Abstract
The third principle of fashion as we know it today is its autonomy as a creative endeavor. The emergence of the autonomy principle in dress fashion is recent and, as is the case for all of the other principles, the result of a long and intricate historical process. Symbolically, it is Queen Marie Antoinette of France (1755–1793) who made this principle possible, and allowed it to expand across Europe and beyond. Before Marie Antoinette, fashion was subjected to the dictates and choices of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie, and trends emerged mainly from dynamics that were external to the world of dress. With Marie Antoinette, fashion was emancipated and became — to a large extent — an autonomous field which obeyed its own logic. For the Queen, who was born in Austria and always struggled to impose herself in the French Court of Versailles, the autonomization of fashion under her auspices was a way to gain empowerment and compensate for her political weakness, notably her subordination to the king.1
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Notes
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© 2012 Frédéric Godart
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Godart, F. (2012). The Autonomy Principle — The Emergence and Dynamics of Styles. In: Unveiling Fashion. INSEAD Business Press. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137000743_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137000743_4
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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