Fashion & Politics
Fashion is inherently political. Throughout history, it has functioned as an expression of nationalism, activism, religion, and ideologies.
May 2021 10
Apr 2021 26
Decolonizing Fashion
The fashion industry was — and still is — built on a colonial model of extraction and exploitation, often at the expense of the environment and human rights.
Apr 2021 21
Sarape
The sarape (or zarape) is an overgarment worn traditionally by men in rural areas throughout Mexico.
Apr 2021 12
Latin American Fashion Exhibitions
Both fashion exhibitions and Latin American fashion have received increasing attention around the globe in recent decades.
Mar 2021 29
Contemporary Latin American Fashion
The word “fashion” is often thought of as a “misnomer” in Latin America. Paradoxically, Latin American fashion has become more and more desirable around the world.
Mar 2021 1
Representing Race in Colonial Latin America
Constructs of race are the result of colonial enterprises and thought. Since the Spanish and Portuguese invasion of what we now call ‘Latin America,’ class, social economy, and cultural habits became important factors to categorize social groups into different ‘races.’
Feb 2021 15
Contemporary Native Fashion
Native American design is an important force in contemporary fashion. Traditional Native American art forms have been subject of inspiration and, at times, plagiarism and cultural appropriation for mainstream fashion.
Feb 2021 1
Fashion in China Through the Centuries
China has developed a unique fashion system since at least a millennium. In Tang dynasty China (618–907), for example, changes in dress and shifts in the perceptions of dress reveal the emergence of a fashion system.
Jan 2021 18
Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Dress
Dress was a marker of identity to the peoples of Mesoamerica before the Spanish invasion. To the Aztecs, the wearing of appropriate clothing was strictly controlled by both custom and law.
Jan 2021 14
Huipil
The huipil is a blouse-like garment worn by women in Mesoamerica since at least 2,000 years ago. The name huipil derives from the Nahuatl word “huipilli,” used by the Aztecs to denote this garment.
