The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction - Walter Benjamin

According to Benjamin, reproduction by the human hand, by drawing, craving or etching requires time and artistic skill, reproduction by technological means does not require such skill, cameras capture what the eye sees, making reproduction so much more accurate and faster.

'The here and now of the original constitute the abstract idea of its genuineness”

The state of being genuine comes from the factors of an object being original, not a replication, so it can be chemically tested; and the object possessing value to be kept in a family and passed down, with a sense of tradition from the original.

So in fashion and art it is possible to find an original concept, recreated and recycled.

“The whole province of genuineness is beyond technological (and of course not only technological) reproducibility.” 

By this, Benjamin implies that genuine articles are separate from their reproductions, their value is so different, by both types if reproduction. Genuine historical articles can be reproduced but they will never be genuine as they were not produced at the time or in the corresponding context and reasons.

Aura, as defined by Benjamin, is the atmosphere an object generates in its artistic skill uniqueness, the aura is reduced when it is replicated as we recognise them as cheap, skilless replications and lose respect for the original.

Aura occurs in fashion, an original design has a great sense of majesty which is reduced as it is reproduced, as we become more accustomed to it, we stop noticing it.

'The instant the criterion of genuineness in art production failed, the entire social function of art underwent an upheaval.  Rather than being underpinned by ritual, it came to be underpinned by a different practice: politics'

As emphasis on displayablilty increases, the purpose of art shifts, from cult and religious symbolism and dedication to an expression of skill and ideas. 

In m lifetime I have come across: Technological fabrics (including photosensitive paint, heat sensitive paint, electronic fabrics), 3D printed fabrics, the use of social media to promote fashion and new coatings for materials to give them certain properties.