Fashion Research Forum/FRF

Teaching and Learning

Posted on by Sarah Porterfield

The Fabric of Cultures team had the honor of presenting at CUNY’s second Teaching and Learning Conference, held the first week of April. According to their website, the conference “is a celebration of teaching excellence and a commitment to creating a thriving academic community.[i]” Our group included Prof. Eugenia Paulicelli, the founder and Director; Iris Finkel, Associate Director and Website Manager; Marissa Guijarro, a student in the Fashion Studies program; and I, Sarah Porterfield, also a student and the Social Media and Blog Editor.

Left to Right: Marissa, Sarah, Iris, Prof. Paulicelli

Our presentation, “Threads and Theories: Using Public Platforms to Foster Interdisciplinary Teaching, Learning and Research,” focused on our use of the public platform Omeka as a teaching and learning tool. Omeka is an exhibit and archive-building platform. The idea of using Omeka in Professor Paulicelli’s courses originated with Iris, a former student of Professor Paulicelli. She created an Omeka exhibit while taking one of Professor Paulicelli’s courses. Subsequently, Professor Paulicelli incorporated Omeka into her curriculum, and Iris returned to Paulicelli’s classroom to teach new students, like Marissa and me, how to use Omeka.

Slide made by Iris, showing Prof Paulicelli with students and a glimpse of Iris’s first Omeka

Professor Paulicelli began our presentation by sharing the history of how she created the fashion studies MALS track at the Graduate Center and The Fabric of Cultures. She showed photos of exhibits she had organized with her students, as well as catalogues she co-edited, which display the work of her students. She showed fashion apparel being constructed in her classrooms. Then she showcased the work of recent students who combined fashion design with technology, displaying their constructions using Omeka. Creation, exhibits, and displays have been a throughline of Paulicelli’s dynamic teaching.

The Fabric of Cultures exhibit at Queens College

Next, Iris shared her experience in Professor Paulicelli’s courses. She recalled constructing a zero-waste garment and felt inspired to create an Omeka site to track her learning and interests. Then, she discussed her experience teaching students to share projects on Omeka, which led Marissa and me to explain Omeka from a student’s perspective. We provided quick overviews of our sites and highlighted key takeaways. Marissa elaborated on how the interdisciplinary nature of fashion studies aligns well with Omeka, which enables the sharing of various types of media. She also mentioned that Omeka makes education accessible, ensuring that what we learn does not remain confined to the “ivory towers”—two crucial points about Omeka.

The home page of Marissa’s Omeka exhibit

As I consider the use of Omeka as a teaching and learning tool, I am impressed by how the two elements come together in Omeka and The Fabric of Cultures; as students learn, they teach. The publication of this blog reflects the same idea: as I learn, I add to my education by sharing it. The Fabric of Cultures site, similar to Marissa’s observation about Omeka, makes valuable educational materials accessible and provides insight into the interdisciplinary nature of fashion studies. It serves as a platform for both teaching and learning. A theme of Paulicelli’s courses is elevating students to become teachers, authors, and artists, thereby disrupting the hierarchical order that separates teachers from students. Thus, teaching and learning overlap and intertwine. Omeka (and The Fabric of Cultures) infuses creativity into academia, inspiring teachers and learners to push boundaries. Omeka, The Fabric of Cultures, and our small team all participate in expansive teaching and learning.

[i] https://www.cuny.edu/academics/faculty-affairs/cuny-innovative-teaching-academy/cuny-teaching-and-learning-conference/2025-cuny-teaching-and-learning-conference/

Fashion Research Forum/FRF

How to Communicate a Positive Message Through Fashion

Posted on by Sarah Porterfield

For a month, I wore nothing but the clothes I made- including undergarments. I only learned how to sew the month prior. I did this for my capstone project. While sewing my clothes, I explored theories and philosophies related to fashion. One of my first inquiries was: what do my clothes say? Of course, I turned to Roland Barthes, who first theorized about the language of fashion, to ponder this question. 

Barthes theorized that all clothing communicates. In The Semiotic Challenge, Barthes stated, “Semiology, therefore, propounds the very persuasive idea that everything is a text that can be decoded as a sign and, moreover, that the signified object is not like a single word, but rather a sentence in its own right” (186-87)1. Not only do clothes speak, but they perpetuate narratives, myths, and social constructs. 

Answering the question of what clothes communicate, Judith Butler says power relations and gender (even if we try to subvert it). She explains, “Bodies are unintelligible without the imaginary schema that makes them available to us… Since it is only available through this schema, the body is hopelessly caught up in language, signification and the cultural realm” (Wissinger 288)2. Without social constructs and language, bodies are unintelligible. Furthermore, bodies and fashion are inseparable because it is through fashion that we perceive our bodies. 

My clothes uniquely blurred the line between fashion and body because they came from my body: my mind and my hands. I want my body/clothes to express what I think about- making a positive impact through fashion. Upcycling makes a positive impact on its own, and I created my clothes through upcycling. Nevertheless, I want the style to convey uplifting messages, too. However, as I designed, I did not focus on what message I wanted a specific garment to say; it was enough of a challenge to make the garment. I relegated the process of communication to the subconscious. 

In Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity3, Miller demonstrates that Black Dandies are experts at communicating positive and impactful messages through their styles. So, even though most fashion communicates subconsciously, it is possible to communicate consciously and even persuasively through fashion. 

Miuccia Prada recently acknowledged deeper messages communicated through fashion when commenting on Prada’s Fall 2025 collection, “For me glamour is not a sexy dress, it’s the opposite. It’s an interior point of view where you feel important” (i-D)4. One may put on a sexy dress, but if they don’t feel confident, if their body language is self-conscious, then the dress will also communicate insecurity. Therefore, her collection communicates prioritizing the personal positive feelings of the wearer over external validation or the male gaze. These days, the pressure to appear “perfect” is exceptionally high since the online world of images and videos surrounds us. Therefore, Prada’s message is timely: how we feel is more important than what other people think. 

Even when consciously speaking through clothes, how others perceive the clothes is beyond the wearers’ control. Therefore, as Barthes pointed out, words go with fashion to create “total fashion.” “Without discourse there is no total Fashion, no essential Fashion” (The Fashion System xi)5. Without discourse, we don’t know the details of clothes and miss the complete picture of what a garment says. 

So, upcycling expresses a positive message because it is an ethical fashion choice. I have deeply considered my beliefs, so subconsciously, my clothing should communicate positive messages.  But I still need to articulate what they are saying. 

There is a playfulness to my designs; I mix patterns, add sequins, and do not always hide seams. Play beckons community; it is more fun to play with friends than to play alone. Therefore, my fashion also says, “Join me; let’s create together. Let’s forget the rules and follow our instincts.” 

I will be sharing more of my capstone project in the following weeks. Follow along to find out more! 

  1. Barthes, Roland, et al. The Semiotic Challenge. 1. California paperback print, University of California Press, 1994.  ↩︎
  2. Wissinger, Elizabeth. “Judith Butler: Fashion and Performativity.” Thinking through Fashion: A Guide to Key Theorists, edited by Agnès Rocamora and Anneke Smelik, I.B. Tauris, 2016.  ↩︎
  3. Miller, Monica L. Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. Duke University Press, 2009. ↩︎
  4. i-D. Instagram. 27 Feb. 2025, https://www.instagram.com/p/DGlYLXJJeBO/?igsh=QkFGNnpQdXFxNQ%3D%3D.  ↩︎
  5. Barthes, Roland. The Fashion System. Nachdr., University of California Press, 2006.  ↩︎

Fashion Research Forum/FRF

Keeping Time with Fashion 

Posted on by Sarah Porterfield / 0 Comment

As we near the end of the semester and prepare for the new year, I feel like a chapter is closing. However, looking solely at the fashion industry, one would not detect a closing chapter. In fact, I propose that we still occupy a chapter in fashion history that began in the 1960s. This ongoing fashion chapter reflects our social and political chapter.

Centering youth in fashion and beauty is so ingrained in society that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t always this way. In fact, America’s modern conception of aging began with the changing fashions of the sixties. Prior to that decade, fashion had centered societies’ elites, but suddenly, as youth were at the forefront of change and the zeitgeist, fashion began to favor the young. “Streetwear” as a fashion category emerged. The cut of women’s clothes changed to fit young, slender bodies, thereby excluding many. Fashion historian Dr. Jo Paoletti notes, “If you were a fashion-conscious woman between 1964 and 1966, you might have wondered if you were gaining weight, but it wasn’t you that changed.”1 The styles were not for everyone. Although the youth fought for freedom for all, centering them in fashion created less freedom for women. New York Times writer Marylin Bender observed this change in 1964, writing, “Old maxims to the effect that life begins at 40 and elegance at 30 don’t hold true in fashion anymore.”2 That shift continues to shape society.   

As the nation expanded its perception of gender and sexuality during the sixties and seventies, jeans and gender-neutral clothing rose in popularity. However, despite our increased awareness of the LGBTQ community and about sexism and racism, this has not resulted in lasting change, as we know. Much of the progress of the sixties and seventies social movements has been undone. In retrospect, the way that fashion became more restrictive of women’s bodies as their bodies simultaneously became freer indicated that the revolutionary fight for freedom and equality was far from won.  

Closing this chapter requires resolving the controversies of the sixties. The fact that fashion has not dramatically changed since the sixties and seventies demonstrates that we still live in the aftermath of that time (Paoletti 2)3. Additionally, fashion shows us that if society achieves greater freedom, it will have a style, and that style will be inclusive rather than restrictive. 

Pictures from the New York Public Library
  1. (Page 42) Paoletti, Jo Barraclough. Sex and Unisex: Fashion, Feminism, and the Sexual Revolution. Indiana University Press, 2015. ↩︎
  2. Bender, Marylin. “New Fashions Are Sad Blow to ‘Older’ Set.” New York Times, January 26, 1964.   ↩︎
  3. Sex and Unisex ↩︎
Fashion Research Forum/FRF

Staring Straight at “Sunshine State”

Posted on by Sarah Porterfield / 0 Comment

Last week, our class (Archaeology of Media: Film, Fashion, Montage) visited the new Steve McQueen exhibit at Dia Chelsea. It was an incredibly moving experience. The chief curator, Donna de Salvo, told us that as McQueen reflected on the installation, he remarked that it felt like the end of a chapter. As the semester comes to a close, chapter endings are on my mind, too. 

In Sunshine State, McQueen shares a story his dad told him at the end of his life. McQueen had never heard the story before. Something happened to his dad when he lived in Florida. McQueen realized that this event shaped the way that his father raised him. McQueen repeats the story again and again, but each time, he leaves out more words. The presence and absence of the story creates a sense of meditation; it is like a mantra. All the while, scenes from America’s first “talkie,” The Jazz Singer, play silently on the screens. Al Jolson applies, performs in, and removes blackface. The scenes play forward and backward, in the negative and positive. However, McQueen edited the film so that the blackface renders his head invisible. Again, absence draws fresh attention to the presence. The repetition further adds to the meditative yet troubling atmosphere. 

History is frequently rewritten, forgotten, or ignored; McQueen challenges viewers to not look away. Then, the sun appears on the screen. “Don’t look at the sun” is one of the first lessons parents teach children. As the sun’s surface broils and smolders, Steve McQueen chants, “Shine on me, Sunshine State.” This is the first time McQueen has used his voice in his art. By fighting the urge to look away, viewers are present. Therefore, the vulnerability and horror become profoundly moving. 

“Don’t look at the sun” may be one of the first sight-related lessons we learn, but it is far from the last. From a young age, we learn to see the social constructions that make up society, such as gender and race. The construction of race is confronted in Sunshine State by juxtaposing minstrelsy with his father’s story. The Jazz Singer won an Academy Award.1 By challenging the viewer to look, it illuminates the contrast between construction and reality. 

At Dia Chelsea, one will also find the photo display, Bounty. Flowers from Granada, where McQueen’s parents were born, are the subject matter. In contrast to Sunshine State, people are universally encouraged to look at flowers. Like Sunshine State, Bounty inspires meditation. Though we see flowers every day, how often do we stop to consider them? The appealing imperfection of the flowers invites reflection.

Chapter endings are a time of reflection. They also make one uniquely aware of the present. McQueen’s installations also do just that. Like the ending of a chapter, one may emerge from this exhibition differently than when they entered. 

I highly recommend visiting his installations at Dia Chelsea. McQueen also has installations at Dia Beacon, which I look forward to visiting soon. To find out more information, please visit the website here: https://www.diaart.org/exhibition/exhibitions-projects/steve-mcqueen-exhibition-341. 

  1. For award and film information, see: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018037/awards/  ↩︎

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Fashion Research Forum/FRF

Fashioning Utopia

Posted on by Sarah Porterfield

Do you know that feeling when you get home from a long day at work and change into comfortable clothes, that feeling of your whole body sighing with relief? Or, when you get dressed up to go somewhere, and the clothes you put on your body make you feel powerful, confident, and special? Fashion and identities are profoundly connected. Our clothing not only shapes our thoughts and emotions but also conveys who we are to the outside world. We articulate our values and beliefs through what we wear. Throughout history, there have been efforts to influence people’s thoughts and behaviors through fashion. For example, after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Constructivists (avant-garde artists who believed in creating societal change through art) tried to use fashion design as a tool for developing a utopian society.

One of the most influential artists during this time was Alexandra Exter, a Ukrainian Cubo-Futurist avant-garde artist. While her art didn’t deal as directly with utopia and revolution as the Constructivists, she also designed fashion for the future and incorporated some of the same motifs. Her work spanned many mediums. She painted, did calligraphy, and designed costumes, theater sets, and fashion. A pivotal achievement in her career was her costume design for the first Soviet sci-fi film, Aelita: Queen of Mars. The film was a smashing success, with Exter’s costumes significantly contributing to its widespread appeal. 

Alexandra Exter’s paintings displayed at the Ukrainian Museum
These are costumes worn in Aelita: Queen of Mars

Exter frequently pushed the boundaries of her art, relishing the opportunity to experiment. The costumes she designed for Aelita distinguished themselves due to her use of unconventional materials that had not been incorporated into costume design before (Doroshenko). Exter gave the Martians a more gender-neutral appearance than was common in Soviet society; the Martian men wear decorative dresses, and the queen displays a unibrow. The Constructivists’ utopian vision also included increased gender-neutrality. They believed that achieving this utopia necessitated the use of perfectly straight lines and geometric shapes. Exter did not share these beliefs. Fashion scholar Dr. Djurdja Bartlett explains the Constructivists’ reasoning, “The fact that the grid does not imitate the existing world and that it is instead the outcome of an aesthetic decree allows for its messianic role in the arts and society” (272). Though Exter did not exclusively use straight lines and geometric shapes when designing the Martians’ clothing, they do feature prominently. However, the use of straight lines, gender-neutrality, and geometric forms does not lead the Martians to experience utopia. 

The Martians in the film symbolize the Russian monarchy, which the revolution overthrew. By incorporating common Constructivist motifs, Exter proves their ability to evoke a sense of otherworldliness. However, she also shows that the designs fall short of inspiring societal betterment and a utopia. Although the Constructivists would never design anything like the Martians wore because they “fiercely rejected any form of decoration” (Bartlett 271), Exter’s successful use of Constructivist elements for the Martians’ monarchy illuminates the failure of the Constructivists to connect aesthetics with moral identity. 

The Constructivists’ experiment with fashion failed. Bartlett says, “The Soviet designers did not invent a new dress and eventually abandoned their utopian dream altogether” (276). Although the Constructivists did not invent a new dress, Exter did. Their experiment shows that if fashion can create a utopia, it must connect to people’s moral identity, in addition to transforming how they see and communicate with the world. 

The Ukrainian Museum has an excellent exhibit on Alexandra Exter, open now through 19 January 2025, if you want to learn more about this accomplished and fearless artist.  

Aelita was produced by the production company Mezrabpon-Rus, owned by Farncesco Misiano, an Italian who found a home in Soviet Russia after fleeing Fascist Italy. The book Francesco Misiano Cinema and Revolution. Literary Works and Celluloid Adventures, edited by Eugenio Attanasio (Trans. Demetrio Iannone), documents his harrowing life story and the impact he had on the world with his films. If you get the book, be sure to check out the essay by Professor Eugenia Paulicelli, “The Art and Craft of Costume Design: Alexandra Exter’s Work for Aelita: Queens of Mars.” You can also find Professor Paulicelli and Demetrio Iannone discussing this and similar topics on CUNY TV. 

 http://CUNY TV Presents: Films – CUNY TV

For more information and to keep in touch, follow our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefabricofcultures/p/DCIHxM_h1Qp/?img_index=1

Finally, if you are interested in watching Aelita, you can find the entire film on YouTube: 

Bibliography 

Bartlett, Djurdja. “The Socialist Sartorial Utopia: Then and Now.” The Brown Journal of World Affairs, vol. 23, no. 2, 2017, pp. 269–85. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27119070. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.  

Doroshenko, Peter. “The Stage is a World.” Tour. 6 November 2024. The Ukranian Museum. New York, New York. 

Paulicelli, Eugenia. “The Art and Craft of Costume Design: Alexandra Exter’s Work for Aelita: Queens of Mars.” Francesco Misiano Cinema and Revolution. Literary Works and Celluloid Adventures, edited by Eugenio Attanasio, translated by Demetrio Iannone. 

Fashion Research Forum/FRF

Costumes and Embodiment with Zombie Marilyn Monroe

Posted on by Sarah Porterfield

Halloween is the time of year when we celebrate dreams. However, nightmares take the spotlight. It is a fashion celebration! To honor this special day, I contacted someone with fashion and costume expertise: Marilyn Monroe from the popular Thriller Float in the NYC Village Halloween Parade. If you’re in New York City or see pictures of the Village Halloween Parade, the thriller float will stand out to you. It is a group of approximately 1401 gory and undead individuals, many of them icons, dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller as they move down blocked-off 6th Avenue. Marilyn Monroe is near the front, on the left side if they’re facing you on your phone screen. She’s behind Snow White and little orphan Annie. Not only is this Marilyn an undead Thriller dancer, but she also recently graduated from the MALS Fashion Studies program and is a current doctoral student in the Theater and Performance program at The Graduate Center. On days other than October 31st, she is known as Pune Dracker.

I reached out to Pune a few days before Halloween to discuss costumes. She has researched and written about the subject. My first questions were general. I asked Pune what interests her about costumes and to tell me about her favorite one. Pune told me:

Some of my favorite research involves exploring iconic celebrity looks through the lens of fashion as a situated body practice. How might Marilyn Monroe have felt wearing that white halter dress known for being lifted up by a breeze as she stood atop a subway grate in The Seven Year Itch—the dress that its designer, William Travilla, described as “cool and clean, in a dirty, dirty city?” Her performance of sensual pleasure in wearing this garment is genius. This particular look is also a popular Halloween costume, instantly recognizable without a lot of detail or use of props. When I performed as Marilyn in last year’s Thriller float in the Village Halloween Parade, I took the role very seriously. Even though I was covered in gore and dripping fake blood from my mouth and ears, I had to step it up to be Marilyn. I will represent again this year. 

Here are examples of the versatility of the Marilyn costume (courtesy of Pune). Cindy Crawford, Vanessa Williams, and Elle Fanning are pictured wearing it. Not only were William Travilla’s costume choice and Marilyn’s performance brilliant, but the fact that it has been worn so often since adds another layer to their brilliance and the meaning of this scene.

Pune’s question about how Marilyn might have felt reveals the global curiosity celebrated during Halloween. During this time when we can be anyone, we inevitably gain insights into what another felt in their clothes and, therefore, their identity.

My final question was, “What is the main subject of your costume research?” Pune answered:

My current work looks at what I think is an emerging trend. While scholars have considered how children’s Halloween costumes reinforce gendered stereotypes and the patriarchy (i.e. police and cowboy costumes for boys, cheerleaders and princesses for girls), there’s something on the horizon worthy of a closer look: unisex and queer Halloween costumes. A brief scan of the market reveals major online retailers like Walmart, Old Navy and Halloween.com have robust sections labeled “Unisex Halloween Costumes,” and an online search brings up articles with titles like “17 spooktacular queer costume ideas” and “120 Best Gender-Neutral Halloween ideas.” It’s true that some of the most popular Halloween costumes of all time—ghosts, clowns, vampires, pumpkin-headed people—are inherently, or pretty close to being, gender-neutral; the context is very different today. I’ll report back on what I discover.

Pune made this. It went along with a proposal for a unisex Halloween costume.

Clothes are an essential part of how we signal belonging. On Halloween, no matter what one wears (within reason), they belong and learn where and how their assumed identity belongs. It is important for children to participate in this experience of learning. It is a day of exploring all the possibilities, not discouraging possibilities.

I wish you many opportunities to dress up in costumes between now and next Halloween!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DB134xIBVMb/?igsh=MW42cm5zeGxpaDVzZQ==

  1. The ‘Thriller’ dancers are a staple at the NYC Halloween Parade. Here’s how they prepare. – Gothamist ↩︎

Fashion Research Forum/FRF

Revolutionary Beauty

Posted on by Sarah Porterfield

On Beauty and Being Just by Elain Scarry is a meditation on the meaning and usefulness of beauty for everyone. I use her definitions of beauty, as well as my own exploration of the subject from my previous article, “The Absence of Beauty,” as a foundation for the following article. From this understanding of beauty emerges a path to revolution. 

Elaine Scarry writes, “Beauty is the starting place for education” (31). So, I invite you to take a deep breath. If you, like me, are a lifelong learner who feels stressed with all of the demands of life, let us return our focus to beauty so that we can approach our learning journey and all that lies ahead of us refreshed. Picture yourself surrounded by the most beautiful scenery; perhaps it is the scenery that first inspired your education. Allow yourself a moment to focus on what is beautiful. 

I notice that I slow as I think of beauty. My breathing, thoughts, and writing slow. They become more deliberate. Small movements are sufficient. It disrupts the fast pace of life. Scarry describes beauty as energizing, and through peace comes renewed energy. As one concentrates on beauty, the unnecessary noise fades. Here we arrive, ready to begin again and continue education, discovery, creativity. 

With beauty in mind, I approach the study of fashion. In contrast to fast fashion, accumulation, and keeping up with ever-changing trends, beauty aligns with slow fashion. Brands such as Wenjüe Lu seek to reshape the industry. Their mission is “to restore a sense of ‘slowness’ to the ever-accelerating world.” Therefore, they treat every piece they produce as an individual work of art. 

Traditions of embroidering, quilting, and other sewing practices are passed down through generations, creating a slow art form that spans centuries. Stories are told again and again through these art forms. The seamstress communicates with ancestors and future generations, adding their own unique touch to what has come before and what will go beyond.

As beauty leads us to education, beauty further leads us to revolution. bell hooks said, “I celebrate teaching that enables transgressions- a movement against and beyond boundaries. It is that movement which makes education the practice of freedom” (“Teaching” 10). If our education does not break boundaries, it’s not free. Beauty forces us to confront the not-beautiful. 

The not-beauty of the fashion industry comes from its role in neocolonialism. Not only is the Global South exploited for labor in the production of clothes, but it is also used as the dumping ground for textile waste. In Waiting for God, Simone Weil writes, “The love of the beauty of the world . . . involves . . . the love of all the truly precious things that bad fortune can destroy” (180). A love of beauty leads us to protect the planet and revolt against injustices. 

Beauty leads us to protect life because, in all life, there is beauty. Therefore, observing true beauty reveals the falsity of the beauty standard, which does not support life. Instead, it supports the “imperialist, white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy” to borrow bell hooks’ term for the “interlocking systems” of oppression. 

A focus on beauty is revolutionary. It is a revolutionary act to appreciate beauty, to celebrate the beauty of others, which, in fact, is constantly astounding. It is revolutionary to appreciate bodies and clothes. Those that fall outside the approval of the imperialist, white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchy are especially worthy of celebration. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBuhCVdOy90/?igsh=czBmYXg5OTN5OWk4

Bibliography 

hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Routledge, 1994. 

—. Writing Beyond Race. Routledge, 2012. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203108499. 

Scarry, Elaine. On Beauty and Being Just. Princeton University Press, 1999. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400847358. 

Weil, Simone. Waiting for God. Translated by Emma Craufurd, First Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition. HarperPerennial ModernClassics, 2009.  

“Wenjüe Lu.” Wenjüe Lu, https://wenjuelu.com/pages/about. Accessed 27 Oct. 2024. 

Fashion Research Forum/FRF

Honoring the Everyday 

Posted on by Sarah Porterfield

“Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore” is an exhibit at the New York Historical Society, open through June 22nd. Real Clothes, Real Lives is also the title of a book by Kiki Smith and the Smith College Historical Clothing Collection, released last year. The book and the exhibit demonstrate the value and meaning found in everyday clothing.

In museums, one expects ephemera from the who’s who; however, this exhibit allows viewers to stop and appreciate ordinary lives from the not-too-distant past. It expands common assumptions of what and who is history-making. As the viewer stands in front of a McDonald’s uniform designed for a pregnant woman or a depression-era housedress, in clothes they may later wear to work or around the house; this exhibit takes on a personal meaning. It raises our clothes, which perhaps we only put a passing thought into, to the position of historical artifact. The relatability creates a sense of appreciation for the clothes all women wear as we go about humble, mundane tasks.  

Looking at these clothes leads one to consider women’s bodies and embodiment. Some dresses contain extra fabric, so women could alter them as their bodies changed, whether due to pregnancy or general fluctuations. One imagines what these clothes felt like to wear, their weight, and the texture against their skin. How did the fabric feel when wet from washing dishes or cleaning floors? As they wore these clothes, they embodied society’s construction of womanhood. As we stand in our clothes, in front of their clothes, embodying society’s beliefs, we become aware of how our clothes feel, too. 

The curators of this exhibit are Anna Danzinger Halperin, Associate Director of the Center for Women’s History at New York Historical; Keren Ben-Horin, a fashion historian and curatorial scholar at the Center for Women’s History; and Rebecca Shea and Kiki Smith of Smith College. They designed the exhibit to seamlessly flow through five themes: housework, service work, social, rites of passage, and gender boundaries. Thirty pieces comprise the five themes, reinforcing the nature of everyday clothes as something one can look at quickly yet contains a wealth of meaning and significance. 

Fashion Research Forum/FRF

The Absence of Beauty: Class Project 1

Posted on by Sarah Porterfield / 0 Comment

There is a certain beauty that I miss, a beauty that has called to me since early this year. This has been a reflective year for many reasons: death, anniversaries, marriage. The more I think about this haunting beauty, the more I yearn for it. It’s there in my memories. 

Growing up in the Midwest, I always dreamed of leaving. However, this year, I found myself missing home. For me, home is more of an idea than a place. It’s not somewhere I can return, even if I return to the Midwest. My family moved around a lot. Now, spread thin across distance, and distant in our communication, we are many instead of a singular family. Homes, instead of a home. In the absence, I occupy myself with my palimpsest of memories, an internal video I never finish editing. I observe how beautiful the hard years were. Hardship made them beautiful. 

Before I go any further, I must define the beauty that has captivated me- the beauty that I now believe to be supreme. I call it “Baseline Beauty.” You find it in your lowest moments. When you try to imagine the absence of beauty, it is the beauty that persists. When everything hurts, it is the one tiny thing that hurts a little less, and that small relief feels like salvation, if only for a moment. The light of this beauty is so much brighter in contrast. It’s hard to fly away from the light. When you do leave- when you fly far away into the day, you think of how gorgeous that light in the darkness was, even though everything around you is so well-lit. It makes you appreciate the shadows. Baseline beauty is inextricably linked to life. It shows that as long as there is life, there is beauty, as though baseline beauty is of the same force as life. It teaches you to recognize life, truth. 

A project for The Archaeology of Media: Film, Fashion, Montage course led by Professors Eugenia Paulicelli and Ulrich Lehmann gave me the opportunity to dwell on these thoughts. It is a creative project- the prompt is to create a film or design concept. I am working on composing a film of pictures- pictures that remind me of difficult times and the baseline beauty that I encountered there. Some pictures are a small part of a larger image- brutal scenes, and I took out the piece where I thought baseline beauty might hide. Other images are whole and ok, but one can rarely see the brutality of a moment by just looking at it. In these images, I imagine great disturbance and, therefore, a great, glowing baseline beauty. 

This beauty is counter-culture to fast fashion, consumerism, and often luxury brands because the beauty speaks to an individual, not the masses. It comes with stories. It challenges cultural definitions of beautiful and ugly. While Gen Z fashion often embraces the beauty of the ugly, as do some designer labels, once something becomes trendy and capitalist systems consume it, baseline beauty is no longer a part of it because the light of baseline beauty cannot be controlled, forced, or bought. It is wild. It is the beauty found in truth. Especially when the truth is ugly. 

Baseline beauty is found in what society defines as flaws. Today, we are surrounded by surgically perfected beauty and technologically perfected images everywhere we look. This abundance of beauty can disguise baseline beauty. However, appreciating baseline beauty nourishes one’s soul. It reminds one to embrace the parts of themself society calls ugly because humanity is not supposed to be perfect. It is the beauty of old and worn-out clothes, the ones that are out of style, stained, filled with history and memories. I encourage you to stand in awe of the presence of the absence of beauty. 

I still have a week to work on this project. I welcome any feedback and all discussions. Thank you for reading! 

Check out the montage!

Fashion Research Forum/FRF

A Visit to Parsons Textiles Studio with Professor Gopinath 

Posted on by Sarah Porterfield

As New York prepared to kick off fashion week, students in Archaeology of Media: Film, Fashion, Montage, a combined Graduate Center and Parsons course, visited Parsons’ Textiles Studio. Professor Preethi Gopinath guided our class through the open studio, which has a comfortable atmosphere with natural light and tables covered in colorful projects. “September is Textile Month in New York,” she informed us. Our visit came at an ideal time.

At one end of the studio, students busily worked on projects. “They are working on masks to introduce themselves,” Professor Gopinath explained. “The fabric, not the student, will do the talking.” As our class looked over the shoulders of concentrating students, we understood what she meant. Through the shaping and combining of materials, stories emerged.

The further we went inside the spacious studio, the more we understood that textiles can tell us not only a singular human’s story but also the story of humanity. “Textiles are a throughline of humanity,” Prof Gopinath told us. She explained that by examining thread and understanding how it was made, one gains significant insight into a culture, technology, and beliefs. For example, questions such as: What materials did they use? Where were they sourced? What colors and how did they dye it? And what was the scale? Tell us stories spanning the history of humanity. Furthermore, as the fashion industry becomes less and less sustainable, these stories and traditions are at risk of disappearance. That is one of many reasons why Textile Month is so important- to remember, celebrate, and reconnect.

Professor Gopinath guided us to a section of the room filled with looms. Some were small, others massive. Here, she gave a weaving demonstration peppered with history lessons and anecdotes from recent students. She described weaving as meditative. “Listen to the fabric and respond in the moment,” she repeated advice given to her students. “This is not about perfection,” was another piece of advice she told her students and reminded us. “Perfection is boring and leaves no room for learning.” We’re at school to learn after all.  

Learning about thread can impact one’s life and society. We toured the studio, and then Prof Gopinath gave us a presentation on the moving textiles her students produced. Afterward, our class reconvened in a Parsons classroom to discuss. Professors Eugenia Paulicelli and Ulrich Lehmann observed a spirituality connected to weaving. A thread tells the story of generations and centuries; it connects to protect and attaches us to our heritage and one another. Adjacent to this spirituality is Professor Gopinath’s motivation for teaching. She worked in the fashion industry for a long time, she told us. She witnessed the waste and came to Parsons to make a difference. Her goal is to teach students to think of textiles in a fresh way. She encourages students to connect to their heritage, and she teaches sustainability. This education will impact the fashion industry or wherever students may go after leaving the classroom.

Professor Gopinath left the class with the message: “If you think sustainability, you will make an impact.” It is easy to get caught up in the largeness of what we need to do to prevent climate change and save the planet. But it begins simply, with thread, with a thought. To begin thinking about textiles and the planet in a fresh and sustainable way, join in the celebration of Textile Month. There are many exhibits and events which are open to the public, such as Threads of Connection: Textile Dialogues in a Changing World — New York Textile Month Additionally, a calendar of all events can be found at New York Textile Month. As New York celebrates fashion this week and month, let’s not just appreciate appearances; let’s think about textiles differently.