What does fashion have to do with philosophy?

I wrote a book blending fashion, witchcraft, and philosophy. It started as a culmination of the first two – fashion and witchcraft. With a title like “Alchemy of Fashion,” that makes sense, right!? But, like with any book or story, it took on a life of its own as I wrote it. In my personal life, I was diving back into my own personal philosophical studies, and suddenly philosophy started popping up in my manuscript. Now, if you read my book, you’ll get the answer to the question the title of this article ponders – but people sometimes want answers the easy way. That would be by asking me when I am at events selling my book. I thought, hey, why don’t I also write an article about it? Well, I also have a book planned down the pipeline that will also dive deep into the philosophy of fashion and introduce my own philosophical thoughts and ideals. That book is currently known as “Fashioned From Thought.” But it will be months before that book makes its way to the page, so, for now, let’s look at an overview of my thoughts on fashion and philosophy.

Fashion is most often treated as either frivolous or functional. Either it is dismissed as vanity, or it is reduced to utility: clothes as protection, clothes as status, clothes as trend – clothes because we can’t legally run around naked. But when it comes to philosophy and clothing, it’s time to ask deeper questions about the clothing we wear. Philosophy asks: What is the self? What is identity? What is freedom? What is beauty? And when you really sit with those questions, fashion starts to look a lot less superficial and a lot more existential. Or is it just me?

Before we speak, before we explain ourselves, before we hand someone our resume or our manifesto — we are seen, and what we are wearing tells a story to those who are looking. We are interpreted by our fashion choices, or make-up or lack thereof, our hair and nails. Fashion is the first draft of our autobiography that the world encounters.

That alone makes it philosophical, does it not?

Fashion as Identity

Every morning, we answer a question, whether consciously or not: Who am I today? Such questions, perhaps not directly reflecting on fashion, have been asked by philosophers since they started philosophizing.

Fashion becomes a daily ritual of self-definition. We try on archetypes. We explore aesthetics. We test identities. And sometimes we outgrow them.

Philosophy calls that becoming.

As you’re getting dressed to head out of the house, you may ask yourself things about your wardrobe and about your body in general. You may want to know if you’re powerful or how you can appear more powerful. You may want to look softer than you appear sans clothing, which you can do with the right garments.

And, much like all things in life, perception can change. You may see a garment completely different than someone else. Or, depending on the circumstances in which you wear it, these clothing items could speak differently to you alone at times.

A corset can be oppression in one narrative and sovereignty in another.

A veil can be submission or mystery.

Black can be mourning, protection, rebellion, or devotion.

Philosophy teaches us that meaning is layered and contextual.

Aesthetics: The Philosophy of Beauty

There is an entire branch of philosophy dedicated to aesthetics — the study of beauty and taste. What makes something beautiful? Is beauty objective or subjective? Why are certain silhouettes, colors, or textures considered desirable in one era and scandalous in another?

Fashion lives inside those questions.

The “ideal” body shifts across centuries.

The “proper” hemline rises and falls.

Minimalism and maximalism trade places like tides.

Fashion exposes the constructed nature of beauty standards. It shows us that what we call “timeless” is often just repetition with good marketing. When we understand this, we gain power. We stop chasing beauty as a fixed target and start defining it for ourselves.

The Politics of Fashion

If you’ve studied philosophy at all, you know politics is part of it. And, in many ways, clothing has always been political. Sumptuary laws once dictated who could wear certain colors or fabrics. Uniforms signal authority. Dress codes enforce conformity. Subcultures — punk, goth, hippie, mod — have used clothing as rebellion.

When you choose an aesthetic that does not conform to the mainstream, you are making a philosophical statement about autonomy. You are saying: I will decide how I am seen.

Even choosing neutrality is a statement.

Even choosing comfort over trend is a statement.

Fashion asks: Who has the right to visibility? Who is allowed to take up space? Philosophy asks the same thing.

Because of my own spiritual lens, I cannot talk about fashion without talking about intention. When we dress with awareness — when we choose colors for energy, silhouettes for confidence, textures for grounding — we transform getting dressed into ritual. When we choose to dress like everyone else to blend in with the crowd and be invisible, we’re doing it by choice rather than to become one of the flock.

Fashion is a transformation made tangible. It is alchemy you can touch.

Consumerism vs. Conscious Creation

Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t address the shadow side. Fashion is entangled with consumerism, exploitation, environmental damage, and manufactured insecurity. Philosophy requires us to look at systems critically. To ask: Who benefits? Who pays the cost?

To love fashion philosophically is not to consume mindlessly. It is to ask questions.

Where was this made?

Why do I want it?

Is this an expression of my authentic self, or am I chasing approval?

Can I mend, rework, upcycle, or restyle what I already have?

When we approach fashion thoughtfully, it becomes less about accumulation and more about curation. Less about trends and more about narrative.

We stop being passive consumers and become conscious authors.

Fashion as Philosophy

At its core, philosophy is not just abstract thought. It is a way of living.

We cannot separate thought from embodiment.

Fashion is where our inner world meets the outer one. It is the interface between self and society. It is where belief becomes visible.

So what does fashion have to do with philosophy?

Everything.

Fashion is how we wrestle with identity.

Fashion is how we negotiate power.

Fashion is how we explore beauty.

Fashion is how we enact transformation.

And when we begin to see it that way — not as shallow decoration but as deliberate expression — we realize that getting dressed is not a trivial act.

It is a daily philosophical practice.