CONSUMPTION IS AN ACTIVE PROCESS WHERE CONSUMERS EXPRESS THEIR IDENTITIES AND CREATIVITY CRITICALLY EVALUATE THIS STATEMENT WITH REFERENCE TO FASHION, GIVING SPECIFIC EXAMPLES. This essay seeks to evaluate the on-going debate regarding consumption, whether it is a way to express individual style and creativity or whether consumers are manipulated into buying commodities they do not require. To answer this I will be looking at particular types of consumption to demonstrate that consumers often resist typical consumption methods in order to show individual style. One method is the increasing popularity in consuming second-hand goods via charity and vintage shops. Consumption is a fundamental activity in modern life, we must consume to live but it is argued that it is our duty to consume „The way present-day society shapes its members is dictated first and foremost by the duty to play the role of the consumer‟ (Bauman, 1998, p.80). It can also be argued it is the way that we consume that defines us, what we buy and from where. “Consumption is always a cultural as well as an economic phenomenon. It is to do with meaning, value and communication, as much as it is to do with exchange, price and economic relations” (Lury, 1999, p.10). Here it is suggested that consumption is closely linked to our cultural values and identities and that via consumption we can express our social status. Conspicuous Consumption was a theory put forward by Thorstein Veblen in 1899 based upon lavish spending on goods and services used mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth, such display serves as a means of attaining or maintaining social status. The idea is as relevant today as it was then, however it is no longer limited to the upper classes. „Anyone with enough disposable income can participate… Worryingly, in order to fund our conspicuous consumption, we have become a nation living on credit, and our obsession with designer labels has spawned a whole new industry around counterfeiting‟ (Jackson, 2006, p.25-26). This quote suggests that despite lack of funds we still participate in conspicuous consumption with the intent of displaying our social status. Counterfeit goods have Amy-Louise Chapman
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FDA FMP Online FCC Essay 07/12/2010