82 The Language of Fashion
peoples, for whom wearing a dress is a sign of authority. In modern
Western civilization, the super-Ego is manifested in the tight collar, etc.
But here, we are getting away from fashion.
Le NO: And above all from these new fashions, from short skirts, for
example, which embarrass so many men...
HL: When men and women meet there is a perpetual tension. The
women never stop striking up poses, changing their body line, adjusting
their skirt to the right length, or, on the contrary, revealing themselves.
The men no longer know what they can and should look at... This
malaise is at the same time useful for communication—or at least it
does not interrupt it. you might say that designers maintain this tension
on purpose...
JD: In the regions of the world where women go around naked,
the arrival of clothing made of printed material made the women more
desired by the men. It is almost like Baudelaire’s idea of the femme
parée: nudity is attractive only when culture recreates it.^4
HL: In the case of fashion, it is merely a question of a superficial
eroticization of human relationships which are not resolved by this.
RB: The great historical prototypes of fashion only change every
fifty years. The oscillations are very regular and historical events do not
affect them. of course, within these rhythms, there are micro-variations:
skirt length, for example, can change several times in ten years. But the
global rhythm is not affected by these micro-variations. after a period of
short skirts, we will automatically have a period of long skirts.
HL: Today, class phenomena are becoming blurred or are
disappearing. But for a long time it was the women of the bourgeoisie
who would wear long skirts, whereas lower-class women wore short
skirts... But contrary to what Barthes was saying, I think that technical
developments do influence fashion. around 1920 we had the petite
aviatrix, now we have the petite cosmonaut.
RB: I always resist linking historical content to clothing forms.
JD: There are perhaps no direct links between fashion and history,
but there are links with certain key changes within societies.
Le NO: Many women think that today’s fashion is not ‘comfortable’.
Daily life, the car, would suggest other forms of clothing for them.