Online talk by Linrui Miao (Uppsala Universitet)

Abstract: Fashion trends typically follow a pattern of change: a new style comes in as an old one fades away. This ever-changing character of fashion has given rise to pessimism about its aesthetic significance. I examine the concepts of “fashion” and “fashionability,” and on this basis introduce a game model that best captures the value of fashion. According to my model, the temporal structure of fashion renders it a form of “recurrent games,” through which genuine fashion practitioners pursue temporary goals and, in doing so, develop their aesthetic virtues in a distinctive way.