Planned Obsolescence in Industrial Design

Definition and Concept

• Planned Obsolescence: Companies design products to become obsolete or fail over time, prompting consumers to replace them.
• Applies to electronics, clothing, and other consumer goods.

Historical Context

• Indestructible Fabrics: Technology for long-lasting fabrics like Nylon, which was durable, existed since the 1940s.
• Nylon Stockings: Originally marketed as indestructible, but later made thinner to prompt replacements.
• Dupont's Strategy: Made thinner nylons fashionable, encouraging regular replacements.

Relevance to Capitalism

• Capitalism thrives on continuous consumption and the flow of capital.
• Indestructible products are not good for business as they halt continuous purchasing.
• Modernism vs Capitalism: Modernism's permanence clashes with capitalism's need for constant renewal.

Modernism, Bauhaus, and Capitalism

Modernism

• Sought to create a perfect society with lasting design, not aligned with capitalist ideals.
• Bauhaus: Idealized collective utopia through durable design.

Post-Modernism

• Shift from architecture as a model to fashion.
• Fashion: Ephemeral, reflecting the zeitgeist, and more compatible with capitalism.

Cultural Shifts and Influences

American Culture

• Diverse, influenced by European ideologies but distinct in its embrace of individualism.
• Harlem Renaissance: Influential in merging literature, fine art, and design, paralleling European avant-garde movements like Bauhaus.
• Art Deco Influence: Harlem Renaissance's connection with Art Nouveau and Art Deco.

Post-War America and Counterculture

• Beat Generation: Anti-capitalist, inspired by Bauhaus ideals but in a different context.
• Beatniks: Influenced by socialism and communism, represented a style more than ideology.

Music and Cultural Appropriation

• Post-War music (Jazz, R&B, Rock & Roll) rooted in African traditions, became a base for youth rebellion.
• Appropriation of black culture in forming counterculture.

Fashion as a Design Philosophy

• Post-70s, fashion became a model for design, acknowledging time and place in aesthetics.
• Fashion's temporality contrasts with modernism's permanence, reflecting cultural zeitgeist more effectively.

Conclusion

• Transition from modernism to post-modernism involved a shift from striving for timeless perfection to embracing temporal, context-dependent designs.
• The evolving relationship between design, culture, and capitalism reflects broader societal changes.