Political Science - Sarah's Courses

Djurdja Bartlett, Fashion and Politics

• era where politics is largely mistrusted and divisive

• fashion cld provide means of challenging such dissension

• fashion could repair old/new injustices, create a bridge btwn politics/econ

• fashion provide a platform for urgent socio-cultural conversation

FASHION AS A REPRESENTATION AND VISUAL ENFORCEMENT OF POWER

Garments, body, etc imbued with message - abstract concepts to visual/material presentation

examples of fashion as representation of power

• portraits of royals (ex. Prince Alessandro Farnese)

• Lady Gaga at Biden’s inauguration 

FASHION’S ROLE IN STRUCTURING SOCIETY throughout history

making social order visible through garments 

• structure needs visual elements to reinforce it/extend influence

Fashion as structuring society examples

• french 3 estates

• nazi designations like stars etc

FASHION’S ROLE IN STRUCTURING SOCIETY contemporary examples

Vetements FW17 > inspired by everyday/pedestrian/clearly recognizable archetypes

FASHION INSTRUMENTALIZED BY AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES

Hitler wanted to get rid of the difference and Mussolini wanted everyone to participate (artists etc) in the building of fascist culture

Fashion in Mussolini’s Italy

• Focus on the appearance of women - everyone has to be part of fascist effort/war effort

• Women during war who wore fashionable looks accused of “servility” or “self interest” and of “attacking the conscious body of the nation”

• Female devotion to intl fashion was a way their fidelity to regime was measured

• Appearance under regime was a politcial issue - beauty was promoted as a spiritual duty of the “italian woman”

• Considered french fashion too frilly and superficial, wanted to go back to fashion as more functional and fascist

Belleza Magazine in Fascist Italy

• First issue of magazine looked like roman bust > return to the old

• Mag goal was to encourage the creation of italian fashion

• Promoted "silhouettes of the year” - very simple, broad idea of what the designers should be inspired by under fascism

Fashion as demonstration of resistance: Russian Stilyagis

• Subtly resist regime, say something about their beliefs - interest in American culture

• Against austerity of country

Fashion as demonstration of resistance: Abbie Hoffman

• Very political figure

• dressed very casually in hippie style

• opposing the establishment by using the exact opposite of what was promoted by establishment

Fashion as demonstration of resistance: Queen Elizabeth II

Not allowed to publicly express views, wore bright blue in 2017 - asserting her support for remain (BREXIT era)

POLITICS AS A TOPIC OF INTEREST FOR FASHION

Always a possible topic but even more so in recent years - we can question their intentions

Fashion Interested in Politics: Contemporary examples

• Balenciaga FW22 = Reaction to war in Ukraine

• Willy Chavaria SS26

  • Not trying to dumb stuff down

  • Incorporating political elements into every part - how you do everything, archetypes etc

THE INTRINSIC POLITICS OF THE FASHION SYSTEM: Jaden Smith/Louboutin

• nepo baby > continuing system of privilege

• part of western ecosystem > polarised fashion system around same areas

• 2 men working together

Fashion Shows and Protests

• Both are things that require movement among other similarities

• Chanel SS15 corny example 

Using colors to stand out and signify

• 1998 Jakarta protests

• Gulabi Gang

• Green Party

• Gilets Jaune

1998 Jakarta Protests

• how to proceed after the authoritarian regime had been toppled

• A lot of different groups protests with very different opinions

• Students wanted to express opposition to what the rest of the mass were saying and thus chose to wear jackets with really bright colors in order to stand out

Gulabi Gang

Wear pink saris and protect/support women in domestic violence etc scenarios

Anti war protests in the 1970s

• Even veterans would engage with the stereotypical, anti-militaristic, counter culture style of dress

• Military jackets worn to express how antithetical their message was > modified with elements from counter culture to completely remove the jacket from its initial meanings

Gilets Jaune/Black Bloc

“we don't have the same jersey but we have the same passion” > graffiti

Gilets Jaune origins

• Started with change of gas prices (for regular commuters) then extended beyond to many political issues within france in the period

• Protest at round abouts and also entry to paris, main areas of paris - particularly those associated with power

• Began to reflect the issue of the government that would not take into account the reality of a part of the population

• 2008 = compulsory to have yellow vest in back of car

Evolution of Gilets Jaune

• Vest became the exact opposite of normal > no longer associated with its physical propriety but with its political messaging

• Movement got too big > potentially damaging, so many causes no main structure, diverse within movement

• Vests themselves used to explicitly note the movements goals (in writing on them) - the people themselves become the banners

Macron as having

the political power of representation

Opposite of Representation

benefits of anonymity

Practical Side of Concealement

Concealment of identity is a way to protect yourself when speaking out against regime, espouse controversial opinions

Concealment as getting rid of personal identities

• together they are the movement

• individuals in movements can be replaced, its the ideology thats important

Black Bloc as opposed to Gilets Jaune

• GJ wanted to be visible, BB doesnt want to be seen or represented 

How the Black Bloc wants to appear

• not as weak/vulnerable in face of power

• composed and constitute a threat

• collectively preserved militant anonymity 

Black Bloc History

• began with advent of fascism

• italy in the 1930s

Against Representation: Leviathan & Black Bloc

• Leviathan Wearing all the tiny individuals that compose the state

• BB refuse to become part of the state by wearing black (anarchist element of their action) 

Reversal of the Gaze: Black Bloc

• engage with smaller, on-the-ground right wing actions, they usually invade those networks to find info 

Crest Hill Prison - Foucault

• system of surveillance

• structure organically directs inmates to behave thru constant visibility /potential gaze

Counter-Visualities Example

• at Louvre, you are encouraged to look at the Mona Lisa in particular – regardless of the paintings around

• social aspect imposed on your vision and visuality

Activist Counter Visibility Examples

• FEMEN (slut walks etc)

• PETA (Fur? I’d rather go naked)

• Tahrir Square, 2011 (“No to Stripping the People”) 

Counter Visibility: Fixation by Petr Pavlenski (2013)

• nails testicles to ground outside kremlin

• Action of choosing to use his own body to assert something is a way to create very direct reaction within audience - brings viewer back to own identity

• Words are not enough, need to result to more shocking images

Counter Visibility: Animal Rights Activism

• social activism based on performance, specifically based around body 

• encourages people to imagine the actions as occurring to their own body

Counter Visibility: PETA & “Id rather go naked” anti-fur campaign

• Ambivalence of the spectacularization of the body as a way to make a statement

• Allowed for political activism to become mainstream/easier to digest less confrontational content

Counter Visibility: PETA & “Id rather go naked” anti-fur campaign ISSUES

• Mostly female body displayed > usually white

• Conventional norms

• Adding sexualization elements: need to make it desirable somehow beyond politics

• Choice to use body is striking and powerful, but is complex because the body is so socially-charged, hard to be neutral

Collective Identities: Chicago 7 (1970)

• Not an official organization, but worked as a group - created massive demonstration that “degenerated” and they were put on trial together

• all came from very different backgrounds and activist groups

Social Movements

Mobilization around common claims, opinions, and interests

Usual Means of Social Movement Action

• Usual means of action: demonstrations, occupations, strikes, etc > importance of the collective

• social movements contribute to show where state action is needed

What are Social Movments NOT

• a trend

• political party

• subculture

Subculture

• like social movements, also a mobilization of people that share similar values/culture/ideology BUT no clear political ambition - They can be fused

• Culture and hegemony

Importance of Expression

Language that resonates with the participants: what's good, what's bad, who is the participant vs adversary

Identity question very salient in social movements, especially in the 1960s

• Asserting your identity, presence

• >>> importance of the sense of belonging (//fashion)

• Gay movement for example in 60s/70s

Collective Identities

How you navigate individuality of your identity with the aspects that constitute the social identity of the movement

Role of state in generating collective identities

• pinpointing physical features

• restraining social activity

• shaping one’s life => creating of a subgroup in society fostering collective identiity

Collective Identities and Fashion

• Visual marker to signify one’s support to a movement

• Embodied practice of the ideology

• Common awareness of garments

KKK Origins 

• 1865: birth of the movement at the end of the American Civil War by a group of men refusing to accept the end of slavery, aiming at scaring Black people

• 1867: convention in Nashville to declare the birth of the “Invisible Empire of the South” with a grand wizard as leader and followers

Rebirth of KKK

• beginning of 20th century, peaking in the 1920s

• Kept similar uniform, added a burning cross to their paraphernalia

• Night actions + demonstrations and rallies

•  Growing hostility compared to the first wave of the movement, incorporated a hatred of the Jews, Catholics, foreigners

• KKK toppling but frequent resurgences

Women of the Klan

• usually support-based position of women in racist groups (same with Nazis, fascists, etc), understudied 

• Rise of Women’s KKK during 2nd wave

• more “implicit” and subtle” actions compared to men 

Women of the Klan’s conflicting relationship to feminism

weaving languages of emancipation with conventional and racist values

KKK Garments

• Supporting the uniformity of the movement

• Care and the nurse inspiration (double semantic of the white outfit)

• Morality and avoiding “seductive allurements”

SNCC

• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

• emerged in NC during civil rights mvmt

• eventual discontent amongst black part of mvmt

1964: Civil Rights Act

• Exacerbating racial differences

• African American frustration

• Rise of Black Power

Black Panther establishment

• Est 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale

• revolutionary group aiming at challenging society in favor of African American community

• stemmed from disappointment in civil rights mvmt/act

Black Panther actions

• Moving away from nonviolent protests/response to police brutality

• Survival programs to support African American communities in specific neighborhoods through food distribution, health issue assistance

• Legal actions, demonstrations, rallies, etc to get Black activists discharged/freed

Black Panther Garments

• Uniformity

• Leather jackets, denim pants, berets, guns

Black Panther pride in African American Identity

• Afros > against normative white society

• No replication of white tropes, assert your own identity

Black Panthers and Gender

• Behavior same for both genders > could say movement was very forward thinking in terms of gender distinction/boundaries

• Women (ex. Kathleen Cleaver and Angela Davis) had power within party

Black Panther Military aesthetic

• offices designed like barracks

• symbolic power of the beret (embodying party)

personal elements can turn into

• representations of the movement

• ex. angela davis’ hair

Skinheads Subculture origins

• British and inheriting from the Mods and inspired by Jamaican (rude boys) culture + West Indians

Skinheads values

• Proletarian, puritanical, and chauvinist

• “Kind of a caricature of the modern workers”

Garments and language represent a conversation between different origins

hence depriving objects of their initial meaning in order to convey the idea of a contemporary working class (skinhead example)

Codes defined/recreated by skinheads

• Dr Marten shoelace color, “boot parties” (curb stomping), ‘braces’ rather than suspenders

• important distinctions btwn diff skinhead groups

What did the skinheads embody?

shared system of value and fetishization of social class

Fred Perry and Skinheads

• Fred Perry has incorporated it into some of their branding

• Fights breaking out at sample sale in france when many skinheads came

• Trying to distance themselves -ex. Statement by FP after Proud Boys incorporated their garments into wardrobe, had to discontinue a certain colorway

Clothing as objects in which subculture members can see

their central values held and respected