Archive for 2018

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[ecrea] Fashion, Style & Popular Culture 6.1 published

Fri Nov 16 16:29:33 GMT 2018






Intellect is excited to announce that Fashion, Style & Popular Culture 6.1 is now available! For more information about the issue, click here >> https://bit.ly/2PZa6U0

*_Contents_*

_Fashion, style and global culture with sneakers uniting us_

Authors: Joseph H. Hancock
Page Start: 3

_Orientalist reveries: The imaginary creative constructions of the Moroccan space and place by the figures of the non-Muslim male traveller and female tourist − from travel literature to photography and contemporary fashion imagery_

Authors: Itai Doron
Page Start: 7

In this body of research and original photographic work to which it responds, I examine the position and connotation of Morocco as a site for artistic inspiration in travel literature, photography and fashion photography in the context of three main themes relating to its imaginary constructions: Orientalism; the western male traveller in contradistinction to the female tourist; and the figure of the cultured flâneur. These themes became associated with European industrialization and imperialism towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the research draws links between this particular period of culture and its values, and our present day, romantic fascination with Morocco, and the revival of such themes and their popular reincarnation in contemporary fashion editorials. The article investigates the role that photography has played in the development of twenty-first century Orientalism and its manifestation in visual fashion storytelling, and the interplay between artist-subject-location: how does the western traveller/photographer view both himself and others in the process of picturing the Maghreb and what are the kinds of relationships and tensions that develop between the traveller/photographer and the North African sites that he observes? The research focuses on the long association between travel and sexual adventure and explores the literary and visual narratives involving the figures of the contemporary traveller and tourist in the North African space and place, and how adventurer and location feed off one another. By examining the appropriation of such figures and motifs from art and literature into contemporary photography of travel and fashion photography, the article aims to consider the visual representation and specific propositions of locations such as Tangier, Marrakesh, Assilah and the Moroccan Sahara as chaotic, dangerous and alien, and understand the complex, post-Orientalist rendition of the North African space and visual culture within the context of fashion photography. More specifically this article poses the following questions: why does our western culture want or need to revisit condescending Orientalist fantasies and an imperialist mode of representation? And in what way are the tropes of Orientalist representation tied to the fantasies, desires and anxieties that the fashion industry and its consumer engage with? The article takes Morocco’s strong ties with western cultural figures as its starting point, and in times of intense political and social unrest in the Arab world – the continuing fascination with and promotion of this Muslim country as a sensual tourist destination by fashion editorial and ad campaign shoots. The article considers two photography monographs by western male travellers/photographers shooting photographic bodies of work in a foreign Islamic country: Paul Bowles’ How Could I Send a Picture into the Desert (Bowles and Bischoff 1994) and Harry Gruyaert’s Morocco (1990), in addition to several case studies from literature (Peter Mayne, Elias Canetti); photography (Irving Penn, Daido Moriyama); and contemporary fashion editorial work (William Klein, Jack Pierson, Azim Haidaryan, Inez Van Lamsweerde/Vinoodh Matadin, Mario Testino, Hans Feurer, Steven Meisel and Daniel Riera). It aims to establish links between the visual representation of travel and the context of gender, fashion, identity and sexuality and the psychological dimension of tourism.

_An analysis of the shoulder pad in female fashion_

Authors: Kevin Almond
Page Start: 31

This study examines the adoption of the shoulder pad in female, western fashion. Shoulder pads are essentially a form of wadding inserted into a garment that alters the natural shape of the shoulder line. They can give the illusion of a much broader shoulder, a square shoulder or a rounded, softer shoulder. In bespoke or made-to-measure fashion such as tailoring and haute couture, the use of shoulder padding can also align the shoulders if one slopes more than the other. The fashion industry has utilized shoulder pads to enhance the silhouette of many types of clothes and this research aims to trace the history of shoulder padding in contemporary fashion, from the early 1930s. It also discusses how technology has developed the use of shoulder padding in female fashion. Their inclusion in fashionable clothing depends on the fashion taste of the day; however, the research also investigates how shoulder pads have sometimes been appropriated by women to galvanize an impression of power and emancipation.
_
Climate justice isn’t sexy: The double failure of sustainable fashion marketing and activism_

Authors: Sarah Portway
Page Start: 49

This article asks the question: Why is sustainable fashion not ‘sexy’ for mainstream customers? Marketing departments are curators of desire, and trending social media hashtags tell us that making a political statement holds more selfie-potential than ever. Trend forecasting and market analyses point to growing trends in sustainable food, cars, personal care and home products. This article starts with the premise that fashion has been uncharacteristically slow to adopt this save-the-world Zeitgeist. Using a climate justice vision of sustainability that considers both social and environmental impacts, this critical review of literature and historical events explores the role of marketing and activism in popularizing sustainable fashion among mainstream consumers. After a brief overview of sustainable fashion, this article lists successful mobilization strategies identified in academic literature across several disciplines. These strategies are then compared with contemporary sustainable fashion activist techniques through an analysis of recent mobilization efforts. Sustainable fashion marketing campaigns are also critiqued through comparison with existing trend-diffusion models. With a few colloquial flourishes along the way, examples from popular media are highlighted to argue that marketing teams and activist groups have deviated from their usual tactics on this issue, while they ought to employ tools that they have sharpened over time to foster a mainstream market for sustainable fashion. This article finishes with a hopeful call to action for these groups.

_Post-partum celebrity images: Influence on self-thoughts and appearance management behaviours of post-partum women
_
Authors: Alyssa Dana Adomaitis And Kim K. P. Johnson
Page Start: 69

Within previous decades, opinions about pregnancy and post-partum behaviour featured in various news articles and within popular literature emphasized issues related to pregnancy and liquor; campaigns against teen pregnancy; pregnancy and weight gain; and pregnancy and dieting behaviour. Attention has shifted from these issues to appearance-related topics including rapid weight loss, exercise regiments and food restriction. For example, photographs of celebrities have provided visual evidence that women can gain weight during pregnancy, give birth and within weeks revert to a thin, pre-pregnant body size. A qualitative method was used to explore to what extent, if any, images of post-partum celebrity bodies influenced self-thoughts of non-celebrity post-partum mothers and their appearance management. A total of 35 women completed in-depth interviews. Viewing post-partum celebrity images stirred up emotions of jealousy, anxiety and frustration, often followed by statements of envy or justification. Most participants reported engaging in upward social comparison with images. However, most participants did not behave differently relative to their appearance management (i.e., dieting, exercise or dressing).

_Attention deficit fashion_

Authors: Andrew Reilly And  Jana Hawley
Page Start: 85

Using a post-postmodern perspective, we offer a framework for analysing the current social and industrial practices that have resulted in the rapid turnover of clothing purchases and styles. ‘Attention deficit fashion’ (ADF) is the result of a youth-driven marketplace that relies on consumers who regularly use technology to share images of themselves in clothing. Wearing the same clothing item in another image is a social faux pas so the item is discarded and new items are sought. The result is what we call ‘micro-trends’, or subtle changes in aesthetic preferences that are limited by geography or demographics.

_Comparison of patterns of dressing for two generations within a local context_

Authors: Marilyn R. DeLong And Haeun Bang And Laureen Gibson
Page Start: 99

This research explores the dressing patterns of two generations of women with similar educational levels, and both located in the upper Midwest, USA. Based upon a review of the theories about dressing, the expectation was that differences in patterns of dressing would arise between the two groups that differed in age and generational cohort group. This is significant in today’s milieu in which sustainable best practices from fast to slow fashion are encouraged and differences in generational groups could change the approach to intervention. The total sample of 115 females included two groups, the first numbered 55 with an average age of 73 years and the second numbered 60 with an average age of 20 years. Participants responded to a survey focused on the contemporary American woman. The two groups were asked the same questions about how they desired to appear, how they strategized about their wardrobe and putting together of ensembles, and their shopping patterns. Analysis included a comparison of responses of each group. There were a few differences in patterns of dressing based upon age and generational cohort group, but the number of similarities pointed to other influences such as the similar location of the two groups.

_Eco printing and dyeing-echoes of the 1960s_

Authors: Christina Lindholm
Page Start: 119

Short commentary on the current trend of using botanical materials to dye and print. Directions for eco printing a silk scarf are included.

_Book Reviews_

Authors: Deidra W. Arrington And Maria Mackinney-Valentin And Takiyah Fields
Page Start: 123

  * Costume in Performance: Materiality, Culture, and the Body,
    Donatella Barbieri (2017)
  * Fashion and War in Popular Culture, Denise N. Rall (ed.) (2014)
  * #SkintoSoulBeauty Unleashed: The Power of True Beauty, Grace and
    Purpose from Skin to Soul, Neva K. Read (2017)

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