Re-presentation Policies of the Fashion Industry

3Re-presentation as a Cult Form

Whether it is a question of advertising, ready-to-wear collections or fashion shows, the fashion industry summons the religious dimension, imposes the presence of symbols, mostly Christian, in its communication and event strategies in a more or less explicit, more or less dense way. Women’s perfume is presented as a forbidden fruit or original sin,¹ as a duality that navigates between good and evil²; ready-to-wear opts for advertising strategies that divert Christian scenes honored by art,³ celebrates Christian imagery through collections that pay homage to it,⁴ haute couture goes hand in hand with clerical dress⁵, and luxury goods take over religious spaces for its ready-to-wear or haute couture fashion shows⁶. The religious reference, and more precisely that referring to Christianity, is constantly called upon by brands for all kinds of commercial sectors: the automotive industry and food industry; religion is presented as a narrative that aims to “transform the lay act of consuming goods and services into an activity imbued with spirituality” (Batazzi and Lardellier 2012, p. 412, author’s translation). Observing how the sacred and religious are mobilized by the fashion industry’s re-presentation policies will, on the one hand, allow us to account for the worship⁷ dimension that fashion brands grant themselves in a self-referential way. On the other hand, starting from the principle that religion and religious fact are instituting authorities, ...