contemporary culture

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How words shift meaning across culture, fashion, and society

As we prepare to absorb the inspiration from Milano Fashion Week, we find ourselves reflecting on critique and contemporary language. Should words remain confined to a subjective sphere? Or do they also carry a broader, shared dimension? The issue is crucial for achieving mutual understanding — especially in these divisive times.

Critique in fashion and contemporary culture

Critique is the process of analysis, evaluation, and judgment. It involves questioning assumptions, examining evidence, and applying standards (aesthetic, ethical, logical, etc.).
Words like critique — in fashion or elsewhere — naturally exist in tension between subjectivity and shared understanding.

Subjective meaning

Each individual, culture, or professional field can bring nuances to the term. In fashion, for instance, critique might mean a thoughtful aesthetic evaluation, a cultural commentary, or even a business review. For a designer, it could feel like judgment; for a scholar, it’s analysis; for a writer, it’s content.

Shared understanding

At the same time, communication requires a common ground. Without at least a baseline agreement (e.g., that critique is an evaluation beyond mere description), the word loses clarity. A global fashion discourse — spanning Milan, Paris, Tokyo, Lagos, and New York — requires a shared definition so that ideas can circulate meaningfully across borders.

Language: a living ecosystem

In practice, in fashion as in society at large, language works like a living ecosystem:

• Words are never static; they evolve with cultural shifts. For example, “queer” once carried a negative, derogatory meaning. Over time, with cultural and social change, it has been reclaimed as a term of identity and empowerment within LGBTQ+ communities.
• Critique in the 1980s fashion press does not mean quite the same thing as critique in today’s Instagram reels. In the 80s and 90s, it often referred to structured reviews by authoritative voices (Suzy Menkes, Cathy Horyn, etc.), published in newspapers or magazines and capable of shaping designers’ reputations. Today, critique is fragmented: it can be a 15-second TikTok reaction, an academic essay on cultural appropriation, or a consumer’s Instagram caption. Authority has decentralised, and critique has stretched from elite judgment to everyday commentary. And even the journalists’ commentary seems bland.
• Globalisation pushes towards a shared vocabulary, but context (regional, professional, generational) keeps recharging words with subjective layers. The word “sustainable,” for example, has entered the global lexicon, particularly in fashion and lifestyle. Yet its meaning shifts: for policymakers, it refers to measurable impact and regulations; for brands, it often becomes a marketing narrative; for consumers, it can range from “eco-friendly” to simply “durable.” The same word is globally shared yet continuously recharged with subjective layers.

Language & social media

These evolving meanings don’t just change language in theory — they directly reshape how critique functions in practice, especially on social media, where fashion discourse now largely unfolds. On these platforms, language is both personal and public, amplifying the tension between subjective expression and shared understanding.

As Paola Bonacini, Associate Professor in Geometry at the University of Catania, noted: “Social media is a mirror of that small portion of reality, or falsehood, that we intentionally show the world.” This insight frames the current culture with precision.

The role of critique in fashion

In fashion, the tension between subjective and shared meaning plays out vividly: critique has shifted from the authoritative voices of established critics to the fragmented, instant reactions of digital platforms. In today’s “Like” economy, feedback is quantified in likes, shares, and sales. Dissent is rarely articulated; it appears instead as silence — a lack of engagement. There is little room for nuanced, critical argument in comment sections dominated by “OMG!” or “I hate this.”

Here, the collapse of critique illustrates the danger of losing both subjectivity and shared understanding: individual voices are reduced to emojis, while no collective definition of critique holds sway.

Brands are terrified of alienating any customer segment. Taking a strong, dissenting stance — for example, a political or environmental position that might prove controversial — is seen as bad for business. It feels safer to be bland. The industry thrives on collaborations – designer × fast fashion, brand × celebrity, brand × brand. The ethos is mutual celebration and commercial synergy, not critical examination. To critique one is to critique all, so silence prevails.

Fashion has not only lost its identity but also its sense of critique. One style, one pattern, one mindset. No space for dissent.

Critical dissent is dissent that is reasoned, articulated, and backed by evidence and analysis. It is the most effective and respected form because it offers an alternative perspective rather than mere rejection. Without critical dissent — reasoned arguments proposing alternatives — there is no force to challenge the status quo.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, the meaning of words is never fixed; it adapts to changing cultural contexts. Yet in contemporary language, both dimensions are necessary: subjectivity and shared understanding. Subjective meaning keeps a word alive, adaptable, and open to reinterpretation, while shared understanding anchors dialogue and provides common ground.

Fashion is more than a showcase of trends; it is a stage where the health of critique — subjective expression and shared discourse — is tested. Without strong critics or designers willing to dissent from the commercial formula, the fashion system has no reason to change. It simply perpetuates the same profitable, safe patterns — which, by the way, no longer work.

As Milano Fashion Week approaches, we should reflect on critique not just as subjective opinion or shared vocabulary, but as the force that keeps fashion — and language itself — alive.

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The meaning of words and the role of critique are ever-evolving. What are your thoughts? Do you agree that fashion has lost its capacity for critical dissent?

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