ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book considers how the sphere of clothing consumption has been transformed in Russia over the past 20 years and how the Soviet legacy informs today's consumption along with global processes. It examines clothing consumption in Russia at several levels and also studies the retail trade market, the ideology of consumption and fashion, social structure and identities, and everyday consumer practices. The book argues that the interaction and interrelation of all spheres produces a particular concept of consumption and fashion. Fashion is usually seen as being connected to national identity. From this perspective, Russian identity has been traditionally seen as based on high culture literature, ballet, music, and theater. Cultural manifestations related to popular culture, such as fashion, were seen as unimportant or superficial and only very slowly have been recently gaining acceptance in Russian society as being socially, culturally, and politically significant.
