What Goes Around Comes Around
The popular maxim “what goes around comes around” is made commonly in reference to the “you reap what you sew” ideal. This truth is seen in actual physics as well; consider Newton’s discovery: “every action has an equal and opposite reaction,” as his law is often represented. What is interesting is that we find this principle in more than just physics.
As a matter of fact, stylistically, socially, economically, and technologically, the same phenomenon exists. The “what goes around, comes around” phenomenon. If you want to get poetic about it, there’s a verse in Ecclesiastes that sounds kind of like a Pink Floyd B-sides lyric.
It says: “The thing that has been is that which shall be, and that which is done is that which shall be done, and there is no new thing under the sun.” Consider that technologically, certain things we consider unique to the modern world have actually some quotient of historical precedent.
For evidence of that, all you need to do is consider the Egyptian pyramids, or those in South America. All you’ve got to do is look at sunken cities off the coast of Japan, or the massive buried statues on Easter Island of which only the heads can be seen above ground. Ancient man had some tricks up his sleeve that were lost.
Further Considerations
If you need more evidence of this, just consider trends. They come in small and large quotients, and you can see larger trends extend for decades while smaller ones tend to come or go with the seasons. Consider that before Victorian England became civilized in conservativism, there was a bawdy England known for libertines and outrageous behavior.
The corset definitely predates Queen Victoria, and its purpose is as a visual stimulant for male viewers primarily. It emphasizes sensual features of the female form. Sometimes echoes of the underlying motive behind a given fashion trend are expressed in ways that look similar, but aren’t different. Someone once said history doesn’t repeat itself, but it echoes.
That’s the principle at play here. And through this principle, you can outfit your dance company in cost-effective costuming solutions which stand the test of time for the same reason an artificial Christmas tree can be passed down through generations. Granted, the tree isn’t a good decoration in July, but then neither are fireworks at Christmas.
Seasons Change, Change, Change…
One fashion “season” that seems to be coming back are “hip hop” pants, otherwise known as harem dance pants, a style and costuming piece described by JustForKix.com this way: “A true trend comeback in dance and fashion, harem pants sit high on the waist, are baggy at the thighs and tapered down the legs.”
You’ll find a reemergence of stylistic choices like this from the eighties, just as you’ll find echoes from the sixties. Ever hear of the band Phish? Well, they’re basically the Grateful Dead of the 21st century. Though most members of “The Dead” are still around, the momentum behind this band largely petered out several decades ago.
But those who like “Phish” dance similarly, they dress similarly, and even have similar substance-use proclivities. There are a lot of psychedelic colors, a lot of “hippie” lifestyle choices—you get the idea. The generation silhouetting Phish represent an echo of that generation which outlined The Grateful Dead.
The same stylistic changes affect mediums like film, theater, and dance. When it comes to dance costumes, you want to source them from a purveyor that understands the cyclical nature of trends, and can provide your company the dance uniforms requisite to a given performance.
