Cultural Democracy: Transmedia Examples of Fashion Freedom
“The best art is born from democracy” - Jonathan Jones, The Guardian
Art in Society
Module 2: Essay
October 25, 2011
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Cultural democracy provides individuals with the opportunity to express themselves in various creative ways. Fashion provides a unique aesthetic outlet for one to convey their personality and identity. The way we dress often organically fits us into groups or cliques that helps further develop our values, lifestyle, and cultural position within society. In this essay, cultural democracy is demonstrated in the form of fashion through various transmedia examples: Shunsuke, Tencent QQ, television’s influence, magazines, fashion blogs, store catalogs, small businesses, window displays, and children’s play.
The freedom to dress as one chooses is in accordance with Bill Ivey’s view on Art and Diplomacy included in his Cultural Bill of Rights. Ivey believes in, “The right of
Americans to an external representation of our nation’s expressive life that accurately conveys the complexity and diversity of America’s human and material artistic resources to citizens of the world” (Ivey, 2008). Gothic, hippie, athletic, preppy, and hipster are some of the mainstream categories that society has developed to represent common personal style choices. However, like with many things, it is difficult for many people to fully identity with a single label or group and, under cultural freedom, one does not have to.
Cultural freedom, in terms of fashion choices, is not a liberty that is enjoyed universally. In such places as the Middle East, women are expected to cover their bodies with burqas in order to maintain their modesty. In the memoir, Reading Lolita in Tehran ,
Iranian author and professor, Azar Nafisi, describes how her refusal to wear a veil resulted in her expulsion from her university (Nafisi, 2004). However, there are also many more interesting international examples of fashion freedom.
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Shunsuke , for example, is a very famous Pomeranian dog in Japan. In 2010, after his owner uploaded his picture to Twitter, the dog became very famous for his cute costumes. Shunsuke’s owner dresses him in a variety of outfits for different occasions.
More evidence of international expression through fashion can be seen in Tencent
QQ - the most popular free instant messaging computer program in China. QQ allows users to create their own virtual images and designs, which are then displayed on one’s dialog windows. Users can choose different clothes, accessories, hairstyles and facial features and expressions for these characters. This kind of creative play that combines graphic design and virtual fashion is an interesting way for individuals to express themselves freely online.
In the United States, television and movies are two of the most prominent ways fashion influences culture. From the early days of Hollywood, actors and actresses have inspired audiences to walk, talk, act and dress like the characters they play. In replicating the style of a character, a person can identify with the culture being represented on screen. The AMC television show, Mad Men, has inspired a resurgence of 1960s culture, providing a platform for such designers as Kate Spade and Marc Jacobs. The show has also been the inspiration for a new line of clothing by the mainstream retailer, Banana
Republic, titled The Mad Men Collection.
When being influenced by movies or television, a person may be unknowingly inspired by fashion. However, when someone purchases a fashion magazine, they are looking to be told what to wear. Fashion magazines act as a how-to guide for someone looking to dress a certain way and belong to a particular art world. In addition to print form, magazines also have a web presence. Women’s fashion magazine, Glamour, posts a
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new article every Sunday discussing what every woman should be wearing on Monday.
GQ Magazine similarly tells men what they should wear for any given occasion.
Different from television or magazines, blogs allow for many influential voices versus the prominent institutional few. A blogger can represent a unique niche market, allowing an individual to identify with more than just one art world or perhaps create a new art world. Rather than telling someone what is currently fashionable, as in fashion magazines and catalogs, blogs act as a platform for sharing ideas on fashion, style and identity. For example, Jessica Quirk’s blog entitled, What I Wore , archives her daily outfits and the inspiration behind each piece. A reader can simply browse through the pictures and the explanation without any pressure to relate.
Fashion catalogs are one of the primary ways companies advertise their products to customers. Catalogs, which come in both print and electronic format, aim to entice individuals to identify with a brand’s image. Companies recognize our individual power to purchase clothing that is appealing. Companies promote current and up-and-coming fashion; pushing the public to stay ahead of evolving trends. For example, Neiman
Marcus’ current online catalog features products for Christmas while many of us have not yet considered the holiday season.
The freedoms we enjoy in the realm of fashion allow individuals passionate about the topic to pursue it as a profession. Wai-Ching , a Seattle based clothing line, grew out of the designer’s interest in hand-dyeing silks to create unique clothing. Also, the Wai-
Ching clothing line reflects the designer’s heritage. Primarily of Chinese and Puerto-
Rican dissent, Wai-Ching’s pieces reflect these cultures. For example, the line offers a variety of colorful kimonos. Our cultural expressions of self, illustrated through the
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creation of fashion, can grow into a creative business endeavor that allows us to sell our art to others.
The abundance of fashion in our society is evident by the large visibility it has in our society. Fashion has the power to affect our daily lives even if we are not voluntarily choosing to engage in this art world. Through the medium of window displays, individuals encounter fashion even when they are not actively seeking it out. Businesses strategically feature artistic displays of products in order to capture the attention of those passing by their storefronts. The clothing store, Anthropologie , is a clear example of a business that builds bright, eye-catching window displays that turn heads.
Children are not excluded from the cultural freedom of the fashion world. At a young age, many children play in ways that incorporate clothing and dress. Playing
“dress up,” for example, is an activity that allows both boys and girls to develop their imaginations through fashion. This type of role-play allows children to explore different identities and start to shape their own personality and perspective of the world.
Another way in which children are exposed to the fashion world is through early play with dolls. Picking clothing out for one’s dolls and changing their outfits, serves as another way children are integrated into the fashion world at a young age.
Despite many children and adults enjoying immense cultural freedom in the realm of fashion, curation of this art world occurs for various reasons. As Harold Becker states in his work Art Worlds, “One state may forbid art works which show radical mixture, while another encourages or even demands them” (Becker, 2008). Applying this notion to the previously discussed transmedia examples of fashion, it is clear that levels of curation take place for different reasons.
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The majority of curation is seen from a business stance; fashion displayed on TV shows, monthly magazine publications, catalog layouts, and window displays, are examples of strategically created materials and experiences which aim to capitalize on customers’ buying habits and purchasing power. Meanwhile, a degree of curation takes place in our personal choices of fashion and style. When we get dressed in the morning, we curate or control the way we present ourselves to the world. This form of curation is driven more by social cues and personal objectives versus the drive for financial gain.
In sum, even within an art world that is considered culturally free, curation, editing, and censorship still exists. As future arts administrators, it is important to be conscious of the ways in which we curate, understanding the full effect that our managerial actions have on the art forms we are working with. It is crucial that we apply our skills in a way that preserves and enhances the cultural freedoms of the arts, rather than stifle them.
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Works Cited:
Becker, H. (2008). Art and the state. Art worlds.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
Ivey, B. A cultural bill of rights. Adapted Ivey, B. (2008). Arts, inc: How greed and neglect have destroyed our cultural rights. University of California.
Nafisi, A. (2004). Reading lolita in tehran. New York: Random House, Inc.
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