““it is precisely in the chaotic and overcrowded metropolis that more and more people need to dress themselves in clothes which signal their identity to others, both as a members of a group and as individuals. Fashion appears to Simmel to be an excellent means of achieving both these effects. In his well-known work Fashion, the German scholar presents this phenomenon as the typical outcome of two fundamental principles of social logic: the need for cohesion or union and the need for differentiation or isolation (Simmel 1971b, orig. 1904) (see also Chapter 1). In following fashion we align ourselves with some people and differentiate ourselves from others, but at the same time we can enjoy expressing ourselves in a common language that is widely understood.””
