Greed Is Good or That Conspicuous Consumption

¶ … greed is good or that conspicuous consumption is a desirable trait seems to be gaining increasing acceptance in Western and certainly American popular culture. At the same time, there do appear to be sub-currents of reactionary movements towards lower levels of consumption, and more subtle means of consuming what must be consumed. Examining different designers in light of various theories regarding why people consume, what they consume, and how they go about consuming it yields some interesting commentary on two modern designers with very different attitudes towards greed.

Finding a designer that celebrates the "greed is good" motto espoused by the fictional financial magnate Gordon Gekko isn't at all difficult in the age of "bling." Sean Combs, also known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, and simply Diddy (it is difficult to keep up with his name changes) started his own clothing line and has also designed jewelry, and none of it can truly be termed "understated." Though some of his men's fashion items are rather bland, for the most part his items have needless embellishments including sharp angles at the shoulders or extra fringes or fold of fabric at the neck -- anything to make it cler that this is not a simple article of clothing, but that it is something easily identifiable as "designed" and thus expensive. The jewelry Combs and other hip-hop artists (and others, as well) design and wear themselves tends to emphasize the ostentatious, with large gemstones and settings that maximize the glitter and sparkle potential of the pieces, making them as conspicuous as possible. This is a clear sign that greed is celebrated by these designers.

Catherine Walker is far less well-known than Diddy or whatever it is he goes by these days, and the articles of clothing she designs are also far less ostentatious. Rather than trying to make clothes that stand out and demonstrate to the world how expensive and luxurious they are, Walker's focus is on creating elegance without this conspicuousness. The focus of the clothing is much different, as well, with Walker explicitly designing primarily for women working in professional business settings, however even her more "fashion-forward" pieces emphasize simplicity and ease of use or "wearbility," making the consumer's own experience wearing the clothes rather than the external perceptions of others who see the clothes the focus of the design aesthetic. It is not that these clothes are inexpensive, or are lower quality, or look somehow "bad" or "worse than" clothes designed with conspicuous consumption in mind, but rather with the view that the conspicuous nature of much of current fashion is itself detrimental to the world of fashion, detracting from the real purpose and intent of the clothing. In this world, there is not a direct rejection of the notion that greed is good, but rather this is a realm wholly separate from design.