[klipt]

That sounds like a riddle. Do the trendsetters control fashion, or does fashion control the trendsetters?

It's probably a complex dynamical interaction.

The fact that the favored brands kept changing though, suggests to me that the corporations weren't exactly in control (otherwise the first winning brand would have presumably preferred to permanently monopolize the market).

[neilv]

Why does fashion of the kind "this is the look right now" and "that look is so last season" exist?

To what degree would we do fashion naturally, if there weren't parties looking to exploit fashion dynamics for selfish advantage?

[klipt]

Dr Seuss explained it in "The Sneetches", it's all about status signalling.

> if there weren't parties looking to exploit fashion dynamics for selfish advantage?

What parties are those, the elites using fashion to signal higher status, the people selling the elites the latest fashion, or the underdogs trying to catch up to what the elites are wearing so they can attain high status too? Aren't they all following selfish motives?