Between art and commerce? The field of fashion realized: a case study of London Fashion Week.

TY - JOUR

T1 - Between art and commerce? The field of fashion realized: a case study of London Fashion Week.

AU - Entwistle, Joanne

AU - Rocamora, Agnès

PY - 2006/8/1

Y1 - 2006/8/1

N2 - This article, based on two studies of the fashion industry examines one of its key institutions, London Fashion Week (LFW). Drawing on the work of Bourdieu, we argue that this event is a materialization of the field of fashion.We examine how LFW renders visible the boundaries, relational positions, capital and habitus at play in the field, reproducing critical divisions within it.As well as making visible the field, LFW is a ceremony of consecration within it that contributes to its reproduction. The central aim of this article is to develop an empirically grounded sense of field, reconciling this macro-structural concept with embodied and situated reality.

AB - This article, based on two studies of the fashion industry examines one of its key institutions, London Fashion Week (LFW). Drawing on the work of Bourdieu, we argue that this event is a materialization of the field of fashion.We examine how LFW renders visible the boundaries, relational positions, capital and habitus at play in the field, reproducing critical divisions within it.As well as making visible the field, LFW is a ceremony of consecration within it that contributes to its reproduction. The central aim of this article is to develop an empirically grounded sense of field, reconciling this macro-structural concept with embodied and situated reality.

KW - fashion, Bourdieu, field of fashion

M3 - Article

SN - 0038-0385

VL - 40

SP - 735

EP - 750

JO - Sociology

JF - Sociology

IS - 4

ER -