Has your fashion style been impacted by other cultures?

I believe fashion has started with a basic concept as a need of clothing to keep ourselves warm. But in last 60-70 years, we have started to make the fashion more complicated and exaggerated. Clothing is not meaning keeping warm and protection anymore, because designers from different cultures all around the world continue to add their magic touches to fashion every day! I think this makes fashion more attractive and enjoyable. As Coco Chanel once said, "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."

If we look to the cultural impact on fashion… I am sure most of you can guess the nationality of people from clothes that they wear, especially if these clothes are traditional clothes. In big cities, we rarely see traditional clothes on people’s wear. But it is quite interesting that these traditional clothes have unique cultural identity. There may be some meanings or symbolism behind of traditional clothes. For example; the Kimono gives signals about the person’s social class, wealth, and even marital status. Everyone from Geishas to the royal family wore kimono, and it once was the most common type of clothing in Japan. Today, however, Kimonos are usually seen only at funerals, weddings, or other formal ceremonies.

I think when you start to learn or live in different cultures, your fashion style may be affected from new culture after some time. Have you ever experienced this?

I would love to hear your comments on this.