- Simmel, Georg. 1957. “Fashion.” The American Journal of Sociology 62(6):541–58.
Simmel writes about fashion as a paradox, in which it is imitation, but also differs between social groups. It is social obedience, while simultaneously, individual differentiation. It is constantly changing, but it remains the same. He writes about the elite pioneering fashion that is then imitated by the masses. As soon as the lower classes copy the upper classes, the upper classes come up with a new style. Although focused on class, he briefly writes about gender. He writes about fashion being a form of “compensation” for women who operate in a subordinated position (1957: 551). He writes of men entering “uniform” societies in which they have no use for fashion. Simmel will be the guiding sociological theory behind our research. We are looking at whether the millennial generation potentially challenges Simmel’s assertion that it is the elite that create fashion. Is this piece still accurate? Although extremely old, one of the main claims is that fashion is cyclical and maintains a timeless dynamic. Therefore, it is still potentially very relevant. Although antiquated and sometimes offensive, the notes about gender can be applied to our research through the understanding that it is rarely the wealthy, straight, white men that we look to for fashion.
2. K-Hole. 2014. YOUTH MODE: A REPORT ON FREEDOM. Retrieved May 7, 2018 (http://khole.net/issues/youth-mode/).
This is a predictive report for millennial fashion that was released by a trend forecasting website. In it, they coin the term “normcore.” They situate their findings sociologically by first discussing the society that millennials are engaging with. Individuality has always been something to strive towards with fashion, but is increasingly unattainable. Millennials are becoming more cognizant of the fast pace of fashion, and are adopting seemingly “everyday” and “normal” clothing as resistance against fashion and individuality. This report is very useful to our research because it situates millennials as a generation in search of freedom that stands apart from prior generations. This implies that the sociology of fashion is changing, from that described by Simmel, with millennial fashion. The report stresses millennial use of fashion as resistance. We are interested in whether this is a true assessment of millennial behavior.
3. Cheng, Andrea. 2017. “WHY EVERYONE IS INTO UGLY FASHION: AN EXPLAINER.” Fashionista. Retrieved May 7, 2018 (https://fashionista.com/2017/06/ugly-fashion-mainstream-trend).
This article introduces ugly fashion as an extension of normcore. Cheng writes about ugly fashion as a fear of “basicness,” which is another emerging millennial fashion concept. She writes about millennials needing to stand out from the crowd and seem unique. The term “basic,” which used to just mean fundamental and classic, now has a negative connotation as average and characterless. Millennials have an aversion to this term, so they are seeking more eccentric and “ugly” trends. She also writes about this being a shift from the elite creating fashion, to the masses starting trends. She writes, “We’re seeing, for the first time, the younger generation is heading up the trends versus the trends trickling down.” This article is useful for our understanding of ugly fashion and millennial trends. It grounds our initial assumption that fashion culture is shifting from what Simmel writes about.
4. Singer, Maya. 2017. “How Fashion Became Part of the Resistance.” Vogue. Retrieved May 16, 2018 (https://www.vogue.com/article/fashion-designers-politics-resistance-fall-2017-ready-to-wear-public-school-missoni).
This article is about resistance “looks” on the runway. Singer writes about different expressions of resistance through fashion. She writes about a “Make America New York” hat being showcased on the runway, along with pink “pussyhats,” as resistance against Trump. She also writes about a line of sweaters being sold, where shoppers can choose a charitable organization to support with their purchase. She includes quotes from a designer that gave a soccer team of undocumented immigrants fashionable soccer tees. The main take-away from this article is that fashion can be used as resistance in many different ways. It can be explicit or implicit. For the purposes of this project, we are focusing less on clothing that explicitly states its stance, and more on clothing that may be resisting aspects of identity or space. However, this is still useful for understanding depictions of millennial fashion as resistance. This article raises a lot of important guiding questions. Is fashion used as resistance or is resistance fashionable? The runway is the epitome of elite fashion. Can the elite resist? Why does this form of resistance come across as inauthentic?
5. Stoppard, Lou. 2017. “Why is fashion so ugly?” Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/3d5ad52c-9f01-11e7-8b50-0b9f565a23e1.
This piece pinpoints some of the distinct “ugly” trends that are marking the runway and everyday fashion. Stoppard writes of ugly fashion as a form of resistance against beauty trends. Christopher Kane is quoted saying that he chose to put crocs on the runway because they are what doctors, and people that “shape our world,” are wearing. This seems to imply that fashion is coming from below. Stoppard also writes about bodies as fashion. She writes that designers are now looking beyond conventional beauty standards when finding models. Alessandro Michele is quoted saying, “I don’t care about a dress… I care about the person inside it.” He intentionally chooses models that are unique and diverse. This is an interesting use of identity as fashion. Are certain identities fetishized as fashionable, or is fashion becoming more inclusive of all identities? This will be useful in understanding some of the complexities surrounding identity and how it can be conflated with fashion.
6. Boris, Eileen. 2017. “Fashion Works.” Feminist Studies, 43(1), 169-192. doi:10.15767/feministstudies.43.1.0169
This piece takes a more macro approach to uses of fashion as resistance. It begins by analyzing the symbolism of Michelle Obama wearing a designer dress at the 2016 Democratic Presidential Convention. Boris parallels the message of the Obama administration with trends toward an embrace of diversity through fashion. The piece delves deeper into how gendered or racialized performances often have to rely on fashion for “code-switching and identity recognition” (Boris 171). She writes that although fashion can be used as resistance in a variety of ways, it is reliant and contingent on hegemonic norms. This piece is useful in understanding some of the theory behind uses of fashion as resistance. It establishes that identity is a huge factor and that resistance is complicated within an oppressive structure. What is resistance within a hegemony when it is dependent on many of the messages promoted by the dominant group?
7. Genter, Alix. 2016. “Appearances Can Be Deceiving: Butch-Femme Fashion and Queer Legibility in New York City, 1945–1969.” Feminist Studies, 42(3), 604-631. doi:10.15767/feministstudies.42.3.0604
This article looks at the history of lesbian usage of fashion as resistance. It focuses on the contradictions within fashion as resistance, in which it was used by queer people to gain acceptance into communities and find partners, but also made them susceptible to acts of violence. Female masculinity has been the prevailing “public face of lesbianism” (Genter 631). Lesbians have negotiated this expectation over time by either reinforcing or resisting it. The article highlights the difference in butch and femme fashion, and how fashion can complicate oppression. Dressing “butch” comes with hypervisibility. This article reveals how those with a similar identity, can still be divided along fashion lines. It is useful for understanding the intersection of bodies and space. Sexuality can be something that is very visible or very hidden. Can hypervisibility act simultaneously as an act of conformity and resistance?
8. Ogunnaike, Nikki. 2018. “At Dior, Can Resistance and Fashion Mix?” ELLE. Retrieved May 16, 2018 (https://www.elle.com/fashion/a18751947/womens-rights-and-revolution-take-centerstage-at-dior/).
This article questions the sincerity of resistance displayed on the runway. Ogunnaike critiques a Dior collection that features “revolution” style hats. The designer claims her collection is inspired by feminist resistance. The author writes that although this might be admirable, there seems to something “inherently disingenuous” about profiting off of this fashion. The author also writes that these looks are so expensive, that they are not accessible to the general population. Is it important for Dior to use their platform to make a stance against inequality? Since Dior is not making any effort to actually alleviate inequality by donating their profits or showing support for certain organizations, this seems to be an example of how resistance has become trendy. This is useful for our research about whether fashion as resistance is authentic or disingenuous.
9. Hall, Stuart. 1993. “What Is This “Black” in Black Popular Culture?” Social Justice, 20(1/2 (51-52)), 104-114. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/29766735
This piece is about the complexities of appropriation of blackness within popular culture. It is predominantly theoretical and filled with sociology jargon, but has some useful analyses of culture and fashion. Hall concludes, “popular culture, commodified and stereotyped as it often is, is not at all, as we sometimes think of it, the arena where we find who we really are, the truth of our experience” (Hall 113). There is often a great deal of weight placed on popular culture in the construction of identity, but Hall writes that individuals often possess more agency than what is assumed. This also provides an interesting conversation when paired with Boris’ article because it examines how elite culture is dependent on non-elite culture, although the “top” may try to reject the “bottom.” The two pieces illuminate a power struggle that is a complicated and dependent exchange. This is a dense piece that has some salient points when thinking about agency and the construction of dominant culture.
10. Schiffer, Jessica. 2015. “Do Racial Stereotypes Affect Your Fashion Choices?” Who What Wear. Retrieved May 16, 2018 (http://www.whowhatwear.com/racial-stereotypes-fashion).
This article poses the question: “Do racial stereotypes affect your fashion choices?” It provides quotes from nine women of different races about their experiences with stereotypes and fashion. All of the women talk about how they will be perceived, in relation to their race, when choosing what to wear. Many of the women talk about discomfort with how their culture is consumed, but also an aversion to wearing items that may seem stereotypical of their culture. This article is useful in understanding how racial identity affects the ability or desire to use fashion as resistance.