2nd International
Non-Western Fashion Conference
Constructing National Identity
Through Fashion
London College of Fashion, UK
21-22 November 2013
CALL FOR PAPERS
In today’s rapidly globalizing world, dichotomies like ‘traditional’ versus ‘fashionable,’
‘tradition’ versus ‘modernity’ and ‘non-West’ versus ‘West’ can no longer be justified
and fortunately a new generation of fashion scholars is acknowledging the existence
of different (non Euro-American) fashion systems. They realize there is a growing
urgency for fashion theory to rectify its ethno- and Eurocentric approach and no
longer assume that non-Western dress is (automatically) outside the realm of fashion
dynamics. Fashion designers from Asia, The Middle East, Latin America and Africa
are increasingly influencing global fashion dynamics, but surprisingly still little is
known on the effects these developments will have on fashion as we know it today.
Therefore the aims of this annual conference, which is part of a larger international
interdisciplinary cross-regional research project set up in 2012, is to establish a
broad network of scholars focusing on non-Western fashion systems (without
explicitly excluding research on Western fashion systems), to stimulate international
cross-regional comparative research and to mobilise scholars across disciplines to
engage in primary and archival fieldwork on (emerging) non-Western fashion
centres. The project aims to meet a new intellectual and public interest in more local
models of fashion production and consumption.
This second edition of the Non-Western Fashion Conference will focus on the
construction of national identity in fashion and the roles of so-called ‘tradition’ and
‘modernity’ in this process. Fashion designers are increasingly branding their national
heritage/tradition as a successful marketing tool, while simultaneously
reinventing/modernizing it. On the one hand, in a globalizing world, it allows them to
differentiate themselves on a highly competitive international fashion market, while
on the other hand, on a national level, it seems to make them successful as a result
of a general revaluation of national culture as a counter reaction to increasing foreign
cultural influences. However, when non-Western designers use their cultural heritage
as a source of inspiration, it is considered ‘traditional identity’ whereas when Western
fashion designers brand their cultural heritage, it is considered ‘fashion identity.’
This conference not only wishes to be interdisciplinary but also cross-regional,
assembling researchers who are engaged in creative and critical rethinking of (nonWestern) fashion systems in a wide scope of geographical areas in ways that may
include, but certainly are not limited to the ideas above. Please note that all papers
will be presented in English and no translation will be available.
Keynote speakers for this edition are:
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Jennifer Craik (RMIT University, Melbourne)
Yuniya Kawamura (Fashion Institute of Technology, New York)
Leslie Rabine (University of California)
Emma Tarlo (Goldsmiths, University of London)
Sarah Cheang (Royal College of Art, London)
Reina Lewis (London College of Fashion)
300 word abstracts are due by the 30th of June 2013. Emails containing the
abstracts should be submitted to m.jansen@fashion.arts.ac.uk and entitled: NONWESTERN FASHION ABSTRACT SUBMISSION. Please include the author’s name,
affiliation, email address and the title of the abstract. Please send PDF, Word or RTF
formats, using plain text (Times Roman 12) and abstain from using footnotes and
any special formatting, characters or emphasis. Receipt of the email will be
acknowledged within one week. If you do not receive a reply, please assume that it
was not received and send it again. A selection of the papers will be invited to feature
in a hardcopy edited volume following the conference.