vienna

the phenomenon of fashion in great depth 7 in the context of the
“language of fashion” used by fashion editors in the fashion
magazines of 1958/59. Exceptionally striking in this ‘mathematical’
discourse is a passage, which describes the change of fashion
in spring. The advent of the new collection is compared with
ancient Greek festivals like those of the god Dionysus. This
text passage will not be highlighted initially 8 , but we will later
develop it in a new way.
“[…] as a season, spring is both pure and mythical at once;
mythical, by virtue of the awakening of nature; Fashion takes
this awakening for its own, thus giving the readers, if not its
buyers, the opportunity to participate annually in a myth that
has come from the beginning of time; spring Fashion, for
the modern woman, is like what the Great Dyonysia or the
Anthesteria were for the ancient Greeks.” 9
This text fragment will be the starting point of our discussion
on the phenomenon of sales. Barthes did not further develop
his idea of the Dionysus myth and the intense experiences of
such dramatisations in ancient Greece. In order to also remain
metaphorical, this passage is the part left unprotected by the
armour of his structural analysis. We will, however, take it as an
inspiration to further investigate this trail. Friedrich Nietzsche
placed the birth of tragedy in relation to the Greek Dionysian cult. 10
“In all corners of the ancient world – to leave the modern one
to oneside here – from Rome to Babylon, we can prove the
existence of Dionysian festivities, whose type is at best related
to the Greek type as the bearded satyr to whom the goat lent
its name and attributes, is to Dionysus himself.” 11
The striking parallel to Barthes´ text lies in the fact that
Nietzsche also addresses the likelihood of a continuing existence
of the Dionysus cult. Nietzsche was also the one to place the
nature of the cult in relation to Greek aesthetics. The desire for
beauty in the form of celebrations, feasts and new cults contrasts
with the desire for ugliness, an ugliness in the form of desire
7 Barthes (1990).
8 Miklautz (1996), for example. She points out this passage in relation to the renewal of her female informant’s attire and the
strong emotions that surface when new garments are consumed.
9 Barthes (1990:251).
10 Nietzsche (2000).
11 Ibid., p. 24.
The
Death
of
Fashion 15