Fashion in Fiction

Buzz Rickson's thought Cayce Pollard was so cool, that they named and MA-1 Flight Jacket after her... and she's not even real!

Drexel is hosting the International Fashion in Fiction conference this coming October, and I've been selected to present my paper based on the following abstract. How exciting?! 

Pattern Recognition; Logoism, Labelism, and Anti-Fashion

Nicole Coombe, M.S. Fashion Design Candidate

The Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, Drexel University

Abstract:

Following in the steps of America’s fundamentally capitalistic relationship with advertising and branding, the climate of the country’s Fashion and Apparel Industry is awash with logos, labels, celebrity endorsements, and emphasis on the constant cycle of Fast Fashion. Around the world, professionals are scouring the streets, hunting the fads and trends, and evaluating the consumer psyche. They determine, in split-second gut decisions, where exactly consumer dollars will be spent and the most successful ways to make one product stand out over the sea of others. Author William Gibson’s 2003 thriller Pattern Recognition unveils fashion’s shift towards logoism and labelism from the perspective of one such Post-9/11 American expert. In a self-conscious investigation, the novel questions global marketing techniques and the interests that are behind them.

“Cool Hunter” Cayce Pollard, named after a parental admiration of Edgar Cayce, struggles to find her identity in a material culture that lacks authenticity and originality. Even in the very markets that she guides to financial success, she is so jaded by the continual output of “simulacra of simulacra of simulacra” that she suffers from an extreme sensitivity, an allergy, to any label or brand-ridden product that’s been marketed into super-saturation. The ultimate minimalist, she wears only black, removes all labels from clothing, and prefers more functional utilitarian garments like her favorite Buzz Rickson’s flight jacket. She is a perfectly formed member of Generation X who is symbolic of both the cause of and reaction to society’s commoditization of logos and labels over design, aesthetic quality, and function.

After the coincidental disappearance of her father from Manhattan on the morning of September 11, 2001, Cayce is hired by a London advertising agency in need of a new logo for an athletic footwear brand. As her work with the company continues, she embarks on a globe-spanning quest to uncover the anonymous creator of mysterious film footage with a cult internet following. After physical threats, calculated espionage, and the unclear motivations of her coworkers, she finally finds comfort and a constant home in an online forum dedicated to the discussion of the leaked film clips.  She also finds her identity and purpose as CayceP, her internet alias.

This oral research paper will first explore the state of fashion in a Post-9/11 America. Topics of discussion will include the rise of Fast Fashion and the Celebrity Brand along with their global and social implications, the dwindling Haute Couture, and High Fashion’s shrinking place in the consumer market. Connections will also be made between Fashion and Identity. Logos and labels are increasingly used by individuals to create perceptions of one’s self within a fashion context and society at-large—others become Anti-Fashion in response. Using Pattern Recognition as a guide, the presentation will further explore the use of Fashion Marketing as a key component of these trends. Finally, ramifications will be supposed as a serious loss to the fashion world, with special emphasis placed upon true American style icons of decades past, who cultivated wardrobes based upon their identities, and not identities based upon their wardrobes.

Biography:

Nicole Coombe is a freelance fashion writer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After gaining Fashion Editorial experience at Harper’s BAZAAR, Vogue, and the Albright Fashion Library NYC, she is currently pursuing her Masters of Science in Fashion Design at Drexel University’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. There, she is a Dean’s Fellow and Graduate Assistant to the curator of Drexel’s Historic Costume Collection. A former weekly columnist for PhillyStyle.com, Nicole now writes under her own title, Making Fashion Statements, at nicolecoombe.blogspot.com. She graduated from Temple University in 2006, with a B.A. in Journalism, Public Relations, and Advertising / Magazine Concentration.