Hoppe, Alexande
A icle
The Hie a chies o Fashion: sociologis Alexande Hoppe
on wo k, aes he ics, and a en ion
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Sugges ed Ci a ion: Hoppe, Alexande (2024) : The Hie a chies o Fashion: sociologis Alexande
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O iginally published Decembe 12 h, 2024 in
h ps://www.wzb.eu/en/a icle/ he-hie a chies-o - ashion
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The Hie a chies o Fashion
Sociologis Alexande Hoppe on Wo k, Aes he ics, and A en ion
Alexande Hoppe
Fashion and sociology a e he opics o Alexande Hoppe, Kohli Fellow and Gues
Resea che in he Resea ch G oup Globaliza ion, Wo k, and P oduc ion. In his cu en
book p ojec , “Rou inizing C ea i i y”, he shows whe e ashion comes om and how
an icipa ion shapes he labo p ocess. In an in e iew wi h Ke s in Schneide , he alks
abou his esea ch on wo k, aes he ics, and a en ion.
Why a e you in e es ed in he connec ion o ashion and sociology?
I became in e es ed in ashion long ago, when I was scou ed as a model and a “popula
kid” a school (wi hin he Ame ican clique sys em). I lea ned ha appea ance is a o m o
s a us. I also lea ned ha one can s ay on op o popula i y, so o speak, by expe imen ing
wi h looks and by paying close a en ion o eac ions, umo s, e c. I con inue o hink
abou his by cen e ing he concep s o a en ion and aes he ics wi hin social psychology
and poli ical economy.
By he ime I wen o India I was a p ope budding sociologis , bu s ill in e es ed in how
people make aes he ic decisions. The e a e a ious c i e ia ha ashion buye s ha e o
weigh; a e sus comme ce is an example. I wan ed o unde s and his balance in ac ion,
bu I ended up disco e ing a much la ge sys em a wo k. Buye s ha e o make decisions
ac oss hese la ge swa hs o supplie s ha a e o ganized wi hin global alue chains, and
some o hese supplie s a e e y good a wha hey do.
In an ea lie s udy you conduc ed an e hnog aphy o ashion weeks o you esea ch on
ashion model selec ions. How can we measu e a ac i eness?
I s udied how ashion weeks a e pu oge he by helping o pu hem oge he mysel . I
adop ed a a ie y o oles, including being a judge du ing model cas ings. I was su p ised
ha p oduce s and designe s didn’ eally e alua e a ac i eness. A ac i eness is
usually de ined by psychologis s using cues o aces. Composi e aces a e eliably
app ecia ed as being a ac i e.
In he si ua ions I s udied, judges we e in e es ed in o he s a us indica o s ha ha e
become con en ions in p o essional modeling. In o de o impo ance, hese a e heigh ,
body size (ce ainly no oo la ge, bu no oo slim ei he ), and a smoo h walk. The e is
ac ually qui e a lo o a ia ion in how people walk, once you ocus on he de ails. I is one
o he deciding ac o s despi e being so ha d o alk abou , because i ’s connec ed o
bodies and i ’s o en p e-conscious in ou pe cep ion. One o my goals as a social
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psychologis is o ind indica o s and c ea e a language o he de ails o how pe cep ion
wo ks.
Fashion has long since become simila a ound he wo ld. He mès and Temu o P ima k
a e a opposi e ends o he scale. How do you explain his?
In a amous “blue swea e scene” om “The De il Wea s P ada” ilm, Me yl S eep, in he
ole as edi o -in-chie o a ashion magazine, aces he colo o a discoun swea e up
h ough depa men s o es, a g oup o eigh designe s, and Y es Sain Lau en up o a
collec ion om Osca de la Ren a. She na a es a mo emen downwa d om luxu y,
explaining how ends ickle down h ough he hie a chy o he b and sys em. Al hough
mos sociologis s ha e long since gi en up on he idea o a “ ickle-down” mo emen
among consume s in ashion, I ind ha Me yl S eep’s e sion is basically igh . The key
hing is ha he ickle-down pa happens in he p oduce ma ke , wi hin a poli ical
economy o a en ion. Designe s o P ima k a e going o look up he b and hie a chy a
wha Za a is doing, and Za a is going o look a Empo io A mani. Bu nei he Za a o
Empo io A mani a e e e going o ca e wha P ima k is doing. The e is also a
geog aphical hie a chy a wo k. T end o ecas ing epo s and images, which a e o en
he basis o design inspi a ion, o e ep esen he Wes e n ashion capi als o New Yo k,
Pa is, London, and Milan.
Many hinke s ha e published a lo abou s a us and how s a us is exp essed. Fashion has
changed a lo in ecen yea s. In many ci ies like Be lin ashion has become much mo e
casual. Wha does his ell us abou socie y and abou ou sel es?
Democ a iza ion and in o maliza ion a e long his o ical p ocesses. My ad ise Randy
Collins once looked a his, a guing ha changes om he 1870s o 1950s o en o igina ed
wi h he uppe classes, especially h ough spo s. Swea e s a e one example, i s wo n
o gol . The decline o “sepa a e sphe es” be ween men and women has played a huge
pa as well, wi h da ing s a ing in he 1920s in he U.S. Be o e ha , he cou ship o
women had aken place a home. Sexual displays became mo e isible hen, and again in
he 1960s and 1970s. Fashions o shape he body i sel ha e become mo e p ominen
since: Pila es, weigh li ing, yoga, die s. Ta oos ha e become inc easingly no malized;
hey’ e only dis inc i e now wi h ull bodies o wi h acial a oos. Plas ic su ge y is
inc easingly common in he Ame icas and Eas Asia. A any a e, while da ing is less
ins i u ionalized in Ge many han in he U.S., I would imagine ha gay p ide and you h
mo emen s ha e had a simila impac on sexual displays. One inal commen : The Co id-
19 pandemic is no as esponsible o in o maliza ion as mos people hink, including
mos people wi hin he ashion wo ld. I con ibu ed, su e, bu i ’s mo e o an easy
answe . I ’s jus he i s hing people hink o .
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How will you esea ch help us unde s and he global labo p ocess and he ansna ional
and p oduc ion o s a us, quali y, and alue?
A he WZB I am in he esea ch g oup Globaliza ion, Wo k, and P oduc ion. The agenda is
o s udy how wo k is changing amids he compe i i e dynamics o globaliza ion. This is
so impo an o ac ually in es iga e. In he U.S. 97 pe cen o clo hing is impo ed. Mos o
us assume i ’s made in swea shops in a away places, so we’ e mo e o less s opped
hinking abou i . Bu i ’s no jus ha i ’s easy o e hically con enien o o ge abou i .
I ’s ha we assume we know his, so he phenomenon is no longe in e es ing. My wo k
picks up indus ial sociology, which peaked in he 1950 o 1960s, and eanima es i by
doing ieldwo k again in he in e na ional di ision o labo , including among manage s. I
ind ha qui e a lo has changed. Pe haps mos no ably, supplie s in eme ging Asian
economies a e a mo e compe en and mo e c ea i e han we ha e assumed. We a e no
jus seeing cu ing and assembly in India, bu also ashion design. B ands like Za a and
P ima k come o India looking o pick up designs ha supplie s ha e al eady pu oge he
o hem. So when we wea his season’s la es hing, i migh be a e y global hing no
jus in i s execu ion, bu in i s concep ion.
Alexande D. Hoppe is a Kohli Fellow and Gues Resea che in he Resea ch G oup
Globaliza ion, Wo k, and P oduc ion. He s udies he mic o ounda ions o capi alism, wi h
pa icula in e es in he ashion indus y.
Li e a u e
Collins, Randall: „Fou Theo ies o In o maliza ion and How o Tes Them“. In: Human
Figu a ions, 2014, Volume 3, Issue 2. Online:
h p://hdl.handle.ne /2027/spo.11217607.0003.207 (Las accessed 12/12/2024).
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12/12/2024
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