The Genre through Q&A in Fashion Designing

By: DAnna S------------

ENC1102 University of Central Florida Leslie Wolcott 11 November 2013

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DAnna S------------Leslie Wolcott Genre Analysis Paper 11 November 2013 The Genre through Q&A in Fashion Designing

In many different professions and industries there is a clear form of genre such as scientific papers, health papers, and speeches. A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even length. (Cauley 4) As discuss in the beginning of the semester in class, genre and framing isnt like a cookie cutter. Argument is very much like a conversation. (Greene 146) Theres many ways to portray a conversation, but by having the correct amount of claims to support will shape the cookie itself to be a unique form. In the fashion industry, the way we write and speak takes on more of discrete form; because of the fashion industry is a lot about visualization, its participator genre might be hidden to most people. Genre in the fashion community takes on a less formal role and is tied to a more verbal and expression based discourse community; chiefly, Question and Answer format from interviews. "Writers want us to see the world in one way as opposed to another..." (Greene 149) Thus, I will be using my future profession, fashion designing, to explain how this specific genre operates and how it applies in the discourse community. Three articles will be discussed that utilize the genre of Question and Answer; through a brief summary and analysis, the genre will develop and become easy to understand its role in the discourse community.

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After reviewing the three articles, I found many similarities and differences among them that resulted in a spectrum of results. The different types of questions being asked, how many, and the format of its approach are all aspects of the genre that are unique to each article. Despite the differences, each article follows a distinct encompassing style which fills a niche in the discourse community. From the articles it can be seen that the length of the article is unique to the interview. Both Kiel James Patrick (published on Electrogent) and Tommy Hilfiger (published on InterviewMagazine) are considerably longer in length and float in a range of fifteen-twenty questions where as the J.Crew (published on BAZAAR) article only supported four questions with intermittent pictures. In addition to the length of the Question and Answer genre, the content of the questions and the formality changed between the articles. Engage in conversations among different people that will allow us to express our own opinion towards the argument and by making our own claim. As a reader it depends on how we read through the lines, as for writers it depends on how they write the use of information; so, that we can understand the language of the conversation in the context better. By having Q&A in the fashion industry it makes connections between the researches in the surroundings from the reporter, fashion designer, and peers. (Greene 155) [R]esearch has the potential to change reader' worldview and your own." (Greene 155) Kiel James Patrick types of questions were more of a friendly banter peppered in with mild business tones; this informal style was seen again in the Tommy Hilfiger Q&A in which the questions asked were often small phrases to carry on a story. Again J.Crew was found to be an outlier because their format displayed utter business without any fooling around. From this it can be seen that a minimum amount of questions is needed to support the Question and Answer genre and that the place of publication can have a great impact on the tone of each Question and Answer.

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The discourse community is made up of individuals or groups like bloggers, readers, the audience, fashion design students, and designers that are interested in the subject. The common goal is to share their love and passion in the industry of fashion. Fortunately, the specific genre of Question and Answer fulfills this roll by taking the ideas expressed in the designs to a written text. This particular genre can fulfill the niche of being an information resource to the discourse community, however due to the exclusiveness of who may participate in this genre, it cannot be used as open communication. The exclusiveness of the genre stems from the fact that designers are protective of their designs, ideas, and inspirations so they only wish to interface with official interviewers. "Through identifying what is at issue, you should begin to understand for whom it is an issue - who you are answering the question for." (Greene 149) Despite the select few that can participate in performing and actual Q&A with a mainstream fashion designer, the actual publication of the written text is available to the public. Often times each Question and Answer will only reach a specific portion of the discourse community because of the place that they are published. For example, the Q&A with Kiel James Patrick was published on a website tailored towards mens interest, so the members of the discourse community that would end up accessing the article are young men. While fashion is the true expression of the designers voice that can transcend language barriers, the written contexts of the industry remains Question and Answer, and press releases. The goal that this genre fills is to support the discourse community by connecting ideas from designers to common consumers. Q&A also represents a quick and efficient way to transfer these ideas to a lot of people in a short amount of time and space. Lastly, looking at this genre from an industry point of view, the amount of hits a publication receives can generate feedback from the discourse community to help identify major interests. The overall goal of the genre is

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the point that should be left off on; not only is the Question and Answer genre flexible and unique, but it is an efficient model that can spread information to many consumers of the discourse community.

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Work Citied Andrew. "An Interview With Kiel James Patrick." Electrogent. Electrogent, 8 Apr. 2012. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. Cauley, Stacey. "Genres of Literature by Stacey Cauley on Prezi." prezi.com. N.p., 8 Apr. 2013. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. Fallon, Jimmy. "Tommy Hilfiger - Page." Interview Magazine. Jimmy Fallon, Sept. 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. Greene, Robert. "Argument as Conversation." The Subject Is Research: Processes and Practices. Portsmouth: Boyton/Cook, n.d. 145-55. Print. Mitnick, Sarai. "The Language of Fashion | Coletterie." Coletterie | Sewing tips, ideas, and peeks into the Colette Patterns studio. Zoe, 21 July 2010. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. Pieri, Kerry. "J. Crew Spring 2012 Preview Marissa Webb J. Crew." Harper's BAZAAR. Harper's Bazaar Staff, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.