Orwell would dislike the current language used in the fashion industry. In his essay “Politics and the English Language,” he lists some “tricks” used in modern language that leads to poor writing. Both pretentious diction and meaningless words are included, which forms the majority of language used when fashion is discussed by industry experts and reporters.
Pretentious diction comprises of not only formal, complex words, but also foreign words. These are common appearances in discussions of fashion, with descriptions of shows being written in over-complicated terms and the constant allusions to unnecessary French terms. Foreign additions are a constant, from the runway (prêt-à-porter, haute couture) to everyday conversation (à la mode).
Fashion shows are often described with numerous meaningless words, including many from Orwell’s own list. Romantic, natural, living, and dead are some examples of ways a show could be reported to be, and all are directly addressed within his essay.
The fashion industry keeps up its exclusive pretenses by using pretentious diction and meaningless words that dazzle many newcomers, but merely confuse anyone attempting to analyze any articles or reports written about fashion.