White paper on creativity - ebla center

Part IIThe symbolic dimension and its capacity to capture and seduce the consumer’s spirit byidentifying the spirit with the message it represents, distances fashion goods from theparadigm of the rational consumer. The presence of a symbol modifies the classic termsof trade. Not only trade based on the rationality of the mechanism of prices andoptimisation of profits, but trade presupposing an emotional and identity-giving choice,made independently of the calculation of the costs and benefits of an action.Time-specific and space-specific goodsThe economic behaviour of the market is, as we said, basically founded on non-specifictimeless and spaceless goods. The market thus becomes an imperfect institution, as forexample, when it has to regulate goods based on creativity, such as fashion, design andart goods. The more a good is time- and space-specific, the less the market worksefficiently in regulating production and consumption. The more the good is time-andspace-specific, the less the system of prices is able to offer relevant information and theless likely competition can achieve the expected results.The reference to space/time inevitably takes us to the successive generations of artistsand talents in given cities and areas. In fact many of the modern material culture goodsare generational goods. The creativity of a generation of stylists is expressed in the timeand space defined by a period or place or city. This anchoring to the generations andtheir evolution prefigures, as we will see, the problem of generational changeover asone of the great issues in the world of fashion and design.Goods with semiotic characteristics: signs from matterMaterial culture goods increasingly have semiotic features. In addition to their directutility linked to the substantial features of a good, they also have an indirect utility assemiophoric goods, i.e. carriers of meaning.The demand from clothing is primarily linked to the features of clothes as comfortable,light, resistant or aesthetic. We can immediately point out, however, that these criteria,especially if aesthetic, change in time. Moreover, alongside aesthetic features, or inrelation to them, are features expressing meanings. Nike shoes are not only useful asfootwear but signify that I am young, trendy, informal and informed and they havebeen designed to communicate these meanings. The demand for fashion is a demandfor symbol and meaning, more than simply for practical clothing. Moreover, in oursocieties, the need for meaning may be more important than that for function –especially in the case of food or clothing – without this being a reason for considering itas a perverse or artificial demand.WHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 88