Philosophical Perspective on Hyperreality as a Phenomenon of Fashion Language – do we Really Want to be Deceived?

Abstract

This article focuses on hyper reality as a phenomenon used in fashion communication. The paper elaborates on the philosophical approach of Jean Baudrillard towards hyper reality, and Georg Simmel’s ideas about fashion’s role in society. The continuity of these authors’ ideas in later works highlights their cultural longevity. From a philosophical perspective, both fashion and hyper reality derive from dualism. Jean Baudrillard defineshyper reality as a condition in which what is real and what is simulated are seamlessly blended together. Hence, it becomes complicated to distinguish them. Fashion, according to Georg Simmel, is also firmly based upon dualism – one power pushes usto bind ourselves to others while another pushes us to distinction. In fashion communication, hyper reality is often used to create a sense of desire and excitement around the brands and products. The effect of passion and the edge of reality combine and evoke many philosophical approaches. We discuss hyper reality as a new reality dialectically– looking for the opposing ideas that would contribute to answering the main question – do we unconsciously want to be deluded? This paper reveals the link between hyper reality as a philosophical approach and fashion communication uncovering the delusion as a human desire.