The Structuring of Fashion as a Field of Knowledge

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to consider the applicability of a Lacanian critique to fashion design. The primary focus is on Lacan’s figure of the subject-supposed-to-know, to whom some privileged knowledge is attributed in order to facilitate the flow of the subject’s desire. I look at how this figure appears within the culture of fashion, and the function it serves relative to the desiring subject. RJ Cutler’s documentary on Anna Wintour is used to illustrate the character and function of the subject-supposed-to-know. I discuss the effect that the subject-supposed-to-know has on fashion as a field of knowledge, arguing that the knowledge attributed to the subject-supposed-to-know serves to organize all other knowledge in the field via a metonymic connection to a privileged ‘master signifier’. I also examine the effect of this privileged knowledge on the structure of knowledge generally, and discuss how a Lacanian approach could aid the critique of desirability in fashion and design.