Fashion and Cultural Studies

Abstract

Bridging theory and practice, this accessible text considers fashion from both cultural studies and fashion studies perspectives, and addresses the growing interaction between the two fields. Kaiser and Green use a wide range of cross-cultural case studies to explore how race, ethnicity, class, gender and other identities intersect and are produced through embodied fashion. Drawing on intersectionality in feminist theory and cultural studies, Fashion and Cultural Studies is essential reading for students and scholars. This revised edition includes updated case studies and two new chapters. The first new chapter explores religion, spirituality, and faith in relation to style, fashion, and dress. The second offers a critique of "beauty" and considers dressed embodiment inclusive of diverse sizes, shapes and dis/abilities. Throughout the text, Kaiser and Green use a range of examples to interrogate the complex entanglements of production, regulation, distribution, consumption, and subject formation within and through fashion.

Negotiations of Women’s Black and Activist Identity Through Dress on the College Campus, 2013–2019

“…Researchers have found that Black people have historically used dress as a way to express Black identity and reject abuses of power, racism, and discrimination in their many forms (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017;Ford, 2015;Tyler, 2008). An early example of Black and activist identity being expressed through dress by Black men is the zoot suit, which became an expression of rebellion against hegemonic norms during the 1940s (Kaiser, 2012;Tyler, 2008). Our research participants confirmed that the act of rebellion through dress is still happening today, specifically in relation to the BLM era, and they shared they often use garments such as slogan T-shirts to express their Black and activist identities.…”

“…Our different identities are often reflected through dress and continually negotiated on an everyday basis (Kaiser, 2012). Throughout history, Black people have purposely performed their Blackness and activist identities through their dress such as wearing denim, African-inspired garments, bright colors, bold jewelry, or political slogans (Ford, 2015;O'Neal, 1998).…”

“…Black and Latino men wearing zoot suits in the 1940s as a way to highlight racial and economic inequities and to exemplify and create a symbol of self-empowerment is an early example of expressing activism through dress (Kaiser, 2012;Tyler, 2008). The effects of World War II created the need to ration resources such as fabric, which, to people who valued principles of inequity and oppression, made wearing zoot suits an unpatriotic and rebellious symbol because of the large amount of fabric needed to create the suits (Lynch & Strauss, 2015;Tortora & Marcketti, 2015).…”

“…The media frequently portrayed zooters, or those who wore these outfits, as criminals (Lynch & Strauss, 2015). In many instances, white war veterans attacked Black and Latino men wearing zoot suits because of their reputations and sartorial choices, stripped them down to their underwear, and left them humiliated in the streets (Kaiser, 2012;Lynch & Strauss, 2015). Despite the negative connotations that came with wearing zoot suits, Black men continued to wear them as symbols of Black empowerment and rebellion against economic inequity (Kaiser, 2012;Tyler, 2008).…”

“…(e.g., Civil Rights Movement, Black Panther Party), people have intentionally used dress to express and show pride in their Black identity in addition to expressing solidarity with activist movements (Ford, 2015;Kaiser, 2012). Building on past work, we examine how Black women college students use dress as a way to negotiate both their Black and activist identities.…”