First notes on the relevance of resonance theory for fashion studies

This essay explores the relevance of resonance theory for fashion studies, challenging dominant interpretations of fashion consumption as competitive, status-driven and individualistic. Drawing on Hartmut Rosa’s theory of resonance as a counterpoint to alienating dressed experiences, the essay critiques current discourses that link sustainable fashion to moralizing individualistic discourses focused on personal responsibility, often overlooking the social structures that shape affective experiences with clothing. The essay invites scholars to explore how late modern conditions – marked by acceleration, dynamic stabilization and competition – impede resonant connections with garments. Resonance theory offers a framework to understand how clothes can become transformative, affectively charged sites of relationality that exceed dominant distinctive status-driven readings. However, the essay warns against the commodification of resonance itself, as people’s longing for an affective connection to clothes and their dressed selves can be easily reified by the fashion industry, making it a new status-driven imperative. By foregrounding the structural inequalities that shape who gets to experience resonance in dress, the essay advocates for a critical, inclusive exploration of resonance theory.