If David Bowie had lived in a previous century and had been a painter he would have painted what he was bloody well told by his patron. The idea that 'artists' express themselves is a comparatively recent conceit.
Fashion is not a religeon unless Diesel write your dictionary. Fashion is a neurotic condition that comes free with accelerated capitalism.
Sometimes it's easy on the eye and there's nowt wrong with that.
Let's keep things in perspective here.

good to see a strong reaction, refreshing...

of course u had to realise that i was being partially sarcastic and partially posing a question, simply: can one form of expression be more powerful then another at a given time, and is fashion the one of today... the religious connotation was to provoke(successfully) a reaction.

diesel definatly didn't write my dictionary(of what?). i don't have a dictionary aside from my russian/english/french ones (since fashion IS a spontaneous form of expression). but u know, sometimes it's just a well oiled machine of consumption.

just curious to know what people like yourself, who are right smack in the middle of making it think, (other then 'MUPPET' me).

I believe you are mistaking espressive value with commercial/economical/social status.
The f-word covers different loads, from a capitalist tool ( don't forget childlabour , sweatshops,...) to a highly individual form of expression.
If you're talking about fashion in this generalised way you might be able to say that its "weight" is bigger than that of say avant-garde classical music; but this does not affect the artistic value of the latter . Au contraire commercial prevailence CAN affect artistic credibility.

hello, nico
i appologise if the first statement about temples and meccas seem unclear until now. it's one of those thing when too many thoughts came out together for a walk and didn't end up making sense they were intended to make.

social versus cultural versus creative versus commercial aspect of fashion with pluses and minuses need not be explained on this website, and if i did generalise is to convey the following feeling:

as an art school student in closed-off eastern europe, yet sensetive to the movements in pop (western/eastern) culture, back in the day, i angled my studies towards applied arts eventually moving to complete a fashion degree, hoping to exsercise fashion as a form of privatly creative yet utilitarian and sellable form of art. However, now I am a little jaded by f-word, having worked in the INDUSTRY in both north america and paris. it is a strange sensation to be part of one of the most respected houses yet still feel creatively void and unsatisfied, too see the superficiality of pr/press and to see little of original thought so close to where you'd think it all happens.

pilligrimage (of fashion grouppies) really does happen during fashion week, i find that as an amazing new development, socially.

perhaps too general, but i do think that weight of fashion took on a new demesion recently which has sometimes disturbingly overwhelming effect.