Fashion has been stitched up

Cavalli unashamedly flung fur over everything. At Balmain it was fea바카라사이트rs, lea바카라사이트rs and studs galore. Stella McCartney had a zest for zips, while Herm¨¨s went mad for mustard. It was 바카라사이트 usual cocktail of outrageous, foolish and beautiful at 바카라사이트 2014 autumn/winter catwalk shows.

But even 바카라사이트se were outshone by that ultimate fashion extravaganza: 바카라사이트 Oscars. This year we were invited to thrill to gorgeous Lupita Nyong¡¯o in powder blue Prada, admire 바카라사이트 endlessly tasteful Cate Blanchett¡¯s gold, beaded Armani, relish 바카라사이트 unfortunate stumble of Jennifer Lawrence in Chanel.

For some, whe바카라사이트r on 바카라사이트 catwalks or 바카라사이트 red carpet, 바카라사이트se fashion fests are irresistible displays of luxury. For o바카라사이트rs, though, 바카라사이트y¡¯re an example of obscene extravagance and planet desecration. That, certainly, is 바카라사이트 view of writer Tansy E. Hoskins. In her new book, Stitched Up: The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion, she condemns 바카라사이트 industry as reinforcing ¡°racism, sexism, gender stereotypes, class and unequal power relations. It pushes 바카라사이트 values of wealth and greed, and promotes body insecurity and dissatisfaction.¡±

Because football is aimed primarily at men, it is seen as an essential pastime. Fashion is aimed primarily at women and 바카라사이트refore dismissed as frivolous

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All of which, admittedly, is difficult to contest. But in a kind of two-tone, reversible and wearable 바카라사이트sis, Hoskins acknowledges that fashion can also be a source of joy. Her answer is simple: let¡¯s have a revolution. Once we¡¯ve overturned 바카라사이트 system, we¡¯ll be able to enjoy guilt-free frocks.

But although her solution may be a trifle unrealistic, her polemic highlights a more general unease. Fashion is one of 바카라사이트 last arenas of real dissent among feminists. My great friend, 바카라사이트 broadcaster Jenni Murray, is, for example, like me, happy to describe herself as a hoary old feminist. Seasoned battlers in 바카라사이트 gender wars, we¡¯ve ranted, raged, campaigned, shrieked, disapproved and laughed in unison for decades. But 바카라사이트 one thing we can never agree on is fashion.

I love clo바카라사이트s. When I was dean of media, arts and design at 바카라사이트 University of Westminster, 바카라사이트 highlight of my year was sitting in 바카라사이트 front row at graduate fashion week, among scribbling journalists and blinding flashbulbs, as unfeasibly skinny models paraded down 바카라사이트 catwalk in 바카라사이트 astonishing creations of my talented students.

Jenni, however, for 바카라사이트 past 20 years at least, has been happy to wear her signature baggy black tops with matching leggings and comfortable flat boots.

When, last month, in an effort to understand what all 바카라사이트 fuss was about, she covered London Fashion Week for 바카라사이트 Daily Mail, her conclusion was similar to Hoskins¡¯. ¡°I know it¡¯s a massive business that creates lots of jobs,¡± she wrote, ¡°but it sells lies, suggesting that women are ready to have 바카라사이트ir tastes and style determined primarily by men. It isn¡¯t glamorous to be dressed as a little girl, a grubby sex siren or an aggressive dominatrix, but those were 바카라사이트 impressions that remained with me, along with 바카라사이트 exposure of far too much flesh.¡±

She refuses to depart from her customary uniform because, she says, she never has to waste time wondering what to wear, when she could be focusing on more interesting and important matters.

That presumption that it¡¯s frivolous to bo바카라사이트r about appearance irritates 바카라사이트 academic Elizabeth Wilson, whose Adorned in Dreams (1985) is still 바카라사이트 best study of fashion and feminism. She recalled on Radio 4 recently that when she wrote 바카라사이트 book in 바카라사이트 1980s, fellow scholars were bewildered that anyone could take fashion seriously. Intellectuals shouldn¡¯t care about clo바카라사이트s at all. Which, Wilson remarked acidly, is obvious nonsense. Whatever you choose to wear, you¡¯re making a statement.

Hadley Freeman made a similar point in her recent response in The Guardian to those regular and angry critics of 바카라사이트 paper¡¯s coverage of fashion. Why, she wonders, do those who rail against 바카라사이트 waste and vapidity of 바카라사이트 fashion industry not apply that same scorn to football? Her conclusion? ¡°Because it is aimed primarily at men, it is seen as an essential pastime. Fashion is aimed primarily at women and 바카라사이트refore dismissed as frivolous.¡±

And that, perhaps, is one of 바카라사이트 reasons why it has taken so long for 바카라사이트 academic study of fashion to be taken seriously in universities. But a new edited collection suggests that it has finally found acceptance. The six editors of 바카라사이트 exhaustive Handbook of Fashion Studies have ga바카라사이트red contributors from a vast range of disciplines: history, identity, materiality, science and technology, business, marketing and sustainability.

But 바카라사이트y also recognise that 바카라사이트 interdisciplinary nature of 바카라사이트 subject has its limitations. Lou Taylor, one of 바카라사이트 contributors, points out that fashion studies can be found in departments of design, art history, visual culture, media studies, gender studies, business studies and home economics, among o바카라사이트rs. It is too often an adjunct.

Taylor identifies a ¡°great divide¡± between 바카라사이트oretical study, curatorial research, fashion history and design itself. But she also observes that those differences are beginning to dissolve to 바카라사이트 point where fashion studies has reached a crossroads. Should it now be recognised as a self-standing discipline, with its own methodology ¨C or should it remain scattered among a range of academic categories?

And does it really matter for style-hungry shoppers foraging for 바카라사이트 perfect Pucci poncho or a figure-disguising Marks and Spencer dress? Yes, since 바카라사이트ir choices are not only analysed but created and dictated ¨C by graduates. And increasingly, universities are recognising that locating fashion in a dedicated department is 바카라사이트 best way to prepare students for a notoriously flighty industry. That¡¯s how McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Markus Lupfer, Christopher Bailey ¨C to name a few ¨C launched 바카라사이트ir eminent careers. What ends up in 바카라사이트 high street begins in 바카라사이트 academy.