The postmodern fashion landscape leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Some take postmodernism as post-practical, adorning small-and-stiff one-wear couture. Others take the opposite, comfort-first approach, abandoning antiquated figure-contorting attire and opting for shapeless shifts or elastic waists and stretch material. I don't care for either extreme. What I would like to see in post modern fashion is a true sense of reality and an encouragement of individual style as the norm. An ideal postmodern fashion world would take this cue to move past a body-centric ideology and allow personal expression and choice to flourish. This, of course, is not the current climate. No, there is a confluence of factors working against our fashion freedom.
Currently, the media is saturated with images of impossible "should-be"s and sells fashion -- including, clothing, make-up, hair products --as the solution. The media, energized and supported by the Capitalist state, is pushing its agenda on our bodies. Yes, I often like a new shiny lipstick, a wild pink hair color or a pair of impractical shoes, but I also want to feel really good about my lips in their natural state and color, and I don't always want to feel that if I don't have the latest and greatest then I'm not the greatest. The media and the purveyors of products, trends and fashion are engorged and supported by the capitalist notion that you can't have enough stuff and, therefore, you have to keep getting stuff AND, that you need the media and those it supports to tell you what you need. Basically, they've taken up all of the airspace. Societal ills like capitalism and cultural appropriation play out on women's bodies, masked as "boxer" braids and Kylie Lip Kits. With this in mind, let us attempt to use fashion as an opposing force. Let us be resistant, rather than subservient, to the politics thrust upon our bodies. That means no more "aztec" patterns or fashion bindis. It also means no more Forever 21 topical graphic tees you'll throw away in a month.
Currently, the media is saturated with images of impossible "should-be"s and sells fashion -- including, clothing, make-up, hair products --as the solution. The media, energized and supported by the Capitalist state, is pushing its agenda on our bodies. Yes, I often like a new shiny lipstick, a wild pink hair color or a pair of impractical shoes, but I also want to feel really good about my lips in their natural state and color, and I don't always want to feel that if I don't have the latest and greatest then I'm not the greatest. The media and the purveyors of products, trends and fashion are engorged and supported by the capitalist notion that you can't have enough stuff and, therefore, you have to keep getting stuff AND, that you need the media and those it supports to tell you what you need. Basically, they've taken up all of the airspace. Societal ills like capitalism and cultural appropriation play out on women's bodies, masked as "boxer" braids and Kylie Lip Kits. With this in mind, let us attempt to use fashion as an opposing force. Let us be resistant, rather than subservient, to the politics thrust upon our bodies. That means no more "aztec" patterns or fashion bindis. It also means no more Forever 21 topical graphic tees you'll throw away in a month.