A Study on Fashion and Commodities in the Modern Metropolis: Focusing on the Simmel and Benjamin

The purpose of this article is to conducts a comparative analysis of the perspectives of Simmel and Benjamin on Fashion and commodities in modern metropolises, focusing on their shared interest in ‘fashion’ as part of their microscopic views on modern life. In the rapidly changing environment of modern metropolises, where unprecedented new lifestyles constantly emerge, their interest in ‘fashion’ seems inevitable. For both, fashion was a unique phenomenon of modernity worthy of academic attention. However, existing research predominantly discusses Simmel’s discourses on money and metropolitan life, while Benjamin’s studies span a much broader range of fields compared to Simmel. However, there is insufficient research on their perspectives on fashion. This paper attempts to the contemplation of modern thought from money and commodities to fashion, aiding the understanding of modern life and proposing new discussion horizons. This approach will be effective in understanding the modern everyday life characterized by fashion and proposing new horizons for discussion. Before analyzing their differing views on fashion, this study considers that their thoughts on fashion were derived in relation to commodities. To explore this, the paper closely examines the contexts and terrains occupied by commodities and fashion in their theories, primarily focusing on Simmel’s The Philosophy of Money(Philosophie des Geldes) and Benjamin’s The Arcades Project(Das Passagen-Werk), thereby contributing to discourse on modern metropolises.