Skip to content
1981
Volume 6, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2050-0742
  • E-ISSN: 2050-0750

Abstract

Fashion criticism has found a new democratic platform in this technetronic age that has been impacted by the emergence of online ‘call-out culture’, a cultural phenomenon born of this digital age. Independent voices are finding traction within the famously hermetic fashion industry who are holding fashion designers, marketers, editors and all those gatekeepers in between, accountable not only for copycat fashion products but also for racist and bigoted appropriations that appear in campaigns and editorials. In examining ‘call-out culture’ in the fashion industry this article will extrapolate on how and why these cultural phenomena have gained traction in relation to the contemporary fashion industry and what this means for the future of the industry. I do so through the wider contextualization of looking at ideas of authenticity and transparency, effects of social media, and the role of cultural criticism in fashion. The methodology utilized in this article is in the form of the close analysis of two case studies, the independent fashion critic sites Diet Prada and The Fashion Law, which have both gained traction in the past two years for their unbiased and unrelenting agenda to call out fashion’s indiscretions.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/cc_00006_1
2019-03-01
2025-04-21
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Ahmad, Asam. ( 2015;), ‘ A note on callout culture. ’, Briarpatch, 2 March, https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/a-note-on-call-out-culture. Accessed 21 June 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Ahmad, Asam. ( 2017;), ‘ When calling out makes sense. ’, Briarpatch, 29 August, https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/when-calling-out-makes-sense. Accessed 21 June 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Appadurai, Arjun. ( 1996), Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalisation, Minneapolis, MN:: University of Minnesota Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Bain & Company ( 2018;), ‘ The personal luxury goods market delivers positive growth in 2018 to reach €260 billion: A trend that is expected to continue through 2025. ’, 15 November, https://www.bain.com/about/media-center/press-releases/2018/fall-luxury-goods-market-study/. Accessed 21 February 2019.
  5. Battan, Carrie. ( 2018;), ‘ Trend-spotting at Zara with Diet Prada. ’, The New Yorker, 3 September, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/09/03/trend-spotting-at-zara-with-diet-prada. Accessed 28 February 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Baudrillard, Jean. ( 1983), Simulations, New York:: Semiotext;.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Best, Kate N.. ( 2017), The History of Fashion Journalism, New York and London:: Bloomsbury;.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Betteridge, Thomas. ( 2017;), ‘ Duchamp is my lawyer. ’, O32c, 22 September, https://032c.com/virgil-abloh-duchamp. Accessed 2 February 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Bromwich, Jonah E.. ( 2018;), ‘ Everyone is cancelled. ’, The New York Times, 28 June, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/style/is-it-canceled.html. Accessed 20 March 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Bromwich, Jonah E.. ( 2019;), ‘ We’re all drinking Diet Prada now. ’, The New York Times, 14 March, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/fashion/diet-prada.html?module=inline. Accessed 1 April 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Bruzzi, Stella, and Church Gibson, Pamela. ( 2000), Fashion Cultures: Theories, Explanations and Analysis, London:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Chayka, Kyle. ( 2017), ‘#TFWGucci’, Gucci Digital, http://digital.gucci.com/tfwgucci/p/1. Accessed 21 March 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Cronberg, Anja Aronowsky. ( 2017;), ‘ Can fashion ever be democratic?. ’, Vestoj, http://vestoj.com/can-fashion-ever-be-democratic/. Accessed 19 September 2017.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Davidson, Patrick. ( 2012;), ‘ The language of Internet memes. ’, in M. Mandiberg. (ed.), The Social Media Reader, New York:: New York University Press;, pp. 12037.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Dawkins, Richard. ( 1976), The Selfish Gene, New York:: Oxford University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Debord, Guy. (ed.) ( 1994), Society of the Spectacle, New York:: Zone Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Ellis, Emma Grey. ( 2018;), ‘ The case for viral callout culture. ’, Wired, 12 December, https://www.wired.com/story/viral-call-out-culture/. Accessed 20 February 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Entwistle, Joanne, and Rocamora, Agnes. ( 2006;), ‘ The field of fashion materialized: A study of London Fashion Week. ’, Sociology, 40:4, pp. 73551.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Ferrier, Morwenna. ( 2019;), ‘ What does it meme? The rise and rise of the fashion viral. ’, The Guardian, 16 February, https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/feb/16/what-does-it-meme-the-rise-and-rise-of-the-fashion-viral. Accessed 19 February 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Friedman, Vanessa. ( 2019;), ‘ Gucci makes a shoe and Keen gets the last laugh. ’, The New York Times, 26 March, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/fashion/keen-gucci-shoes-copy.html. Accessed 1 April 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Geczy, Adam, and Karaminas, Vicki. ( 2012), Fashion and Art, London:: Bloomsbury;.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Geczy, Adam, and Karaminas, Vicki. ( 2016), Fashion’s Double, London:: Bloomsbury;.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Geczy, Adam, and Karaminas, Vicki. ( 2018), Critical Fashion Practices: From Westwood to Beirendonck, London and New York:: Bloomsbury;.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Givhan, Robin. ( 2017;), ‘ Fashion is finally figuring out diversity, in ways that actually matter. ’, The Washington Post, 6 September, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/fashion-is-finally-figuring-out-diversity--in-ways-that-actually-matter/2017/09/06/a16333a6-88f0-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5_story.html?utm_term=.a5be4ec6ae04. Accessed 28 February 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Granata, Francesca. ( 2018;), ‘ Fashioning cultural criticism: An inquiry into fashion criticism and its delay in legitimization. ’, Fashion Theory, 23:4, pp. 55370.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Hargrove, Channing. ( 2019;), ‘ Gucci announces Changemakers Council. ’, Refinery29, 26 March, https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/gucci-changemakers-diversity-council. Accessed 1 April 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Houle, Erika. ( 2018;), ‘ Diet Prada after dark. ’, SSENSE, 6 February, https://www.ssense.com/en-us/editorial/fashion/diet-prada-after-dark. Accessed 8 February 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Ilichi, Layla. ( 2019;), ‘ Christian Siriano pulls gowns from collection after Diet Prada callout. ’, WWD, 12 February, https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/christian-siriano-diet-prada-valentino-callout-1203020832/. Accessed 15 February 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Joselit, David. ( 2013), After Art, Princeton, NJ:: Princeton University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Kan, Eugene. ( 2018;), ‘ Authenticity and transparency in fashion media: The Fashion Law with Julie Zerbo. ’, Maekan, 27 September, https://maekan.com/article/authenticity-and-transparency-in-fashion-the-fashion-law-with-julie-zerbo/. Accessed 31 March 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Laneri, Raquel. ( 2019;), ‘ Why racism just won’t go out of style in the fashion industry. ’, The New York Post, 4 March, https://nypost.com/2019/03/04/why-racist-imagery-keeps-bubbling-up-in-the-fashion-world/. Accessed 21 March 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Menkes, Suzy. ( 2013;), ‘ The circus of fashion. ’, The New York Times, 10 February, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/t-magazine/the-circus-of-fashion.html. Accessed 11 February 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. McNeil, Peter, and Miller, Sanda. ( 2014), Fashion Writing and Criticism: History, Theory and Practice, London and New York:: Bloomsbury;.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Moran, Justin. ( 2018;), ‘ Will Diet Prada save fashion?. ’, Paper Magazine, 21 March, http://www.papermag.com/diet-prada-instagram-interview-2550882432.html. Accessed 30 April 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Musariri, Dorothy. ( 2018;), ‘ How cancel culture attempted to silence Jamelia and Kanye West. ’, The New Statesman, 15 November, https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/film/2018/11/how-cancel-culture-attempted-silence-jamelia-and-kanye-west. Accessed 20 March 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Omondi, Recho. ( 2018;), ‘ Who killed the fashion critic?. ’, OMONDI Presents: The Cutting Room Floor, http://rechoomondi.libsyn.com/. Accessed June 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Pearson, Daniel. ( 2018;), ‘ Dolce & Gabbana issues apology to China after racism accusations. ’, HighSnobiety, 23 November, https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/dolce-gabbana-china-racism/. Accessed 21 March 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Polhemus, Ted. ( 1994), Streetstyle: From Sidewalk to Catwalk, London:: Thames & Hudson;.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Ramshaw, Emily. ( 2017;), ‘ Why this designer refuses to show at fashion week. ’, The Coveteur, February, http://coveteur.com/2017/02/07/new-designer-recho-omondi-interview-fashion-week/. Accessed 12 February 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Rocamora, Agnes. ( 2017;), ‘ Mediatization and digital media in the field of fashion. ’, Fashion Theory, 21:5, pp. 50522.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Rocamora, Agnes, and Smelik, Anneke. ( 2016), Thinking through Fashion: A Guide to Key Theorists, London and New York:: I. B. Tauris;.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Sargent, Antwaun, and Stoppard, Lou. ( 2019;), ‘ How fashion tripped over the hip-hop economy. ’, The Financial Times, 28 February, https://www.ft.com/content/8ecf1b40-3760-11e9-9988-28303f70fcff. Accessed 20 March 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Sherman, Lauren. ( 2018;), ‘ Diet Prada unmasked. ’, Business of Fashion, 8 May, https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/professional/diet-prada-instagram-unmasked-tony-liu-lindsey-schuyler. Accessed 8 May 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Shifman, Limor. ( 2014), Memes in Digital Culture, Cambridge, MA:: MIT Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Simmel, Georg. ( [1904] 1957;), ‘ Fashion. ’, The American Journal of Sociology, LXII:6, pp. 54158.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Skjulstad, Synne. ( 2018;), ‘ Vetements, memes, and connectivity: Fashion media in the era of Instagram. ’, Fashion Theory Online, pp. 129.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Smelik, Anneke. ( 2011;), ‘ The performance of authenticity. ’, Address: Journal for Fashion Writing and Criticism, 1:1, pp. 7682.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Solon, Olivia. ( 2013;), ‘ Richard Dawkin’s on the Internet’s hijacking of the word “meme”. ’, Wired, 20 June, https://www.wired.co.uk/article/richard-dawkins-memes. Accessed 19 March 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Wray, Adam. ( 2017;), ‘ Julie Zerbo vs. fake news. ’, SSENSE, 23 October, https://www.ssense.com/en-us/editorial/fashion/julie-zerbo-vs-fake-news. Accessed 30 January 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Zerbo, Julie. ( 2019;), ‘ Intellectual property 101: A primer. ’, The Fashion Law, 26 April, http://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/intellectual-property-rights-a-primer. Accessed 30 April 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Gerrie, V.. ( 2019;), ‘ The Diet Prada effect: “Call-out culture” in the contemporary fashionscape. ’, Clothing Cultures, 6:1, pp. 97113, doi: 10.1386/cc_00006_1
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/cc_00006_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/cc_00006_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test