Clothing: the authentic image? The point of view of young people

The author discusses the role of contemporary “culture of the image,” on the base of the results of qualitative research among Milanese youngsters. General theoretical questions are connected with more specific interpretations of the empirical material. Two themes are particularly highlighted, the ambiguity of images and the paradoxical relation between the pursuit of personal authenticity and the use of images as a medium of communication. This has been the most unexpected datum, the fact that the interviewees not only used clothing as an important mean to express their image but also as a mean to show their authenticity. In the concluding section, the author links her findings with some central themes of the ongoing sociological debate on postmodern reflexivity. It can be argued that, although these young people to a certain extent seem to refuse an involvement in the surrounding society, are in fact totally immersed in it, sharing the main features and the ambivalences of contemporary culture.