Prerequisites for the formation of fashion as a specific sociocultural phenomenon

Abstract

The article examines the period of the late Middle Ages as a period in which obvious preconditions for such a phenomenon as fashion appear. It is shown that the development and unification of small feudal states following the example of the then largest kingdom of the Franks, the establishment of trade relations between Western Europe and Byzantium from the 8th–9th centuries contributed to the emergence of Byzantine goods, in particular expensive fabrics, to Europe. Nevertheless, the European costume of that time was still not much different from the clothes of the barbarians: a shirt — "shens" above the knees, "bre" (conditional trousers) to the middle of the calf, and a "cloak" (cloak). The most obvious transformations in the sphere of the costume complex began in the period of the 11th–12th centuries, which was associated with the development of the knightly estate, expanding contacts between states, and the formation of urban culture.