Fashion is a part of life. It’s true whether a student is particularly interested in it or not. Fashion isn’t just something for celebrities and the rich; everyone who wears clothes (which is hopefully everyone) is impacted by fashion in some way.
Students can write about fashion in a variety of classes, namely humanities classes. Fashion history, fashion and psychology, and biography-style research papers on fashion designers or icons can all be written about in academic papers.
Fashion Research Topics
Below are several fashion research paper topics that any student can use. The topics provided by professional academic paper writing service below cover a variety of subjects that can be used in various humanities classes. A possible paper title (that students can feel free to use), as well as a short description of each topic, is given below.
Body-Positivity and Fashion.
The body-positivity movement, which mostly impacts women’s fashion, is still young. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t make a big impact on the fashion industry. In this movement, people are encouraging each other to be happy with the body they have. This is mostly seen in relation to women with above-average weight, people with acne or scars, and generally people who do not conform to the traditional standards of beauty. For this topic, students can investigate how the body-positivity movement is changing fashion. Are fashion designers focusing on making clothing in larger sizes? Are they using models that look like the average woman? Look into these questions and more to write a compelling paper.
Coco Chanel: A Brief Biography of the Fashion Icon.
There are numerous fashion designers out there, so Coco Chanel is just one possible example. For a topic like this, students can pick their favorite fashion designer from the past or present. Students can read other biographies and write about the current fashions the designer makes. If their chosen designer is dead, they can also write about what happened to their label once they were gone. Another interesting take on this subject would be for students to write about an up-and-coming fashion designer, model, or fashion icon/influencer. Students can check their social media accounts and write about their favorite Instagram model or YouTuber. However, it should be mentioned that there will likely be less information about these people.
Corsets and Other Dangerous Fashion Trends.
Corsets were famously dangerous fashion items. At a minimum, they could cause pain to the wearer. In some more extreme cases, corsets could permanently deform a woman’s skeleton. The craziest part of all of this is that some people still wear corsets to this day. One basic way students could write about a topic like this is by writing about the dangerous effects of fashion items. Students should research whether, like the corset, if people are still wearing these items or not. Make-up, like the use of lead-based cosmetics, is also a dangerous fashion-related item a student could write about.
How Japanese Fashion Made Its Way to Europe.
Fashion is often influenced by culture. In most cases, the fashion of one culture doesn’t just stay within that culture. Students can write about fashion moving to and from whatever countries/cultures they like. This example focuses on the movement of Japanese fashion to Europe. Europeans first brought their fashion to Japan. Over time, the Japanese did the same to Europe. This started happening hundreds of years ago but it’s becoming more obvious now with things like Kawaii fashion. Students can write about this movement or a similar one.
Merging Technology and Fashion.
Think fashion and technology don’t mix? Think again! It’s already mixing. Think of Apple watches and other similar devices. Items like this tend to focus more on the technology involved, rather than fashion. However, it’s a fashion piece, nonetheless. For this topic, students can write about a current technology-based fashion item. Writing about technology-fashion items in development or possible future items are also possible to research paper topics. However, when writing about future fashion items, students should research what fashion technologies are already in use, so they have facts to support their “future-technology” argument.
Fashion and Cultural Appropriation.
When it comes to fashion and culture, there is both good and bad. Cultural appreciation is when someone is inspired by another culture. They respect the art and give credit to the original source. Celebrating a foreign culture is one thing but using it as their own is another; that’s what cultural appropriation is. Some examples include (mainly white people) wearing bhindis, turbans, kimonos, and similar culturally significant fashion items. One way to write about a topic like this is cultural appropriation and fashion. Dreadlocks and cornrows are typically considered African/black fashion. What happens when someone outside this culture wears them? This would be a great topic for cultural studies or sociology class.
Fashion isn’t all just pretty colors and soft fabrics. It has a history, a culture, and important people who support it. The topics suggested in this article can be used as is, or students can use them as a jumping-off point to get more specific topics.
Students can feel free to use any of the topics as titles for their own papers/projects. They can also change the topics and suggestions to fit their own needs. There are many great fashion topics out there. These are just a few. Let them inspire you!