?

The author concludes that street style is neither purely realistic nor unrealistic, but rather an "exaggerated copy" of reality, functioning as a simulation that reflects modern society's obsession with images and self-display.