Fantasy Fashion

Image copyright Wizards of the Coast.

When I think about design, and specifically architecture and fashion in our society, I often find it useful to compare it with societies that we invent for ourselves.

The fantasy roleplaying genre in particular has always been of interest to me in this regard, but recent titles such as the latest versions of Dungeons and Dragons along with online phenomena including World of Warcraft, Everquest, and many others, show evidence of a particular fashion sensibility. It's a sensibility sometimes also seen in "fantasy swords" sold in the mall for outrageous prices, something that I like to call "elaborately faux-medieval." The design is reminiscent of medieval fashion from different parts of the world and several different time frames, combined with a level of sophistication that is distinctly "modern," - what we often associate with technology, instead explained through magic - and a level of attention to detail that didn't truly exist outside the nobility. At the same time, much of it would be wildly impractical in any world that doesn't have "magical forces at work," much like the aforementioned fantasy blades. Still, it's visually evocative, and thus it achieves its destiny. 

Alternative fashion often borrows from similar ideas and goals - "elaborate faux-anything," remains popular among some sects - though some of it crosses the line from the elaborate and attractive to the merely grotesque. Mainstream fashion trends vary wildly, but oddly enough the subcultures are relatively consistent in their applications of their ideas. Just an observation.

There are certain other trends in fantasy fashion that mirror the modern world as well, but I'll talk about those in a later post.