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Fashion, Style & Popular Culture - Online First
Online First articles will be assigned issues in due course.
70 results
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Indonesian metrosexuals on Instagram: A phenomenological approach of male fashion style experiences in communicating the identity
Available online: 15 March 2024More LessThis study analyses the self-representation of the Indonesian metrosexual community on Instagram, focusing on how they use the platform to showcase their fashion style and express their identity as consumers and members of society. Metrosexuality is a relatively new phenomenon in Indonesia, but it has quickly gained popularity, particularly among urban men. Metrosexual men are typically highly interested in fashion, beauty and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. They are also more brand-conscious than traditional consumers and are willing to invest in high-quality products. Social media has become an essential platform for the metrosexual community to express themselves and connect with others. Instagram, in particular, has become a popular platform for metrosexual men to share photos and videos of their outfits. This study examines how metrosexual consumers use Instagram to showcase their fashion style through their posts. The study employs a qualitative approach within the constructivist paradigm, using phenomenological research methods, including interviews, observations and a literature review. The informants comprised ten Indonesian male Instagram users with the highest followers and engagement. The study’s findings suggest that metrosexual consumers prioritize comfort and suitability over brand and product prestige for day-to-day activities and social media engagement. Also, the study reveals that metrosexual consumers use Instagram to express themselves and share their activities with others. Their commitment to their appearance extends beyond the online realm to offline settings. The study’s managerial implications underscore the importance of attending to male consumers for products such as clothing.
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Camouflage in popular culture, fashion and accessory design in India
Authors: Nitin Hadap and Charuta PalsodkarAvailable online: 15 March 2024More LessThis article postulates that recent generations in India, particularly the middle and upper-middle classes, have experienced increased wealth due to the government’s open market policy, introduced after 1991. As a result of this improved financial situation, these consumers are now able to purchase affordable luxury goods. One notable trend emerging from this development is the rise in popularity of camouflage patterns in fashion and accessories. These patterns evoke emotions of military association, rebellion, strength, durability, ruggedness and a sense of distinctiveness from the rest of society. Surprisingly, even though camouflage is intended to conceal and blend in with surroundings, it has become a prominent aspect of popular culture in India. The younger generation aspires to stand out and possess larger-than-life personalities, perhaps influenced by the impact of globalization. Various audio-visual media, such as sci-fi literature and superheroes depicted on over-the-top (OTT) platforms contribute significantly to this trend, with fashion statements playing a crucial role in shaping these perceptions. In response to such demand, even international brands have started producing products featuring camouflage patterns for the Indian market. The widespread popularity of camo fashion and accessories can be observed in almost all public spaces across India.
The primary focus of this article is on exploring the popularity of camouflage in fashion accessories, design and trends by studying consumers’ preferences for leading global and local brands. Through a comprehensive literature review, a research gap in this area has been identified. The study concentrates on fashion accessories in India and takes a perspective of percolation of camouflage in the fashion market. The methodology involves the study of primary and secondary sources for documentation, and a survey was conducted to gain insights into consumers’ perspectives. By conducting a literature review and a thorough data analysis, the article reaches its conclusions.
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Hanfu catwalk shows: A performance of Chinese femininities
Authors: Yan Jia and Anneke SmelikAvailable online: 15 March 2024More LessThis article analyses the complex relationship between the construction of gender identities among young Chinese females and the practice of dressing up in Hanfu attire. The study employs the perspectives of dress as a situated embodied practice, the performativity of gender and the catwalk as a form of performance art. By drawing on an ethnography of self-defined Hanfu fans in Beijing, China, the authors investigate how the female participants construct femininities through performing on Hanfu catwalks. The ethnographic findings are that, first, the Hanfu catwalk mediates the intricate interplay of Chinese aesthetic norms and gender expression between performers and the audience. Second, wearing Hanfu is an embodied practice unifying the Hanfu costume style, gender construction and corporeal acts, situated in China’s sociopolitical context. Third, Chinese femininity is complex, with both flexibility and internal conflicts, reflecting China’s paradoxical modernization.
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The dress and commercial image of the American ‘Fat Lady’, 1850–1920
By Kenna LibesAvailable online: 15 March 2024More LessIn this article, I analyse the genre of ‘Fat Lady’ photographs popular between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. I assert that there is an archetypal appearance that developed in the 1860s and was standardized by the 1880s, consisting of certain dress, grooming and posing practices that emphasized their subjects’ sizes and presumed social status. Fatness was a performance that these women were employed to embody – one that straddled the lines between corporeal deviance and normality. Freak shows reveal cultural anxieties about bodies. The way Fat Lady performers were costumed reflected concerns about fatness taking up too much space and visibility as well as fatness rendering people immature and androgynous, thereby challenging established sex-role differences; it also revealed the potential erotic allure of extreme body size. Over a century of popularity, Fat Lady performers came to rely on costumes inspired by evening dress, childrenswear and then lingerie, all of which grew scantier as time progressed. Existing cartes de visite, cabinet cards, posters, advertisements, reports from journalists and side show insiders, and rare interviews with the performers themselves provide material for close analysis.
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Fashioning Frankenstein: Deathliness, technology and the body in contemporary fashion photography
Available online: 15 March 2024More LessThe deathly aesthetic of Heroin Chic caused a moral panic in the late 1990s for its aestheticization of cadaverously pale and skeletally thin models. Subsequent photographers have experimented with the female body as a prop, staging high-fashion crime scenes and mimicking the passivity of corpses in prone posture. Fashion photography offers an arena to explore daily life and the national imagination by materializing concepts through a focus on corporeality and compelling stylized visuals. These images therefore represent a commercialized articulation of broader cultural concerns surrounding mortality. Steven Klein’s 2015 fashion editorial ‘Love machine’, published in W magazine, will be analysed to argue that this represents a cultural response to the shifting relationship between the human body and technology. The discourse of human–machine coexistence presents the transhumanist stance as idealized with the fashion field’s agenda of body modification, wellness and leisure assisted and instigated by technology. However, the tone of this shoot presents a less optimistic vision of a posthuman future. Whilst posthuman ideology is decisive and assured in its deference to technology, Klein’s use of Frankensteinian and cyborg motifs evidence the uncertainty and unease with which biological and technical forms begin to blur. The styling of the model as cyborg and the invocation of Frankenstein’s monster are a logical vehicle for personifying the ontological anxieties coming to the fore of public conscience as debates on digital immortality and artificial intelligence become more prevalent.
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Wholesale Couture: London and Beyond, 1930–1970, Liz Tregenza (2023)
By Jennie CookAvailable online: 15 March 2024More LessReview of: Wholesale Couture: London and Beyond, 1930–1970, Liz Tregenza (2023)
London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 236 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35024-586-0, h/bk, $115.00
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Canadian Critical Luxury Studies: Decentring Luxury, Jessica P. Clark and Nigel Lezama (eds) (2022)
Available online: 15 March 2024More LessReview of: Canadian Critical Luxury Studies: Decentring Luxury, Jessica P. Clark and Nigel Lezama (eds) (2022)
Bristol: Intellect Ltd, 248 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-78938-515-1, h/bk, $93.84
ISBN 978-1-78938-517-5, e-book, $80.00
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Authentic or fake fashion-branded items? Narratives exploring consumers’ perceptions towards copycat brands among Middle Eastern individuals
Authors: Nadine Khair, Nadine Hussam Khair and Tala MuradAvailable online: 15 March 2024More LessThis study explores the motives behind preferring luxury fashion-branded items and consumers’ perceptions towards copycat brands. A qualitative approach has been adopted in this research as narratives were obtained from 22 participants. Participants share their thoughts on the reasons for preferring luxury fashion-branded items and the meanings they associate with copycat brands. The results and conclusion of the current study indicate that the key reason for purchasing luxury fashion-branded items is status elevation and the urge to conform to and be associated with specific social norms and classes. Therefore, they tend to consume copycat brands because of their inability to purchase authentic brands and of the elevation of status and conformity associated with luxury fashion-branded items. This research also provides insights into understanding the different motivations resulting in the consumption of copycat brands. Precisely, this research underlines the importance of country of consumption in reflecting positive perceptions towards copycat brands. As a result, this research is the first to consider the relationship between the country of consumption and the acceptance of consuming copycat brands among individuals who are affected by status elevation motives and social norms.
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‘Con poporos y guacamayas’: Representaciones indígenas y el traje típico colombiano en el Miss Universo
Available online: 16 February 2024More LessThis article addresses in five examples, the participation of Miss Colombia and her Indigenous-themed costumes at the Miss Universe pageant. First, the methodology used for this research is approached, from the use of images as a historical document and visual culture. Then, we approach a definition of the typical or national costume and its different denominations, to finally analyse a set of costumes representing Colombia and alluding to the Indigenous at the Miss Universe pageant. It is concluded that the typical Indigenous costumes presented in this international beauty contest are invented costumes that recreate stereotypes and establish identities that can be related to the idea of creating imaginaries that can present a good image of Colombia both nationally and internationally. The research was also based on a dialogue with authors who have addressed issues related to the creation of national identities and their construction from the history, culture, and heritage of a country, related to popular contemporary culture and media.
ResumenEste artículo aborda, en cinco ejemplos, la participación de la Señorita Colombia en el concurso de Miss Universo y sus trajes típicos de temática indígena. En primer lugar, se aborda la metodología empleada para esta investigación, a partir del uso de las imágenes como documento histórico y la cultura visual. Seguidamente, nos aproximamos a una definición del traje típico o nacional, sus diferentes denominaciones, para finalmente analizar un conjunto de trajes colombianos que han concursado en el Miss Universo, por el ‘Premio al mejor Traje Típico’, haciendo alusión a lo indígena. Se concluye que los trajes típicos de referencia indígena, desfilados en este concurso internacional de belleza, acaban siendo trajes inventados que recrean estereotipos y establecen identidades que se relacionan con imaginarios que pueden dar una buena imagen de lo colombiano, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional. La investigación también se fundamentó en el diálogo con autores que han abordado temáticas relacionadas con la creación de identidades nacionales y su construcción a partir de la historia, la cultura y el patrimonio de un país, relacionado con la cultura popular contemporánea y los medios de comunicación.
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Nothing to wear: The fashion behind Rebelde, Mexico’s most popular teen telenovela
Available online: 16 February 2024More LessReleased in 2004, Rebelde represented a turning point for telenovelas in Mexico, partly due to its subversion of conventions considered intrinsic to the genre. The series achieved this by relying heavily on fashion, not only to challenge traditional gender roles but also to address changing perceptions of class and wealth within the country. Clothing was used to explore identities new to Mexican entertainment media at the time and was central to many of the show’s narratives and to the ways characters related to one another. As such, Rebelde was not only a reflection of a new globalized media landscape that had been arriving to Mexico in the previous decade but was also indicative of the ways in which teenagers all over the world were embracing these changes under the guise of freedom, rebellion and independence.
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Santa Muerte: The most fashionable saint of the year
Available online: 16 February 2024More LessThis article presents and analyses the relation between the cult of a Mexican folk saint, Santa Muerte (Saint Death), and fashion. The article describes the unique phenomenon and its complex history as an amalgamation of Christian and pre-Hispanic elements. Even with the cult’s growing recognition, Santa Muerte is still surrounded by controversies – lack of academic research and stereotypes presented by media and popular culture lead to numerous discrepancies such as erroneous image of the followers of Santa Muerte who are often depicted as criminals related to drug smuggling. The main part of the article focuses on the practices of building and decorating the altars, shrines and chapels for Santa Muerte. The text also highlights a spreading custom of designing various types of dresses and robes for the figures of the patron and the practice of modifying the figures themselves (adding ornaments, artefacts and various items). Some of these items and ornaments express the intentions of the prayers, holidays and individual preferences of the worshippers. Following sections present the impact of the cult of Santa Muerte (especially its aesthetical dimension) on the fashion industry, which is visible in the example of jewellery and clothing. The article concludes with an exploration of trends among the followers of Santa Muerte and their impact on the esoteric industry that is wide and rapidly developing in Mexico.
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Renová tu Vestidor: Second-hand online clothing retail as an extension of domestic labour and as resistance practices in Argentina between 2016 and 2018
Available online: 16 February 2024More LessThe aim of this article is to look into some fashion consumption practices that manifest resistance at the micro social level and which occur through one specific virtual platform from Argentina, Renová Tu Vestidor (renovatuvestidor.com). The resistance mentioned here seeks to overcome market prices during the period concerning 2016 and 2018, as well as to find brand items and other affordable stylish garments and simultaneously generate extra income. Therefore, resistant practices through online shopping are linked to the need of managing the household economy in a time of national (and global) crisis, without neglecting the pleasure that fashion consumption provides (visiting virtual stores and shopping online), as well as avoiding the loss of class status and, last but not least, evincing an unconscious extension of domestic labour. This article will specifically address the relationships some women maintain between fashion consumption as resistant practices in virtual platforms that trade with second-hand clothes, and formal occupations, leisure, pleasure and an extension of domestic labour.
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Time and space in Brechó de Troca: Reflections on the method of a clothing exchange group in Brazil
Authors: Helena de Barros Soares and Inês HennigenAvailable online: 16 February 2024More LessThis article analyses the creation of a group time-space and its effects based on a master’s thesis research that analysed some processes in a second-hand exchange group called Brechó de Troca. This group is a space for interaction, whose meetings promote the exchange of clothes and accessories. It was founded in Porto Alegre (south of Brazil) in 2009, with a distinct method aiming to produce subjectivity by exchanging clothes in a way that considers their stories. For this research, we assembled materials that paved the way to such results, analysing the mode of production of subjectivity through the dressing practices in the group. We could observe that the invention of another time, which suspends the eagerness for consumption, potentiates modes of subjectivation through the practices of dressing. This article also highlights the fact that access to consumption is not equalitarian in Global South capitalism. This can be seen in a social phenomenon called ‘rolezinhos’, which took place in Brazil in 2014 and illustrated the contrast between the purchasing power of the lower and upper classes. We believe that the invention of the limbo, name given to the time-space created in the group, works as a trigger of processes, which suspends and enables exercises of the self through clothing in the group meetings. The exchanges gain potency and various stories after going through the Brechó de Troca.
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Artisanal collaborations in the Mexican fashion industry: The case of Otomí embroiderers and Carla Fernández
Available online: 16 February 2024More LessThe present article aims to demonstrate the intersected relations between Indigenous communities and designers in the fashion industry. These interrelations are explained through a case study between Dotnit, an Otomí embroidery cooperative, and the Mexican designer Carla Fernández. An extensive multi-sited ethnography was carried out between 2013 and 2017 in Tenango de Doria, Hidalgo, and Mexico City. Both places were explored with the purpose of understanding the complex relationships between the local and the global through the introduction of tenango embroidery into the fashion world. This research aims to understand the consumption of Indigenous textiles in a glocalized world by following the paths of diversion that tenango embroidery navigates through artisans, designers and consumers. Through the article, interrelationships among different agents will be examined in an effort to understand the complexities within artisan–designer dynamics.
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Más es más: Cómo el éxito del Carnaval de Barranquilla se mide a través del ajuar de su reina en la era digital
Authors: Jeniffer Varela Rodríguez-Licata and Melissa Zuleta BanderaAvailable online: 16 February 2024More LessDeclared by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, Barranquilla’s Carnival gathers thousands of dancers, performers, artists and carnival doers for months leading to the four official days of the festivity, and it is all traditionally led by a Queen. Her commitment to the city of Barranquilla and its most important event is tested from the moment of her election until Ash Wednesday, when the Carnival ends. Her performance is scrutinized now more than ever thanks to the immediacy of social media: her dancing abilities, enthusiasm, charisma and, in great detail, her wardrobe. Traditionally chosen among the wealthiest and deepest-rooted families in the city, her reign is often measured by the purchasing power of her clan, represented in the variety and quality of her dresses and costumes. This article examines the social perception of the Queen through the lens of her wardrobe, using as case studies the Carnivals of three young women in the years 2014, 2016 and 2020. We look to determine how the quality, quantity and luxury of a queen’s festive outfits throughout her reign shape the public opinion of the queen herself and the opinion of her Carnival overall.
ResumenDeclarado por la UNESCO como una de las Obras Maestras del Patrimonio Oral e Inmaterial de la Humanidad, el Carnaval de Barranquilla reúne a miles de bailarines, intérpretes, artistas y hacedores del carnaval durante meses en preparación para los cuatro días oficiales de la festividad. Y todo ello es tradicionalmente presidido por un Reina. Su compromiso con la ciudad de Barranquilla y con su evento más importante es puesto a prueba desde el momento de su elección hasta el Miércoles de Ceniza, cuando finaliza el Carnaval. Su desempeño es examinado ahora más que nunca gracias a la inmediatez de las redes sociales: sus dotes para el baile, su entusiasmo, su carisma y, en gran medida, su vestuario. Tradicionalmente elegida entre las familias más ricas y arraigadas de la ciudad, su reinado suele medirse por el poder adquisitivo de su clan, representado en la variedad y calidad de sus vestidos y disfraces. Este trabajo examina la percepción social de la Reina del Carnaval a través del lente de su ajuar, utilizando como estudios de caso los carnavales de tres jóvenes mujeres en los años 2014, 2016 y 2020. Buscamos determinar cómo la calidad, cantidad y nivel de lujo de los atuendos de una soberana a lo largo de su reinado alimentan la opinión pública sobre la reina misma y sobre su Carnaval en general.
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¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today: An interview with Tanya Melendez-Escalante and Melissa Marra-Alvarez
Available online: 16 February 2024More LessThe Museum at FIT (MFIT) in New York City hosted the fashion exhibit ¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today from 31 May to 5 November 2023. The exhibit included over sixty objects from the museum’s permanent collection representing designers from several Latin American countries and the diaspora including Brenda Equihua (United States), Bárbara Sánchez-Kane (Mexico) and Willy Chavarria (United States). An edited volume published by Bloomsbury complemented the show and expands on topics such as identity, popular culture, sustainability and gender. In this interview co-curators Tanya Melendez-Escalante and Melissa Marra-Alvarez share details of the exhibit planning process.
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Selling Europe to the World: The Rise of the Luxury Industry, 1980–2020, Pierre Yves Donze (2023)
Available online: 25 November 2023More LessReview of: Selling Europe to the World: The Rise of the Luxury Industry, 1980–2020, Pierre Yves Donze (2023)
London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 166 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35033-578-3, p/bk, $29.95
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Westernwear: Postwar American Fashion and Culture, Sonya Abrego (2022)
Available online: 25 November 2023More LessReview of: Westernwear: Postwar American Fashion and Culture, Sonya Abrego (2022)
London and New York: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 310 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35014-767-6, p/bk, $37.95
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Dressed in Time, Margaret Maynard (2022)
Available online: 25 November 2023More LessReview of: Dressed in Time, Margaret Maynard (2022)
London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 206 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35003-275-0, p/bk, $31.39
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The Fashioned Body: Fashion, Dress and Modern Social Theory, Joanne Entwistle (2023), 3rd ed.
Available online: 25 November 2023More LessReview of: The Fashioned Body: Fashion, Dress and Modern Social Theory, Joanne Entwistle (2023), 3rd ed.
Cambridge: Polity Press, 281 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-50954-789-0, p/bk, $28.95
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Gastrofashion: From Haute Cuisine to Haute Couture, Adam Geczy and Vicki Karaminas (2022)
By Lara RössigAvailable online: 25 November 2023More LessReview of: Gastrofashion: From Haute Cuisine to Haute Couture, Adam Geczy and Vicki Karaminas (2022)
London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 248 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35014-750-8, p/bk, $32.35
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Rei Kawakubo: For and against Fashion, Rex Butler (ed.) (2022)
By Hawa StwodahAvailable online: 25 November 2023More LessReview of: Rei Kawakubo: For and against Fashion, Rex Butler (ed.) (2022)
London and New York: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 236 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35011-822-5, h/bk, $115.00
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Political and Sartorial Styles: Britain and Its Colonies in the Long Nineteenth Century, Kevin A. Morrison (ed.) (2023)
Available online: 03 November 2023More LessReview of: Political and Sartorial Styles: Britain and Its Colonies in the Long Nineteenth Century, Kevin A. Morrison (ed.) (2023)
Manchester: Manchester University Press, 274 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-52615-307-4, h/bk, $195.00
ISBN 978-1-52615-306-7, e-book, $135.00
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Fear and Clothing: Dress in English Detective Fiction between the First and Second World Wars, Jane Custance Baker (2023)
Available online: 03 November 2023More LessReview of: Fear and Clothing: Dress in English Detective Fiction between the First and Second World Wars, Jane Custance Baker (2023)
London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 252 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35024-030-8, h/bk, $82.80
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A New History of ‘Made in Italy’: Fashion and Textiles in Post-War Italy, Lucia Savi (2023)
By Rachel HartAvailable online: 03 November 2023More LessReview of: A New History of ‘Made in Italy’: Fashion and Textiles in Post-War Italy, Lucia Savi (2023)
London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 204 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35024-7758, h/bk, £85
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Fashion Brand Stories, 3rd ed., Joseph H. Hancock II (2022)
Available online: 03 November 2023More LessReview of: Fashion Brand Stories, 3rd ed., Joseph H. Hancock II (2022)
London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 216 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35013-554-3, h/bk, $50.35
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When the clothes fit: Exploring the embodied transition to motherhood
Authors: Jaime R. DeLuca and Jacob J. BustadAvailable online: 29 September 2023More LessClothing practices can assist women in cultivating a particular body image and, thus, are sutured with details regarding how they manage their identity and appearance. Clothing can also help women cope with corporeal transitions, such as pregnancy. The relationship between clothing and one’s perception of their body shape changes during pregnancy as does how women feel about their clothes as they assume a new maternal identity. However, there is a lack of scholarly attention focused on exploring how postpartum mothers manage and relate to their bodies through clothing. Anchored in qualitative data collected from 128 in-depth, longitudinal interviews with 32 women at three, six, nine and twelve months postpartum, this article explores how postpartum body image, satisfaction and change are intricately linked with clothing across the first year after childbirth. Depicted through six women’s postpartum journeys, this article demonstrates that clothing becomes a barometer for bodily recovery following pregnancy and reveals details about maternal struggles, successes and spending patterns in the postpartum period.
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Philadelphia Store-y: Nan Duskin (1927–65)
By Clare SauroAvailable online: 29 September 2023More LessAnn Duskin Lincoln, the founder of the Philadelphia specialty shop Nan Duskin, dominated Philadelphia retail for decades and played a significant role in the development of American fashion. At its peak, Nan Duskin was one of the leaders of American retail, and its founder, Mrs Lincoln, was internationally recognized for her fashion instincts and was one of the most respected, feared, and loved retailers in the business. This article will focus on Mrs Lincoln and Nan Duskin from 1927 to 1965, a transformative period for American fashion. It will explore the unique social role of the women’s specialty shop in American retail during the first half of the twentieth century and the critical role they had in the promotion and development of American fashion. Exemplary in every aspect, Mrs Lincoln’s career is representative of the many independent female retailers that flourished in the first half of the twentieth century.
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‘The American Look’: The transformation of women’s sportswear in 1930s and 1940s America
Available online: 07 September 2023More LessThis article will suggest that the American sportswear style reflects the unique historical and cultural influences on American dress from the birth of the new democratic nation in the eighteenth century to the dominance of New York City’s ready-to-wear industry in the 1950s. Focusing on the key decades of the 1930s and 1940s, this article will explore the marketing campaign of Dorothy Shaver, vice-president of the luxury retailer Lord & Taylor, who in 1932 coined the phrase ‘the American Look’ to promote American fashion designers’ collections. The legacy of sportswear designer Claire McCardell, arguably the best known of the New York-based ready-to-wear designers will be examined. McCardell’s combination of nostalgic American prairie style with the use of everyday workwear fabrics of cotton plaid, denim, wool and jersey created an unpretentious casual American style based on comfort, ease and flexibility, which is reflected today in the contemporary American ready-to-wear market. The article will maintain that the promotion of the American Look via photographic shoots, magazines, advertisements, visual merchandising, exhibition and film influenced the style and taste of dress that the female American body ought to ‘fit into’. This style, it will be argued, encouraged the development of a cultural memory of American dress by establishing a material link between national identity and clothing.
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Determinants of a shift in consumer values towards minimalistic clothing consumption during global crises
Authors: Hanieh Choopani, Stephan Wallaschkowski and Samira IranAvailable online: 07 September 2023More LessThe COVID-19 pandemic, as a global crisis, has affected the clothing consumption behaviour of consumers and it might create long-lasting changes in the fashion industry. Such behavioural shifts during global crises should be considered for sustainability-related marketing concepts and the way marketers promote sustainable clothing consumption during and after the crisis. This study explores the determinants of a shift in consumer values towards minimalistic clothing consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in the under-researched country context of Iran. First, a literature review was conducted on topics including sustainable fashion consumption and the COVID-19 pandemic, the status of sustainable fashion consumption in Iran, as well as the influence of demographic characteristics on sustainable consumption behaviour. Second, a quantitative survey was administered to a sample of Iranian consumers (N = 382). The results reveal a value shift towards more minimalism and sufficiency in clothing consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in the country context of Iran. Moreover, the findings highlight that age and gender significantly influenced the extent of this shift in values, while surprisingly no significant value shift was found because of employment or income changes. This article makes a unique contribution by exploring the value shifts towards minimalistic clothing consumption during global crises. Furthermore, the results of the study shed some light on consumption behaviour in an under-researched middle eastern area.
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DEI representation on Instagram: An analysis of two fast fashion retailers
Authors: Sarah A. Zumbrock, Jihyun Sung and Ian R. MullAvailable online: 07 September 2023More LessAs fashion retailers have started to emphasize their responsibility in society, the significance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the fashion industry has increased. This study explores the DEI commitments made by two fast fashion retailers (i.e. H&M and Zara) to examine whether they uphold and portray their DEI commitments through their Instagram postings by focusing on the following four DEI subcategories: people of colour, size inclusivity, LGBTQIA+ and physical disabilities. The study first analysed each retailer’s DEI statement to determine what claims each retailer makes regarding DEI. The data collection process comprised an examination of Instagram posts during the first week of every month from February 2021 to January 2022 utilizing the National Retail Federation (NRF) 4-5-4 calendar. Researchers collected qualitative/quantitative data and used content/comparative analysis to analyse the data. The findings indicated that representation might not be as equitable as their claims state. Based on the findings of this research, the study provides practical implications for enhancing DEI representation in retailers’ Instagram posts and marketing to facilitate more effective communication. Further, this study contributes to the existing literature on DEI commitments in the fashion industry by highlighting the practices of fast fashion retailers in their Instagram posts and marketing.
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Historical Perspectives on Sustainable Fashion: Inspiration for Change, 2nd ed., Amy Twigger Holyroyd, Jennifer Farley Gordon and Colleen Hill (2023)
By Joy SperlingAvailable online: 05 September 2023More LessReview of: Historical Perspectives on Sustainable Fashion: Inspiration for Change, 2nd ed., Amy Twigger Holyroyd, Jennifer Farley Gordon and Colleen Hill (2023)
London, New York, New Delhi and Sydney: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 198 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35016-044-6, h/bk, $100
ISBN 978-1-35016-043-9, p/bk, $34.95
ISBN 978-1-35016-043-9, e-PDF, $31.45
ISBN 978-1-35016-047-7, e-Pub, $31.45
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Crafting Luxury: Craftsmanship, Manufacture, Technology and the Retail Environment, Mark Bloomfield, Shaun Borstrock, Silvio Carta and Veronica Manlow (2022)
Available online: 10 August 2023More LessReview of: Crafting Luxury: Craftsmanship, Manufacture, Technology and the Retail Environment, Mark Bloomfield, Shaun Borstrock, Silvio Carta and Veronica Manlow (2022)
Bristol: Intellect Ltd., 187 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-78938-580-9, p/bk, $45.00
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Fashioning the Afropolis: Histories, Materialities and Aesthetic Practices, Kerstin Pinther, Kristin Kastner and Basile Ndjio (eds) (2022)
Available online: 10 August 2023More LessReview of: Fashioning the Afropolis: Histories, Materialities and Aesthetic Practices, Kerstin Pinther, Kristin Kastner and Basile Ndjio (eds) (2022)
London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 240 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35017-952-3, h/bk, $103.50
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Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: Social Media’s Influence on Fashion, Ethics, and Property, Minh-Ha T. Pham (2022)
By Amy DorieAvailable online: 10 August 2023More LessReview of: Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: Social Media’s Influence on Fashion, Ethics, and Property, Minh-Ha T. Pham (2022)
Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 176 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-47801-861-2, p/bk, $23.95
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Textiles and Fashion, 3rd ed., Jenny Udale (2023)
Available online: 10 August 2023More LessReview of: Textiles and Fashion, 3rd ed., Jenny Udale (2023)
London: Bloomsbury, 216 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35009-489-5, p/bk, $29.95
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Costume design in film: Telling the story and creating Malcolm X’s character in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X (1992)
Authors: Marta Torregrosa, María Noguera and Natalia Luque-ZequeiraAvailable online: 09 August 2023More LessCostume designers collaborate with film directors to bring the characters in the script to life. Film costumes are a visual tool of a narrative nature with which costume designers meet the diegetic needs of each story. Through clothing, they make internal aspects of the characters visible, such as their transformations, their nature and styles, their passions, aspirations and suffering, as well as aspects of the spatial, temporal and social context in which the stories take place. This study explores costume design by Ruth E. Carter as a dramatic tool in the biopic Malcolm X (1992), directed by Spike Lee. To that end, the function of film costumes is assessed both as a visual and narrative tool that exceeds the aesthetic dimension and is essential to give meaning to any film production.
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Food & Fashion, Melissa Marra-Alvarez and Elizabeth Way (eds) (2022)
Available online: 26 July 2023More LessReview of: Food & Fashion, Melissa Marra-Alvarez and Elizabeth Way (eds) (2022)
New York: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 320 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-35016-434-5, h/bk, $45.00
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The ‘look’! Aesthetic labour, aesthetic norms and appearance-based recruitment in the runway modelling industry
Authors: Iva Jestratijevic and Nancy A. RuddAvailable online: 25 July 2023More LessAesthetic labour in the runway modelling industry refers to the practice of recruitment of models-workers on the basis of desired corporeal and facial dispositions. Aesthetic labour theory foregrounds embodiment, which situates the value of physical appearance and aesthetic norms in the workplace context showcasing how the models-workers get recruited and stratified based on their looks. The study employs an explanatory sequential mixed-method design to investigate aesthetic norms including the desired corporeal and facial dispositions that are expected from models-workers in the runway modelling industry. The study included two phases, a quantitative phase and a qualitative phase. The main objective of the first, quantitative research phase, was to investigate the aesthetic norms among 609 international runway models who were recruited to perform in designer exclusive fashion shows during seven consecutive annual fashion week seasons from 2013 to 2020 in New York, Paris, London and/or Milan. The main objective of the second qualitative research phase was to qualify aesthetic norms through a visual content analysis, and in-depth exploration of 40 unretouched professional modelling snapshots (photographs of face and body) for the top new model talents in the 2019–20 fashion season. Model photos were extracted from the popular industry website, Models.com. The rationale for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data was to form a robust and comprehensive assessment of aesthetic norms in the runway modelling industry. The same level of comprehensiveness would not be obtained by using either type of data individually. This article advances academic research on aesthetic labour in the fashion and modelling industry by showcasing why appearance-based recruitment in this sector represents the practice of occupational segregation that creates social inequalities and negatively impacts the labour market.
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Thailand Fashion Week
By Ali KhanAvailable online: 20 July 2023More LessReview of: Thailand Fashion Week, Spring/Summer 2023, Bangkok, 29–30 November 2022
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Transformative live-action roleplay and Dagorhir costumes: Regulation, consumption and power dynamics, 1977 to the present
Authors: Sarah West Hixson and Kelly L. Reddy-BestAvailable online: 20 July 2023More LessDagorhir is one of the largest and oldest documented live-action roleplay groups. Dagorhir organizers have published multiple game regulations via handbooks with much emphasis on costumes since the 1970s. Dagorhir facilitates community building, identity negotiation and creative storytelling that expands beyond the game through transformative play. In our research, we examine how these costume regulations have influenced fantasy character and real-world identities, how the regulations have influenced perceived costume authenticity over time and how the handbook regulations have engaged with power dynamics related to intersectional identities. We analysed costume-related content in the three handbooks while drawing upon content analysis and historical methods. We found that as the regulations evolved since the 1970s, the rules increasingly centred costumes, indicating the prominence of costume in this escapist community. However, while these spaces centred on the costumed body, Dagorhir regulations reinforced oppressive intersectional norms. Our work has implications for society and business, that is, our findings can help individuals understand why people participate in live-action roleplay, which may reduce stigma surrounding this activity. Additionally, costume producers and retailers can make informed business decisions based upon our findings. Last, live-action roleplay communities can utilize our findings to reject oppressive written and unwritten regulations.
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Women’s dress and success in the Icelandic banking system
Authors: Linda Björg Árnadóttir and Thamar M. HeijstraAvailable online: 08 June 2023More LessIn this study on the power of dress in the Icelandic banking sector, we build on Nentwich and colleagues’ (2015) theoretical framework of change agency. We show that the framework bears relevance to changes occurring after the collapse of the Icelandic banking system in 2008. Our aim is to examine the role of dress in the process of change. The data are derived from ten semi-structured interviews with female bank employees, a group that has historically been marginalized within the Icelandic banking sector. Our findings reveal that visible changes in dress have signalled changes in societal norms and attitudes during and after the economic crisis. The disruption has created a window of opportunity for female bank employees to alter dressing norms. This alteration has subsequently increased their agency and visibility, thereby facilitating their upward mobility, mirroring with clients and representing confidence and trustworthiness. We find that changes in dress occur when ideas in society change, and that windows of opportunity are necessary for marginalized groups to expand their agency. Once these windows are created, dress can underline and bolster their agency.
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Deplorable by proxy: Sartorial semiosis and the rendering of an underclass
Available online: 08 June 2023More LessIn 2016, Donald Trump’s slogan ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) – often displayed on a red cap – prompted myriad interpretations and reactions regarding the message itself and the hat it was displayed upon. Despite the hat’s polysemy, there has been no shortage of institutional attempts to codify the hat and, by extension, the wearers of the hat as racist or otherwise ‘deplorable’ (Clinton 2016). By tracing the functional lineage of the MAGA hat alongside a case study of the 2019 Covington Catholic incident, this article uses media discourse analysis to investigate dress as a factional sociopolitical player while interrogating how cultural institutions contribute to social meaning-making, which in turn can leverage dress’s power and unduly malign constituent wearers. Employing theories of sartorial embodiment, the MAGA hat’s enthymematic reading and a critical linguistic frame, this article critiques the pathology of marginal myopia and locates how pejorative ascriptions by proxy of the MAGA hat render Trumpian conservatives, primarily of the White male ilk, as marginal subjects.
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Self-perception and body image among cancer survivors
Authors: Jeong-Ju Yoo and Lisa VanHooseAvailable online: 08 June 2023More LessThe goal of this study is to identify the self-perception of cancer survivors’ body image distress and to illustrate fashion-oriented consumption as a coping mechanism. Retail therapy (RT) may be a promising intervention for cancer survivors to mitigate body image distress and promote positive health outcomes. The impact of cancer treatments on each survivor should be considered based on their body investment, cancer type, diagnosis, body weight and other demographic characteristics. Developing mitigation strategies using RT for cancer survivors with visible physical changes is crucial. Fashion-oriented shopping can give cancer survivors a sense of control and boost a positive self-image. Cancer survivors who are highly conscious of societally prescribed definitions of normal appearance may benefit significantly from RT.
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Factors determining fashion clothing interest and purchase intention: A study of Generation Z consumers in India
Authors: Neetu Singh, Niketa Chakrabarti and Rajesh TripathiAvailable online: 08 June 2023More LessThis research provides a framework of factors determining clothing interest and subsequent purchase motivation of Generation Z consumers in India. The predictors of young consumers’ clothing interest are uniqueness, self-concept, brand image, word of mouth and perceived quality, with price consciousness moderating the interaction between clothing interest and purchase intention. The study employed structural equation modelling to analyse data collected via a self-administered questionnaire from 211 consumers across India aged 18–24. The resultant model established the role of uniqueness, self-concept and brand image as significant predictors of clothing interest, which influenced consumers’ purchase intention positively. Both word of mouth and perceived quality have a low impact on the fashion clothing consumption of young consumers. The moderating role of price consciousness was also not established indicating that young consumers would go ahead with their clothing purchase if they develop an interest in it, regardless of the price. As the results confirmed the role of uniqueness, self-concept and brand image on clothing interest, which in turn influence consumers’ purchase motivation, this study throws significant insight on factors, which determine young consumers’ clothing interest. The research will hence enable clothing brands to develop strategies, which fit the young consumers’ values and appeal to their aspirational lifestyle, influencing their purchase motivation and brand loyalty in return.
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Breaking the cycle: A sustainable fashion paradigm
Authors: Alyson Rae Demirdjian and Belinda T. OrzadaAvailable online: 09 March 2023More LessThe fashion system fundamentally changed during the Industrial Revolution when the industry pivoted away from traditional craft-based production and towards mechanization and mass production. The design process, manufacturing operations, retail practices and marketing tactics of mass production contributed over time to the current climate crisis. Globally, the fashion system is acknowledged as an environmental and social emergency. Thus, the fashion system needs to get with the times. Fashion as a reflection of modernity needs to align with globally recognized social and environmental goals. Societal attachment to materialism and fashion consumption should be reconsidered. In this article we consider these challenges to propose a paradigm that breaks the fashion cycle and provides a framework for the role fashion producers and consumers should play in the twenty-first century.
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Foraging for fashion’s future: The use of mycelium materials and fungi intelligence in fashion design
Available online: 18 February 2023More LessIn reaction to the climate crisis, we have seen the emergence of environmental fashion trends that seek to limit energy use and cut emissions, with the aim of building sustainability. The provocation to design in concert with our biosphere is driving fashion designers to renegotiate our relationship with living systems in the quest for innovative ecological design models. This article explores the transformative coupling of fungi fabric and fashion. It considers how fashion brands and designers might develop new languages by bringing fungi’s root intelligence into wearable forms. A body of remarkable experiments has shown that fungi engage in decision-making, are capable of learning and possess short-term memory. The intelligence of the fungal ecosystem and its ability to repair damage in its own structure brings new possibilities to the idea of a ‘smart’ textile. Preserving these active qualities in a textile raises challenges for fashion brands and consumers about how to store the garments and whether we would need to feed our wardrobe of the future to keep it alive. If use of mycelium in fashion is to progress beyond the Petri dish or catwalk novelty, challenges of consistency and scale need to be addressed. Far from the ‘perfect cure’, fungi materials raise questions about their eco-credentials, finishing treatments and disposability, and the ethics of working with living organisms. With a rising experimentation in bio-fabrics, I suggest the need for a critical discourse of materials that aims to promote new questions and scholarship on the intersections between body and botany, decomposition and drapery, and engineering and ecosystems.
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Structural relationship of Ankara and lace fabrics in Nigeria
Available online: 08 February 2023More LessAnkara and lace fabrics have been in use for some years by many tribes in Nigeria. These two local fabrics are dynamic and unique to Africa in general. Despite the uniqueness of these two fabrics, there is a dearth of in-depth study on them. This study presents a comparative analysis of the physical structures of lace and Ankara fabrics through direct field research using a qualitative method to analyse the data with random sampling. This study was conducted with the aim of giving insight into the growth of the arts so as to preserve the designs and styles for future development through the understanding of the two fabrics. The study reveals that the fabrics are texturally good in the body and therefore widely used by the low, middle and high-class personalities in Nigeria.
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Ukrainian designers’ market: Consumers’ behaviour caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Antonina Ivashchuk, Olena Ryzhko and Olena KutsanAvailable online: 08 February 2023More LessThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to a crisis that has affected various aspects of life, including the consciousness of consumers in the fashion market. This article studies the synergies between the pandemic crisis and behaviour of consumers towards Ukrainian high fashion brands. The research aims to study the issue of the impact of the global pandemic crisis on such market segments as Ukrainian high fashion brands, reveal key drivers of consumers of these brands during the unstable economic situation and define the main models of promotion of designers’ brands. Uniqueness, materialism and the influence of a social group are considered three primary motivators for the consumption of Ukrainian high fashion brands. The authors of this article identified the modern hybrid model for promoting brands of Ukrainian designers as a set of communication tools that would restore the interest of the consumers.
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The ‘roaring’ twenties and African wildlife in fashionable dress: Part 1: Zebra fur patterns and femininity
Available online: 18 January 2023More LessThe fur and fur patterns of African animals were part of the fashion industry’s exoticization of Africa during the 1920s. Avant-garde interest in African sculpture, African textiles and African jewellery blended with the popularity of jazz music played by African Americans to create a market for fashionable clothing inspired by Africa. Using fur from African animals, and textile prints and embroideries imitating fur patterns, reflected the most consistent interest in Africa. African safaris, world fairs and colonial expositions displaying African animals contributed to African exoticism. Books for children, textile designs illustrating African elephants and examples of fabric dyed colours called ‘lioness’ were some of the resulting consumer products. The graphic fur patterns of leopards, giraffes and zebras perfectly suited the bold geometric aesthetics of the Arts Modernes design style, while the fringe-like quality of monkey fur met the trend requirements for fringed evening wear. Zebra fur and patterns played a feminizing role in mediating the increasingly masculine dress and activities for women. The graphic black-and-white stripes linked the wearer to the exotics and adventure of Africa, while also reflecting contemporary design aesthetics and the hard-edged, chaotic American city. Because the zebra stripe originates on the fur of a peaceful prey animal, the pattern was perceived as graceful and feminine. For the modern women who wanted to participate in the adventures of the era, wearing zebra stripes tempered the interpretation of her wild life in the American urban jungle without compromising her femininity.
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The ‘roaring’ twenties and African wildlife in fashionable dress: Part 2: The role of fur patterns in representations of the flapper and the development of sportswear
Available online: 18 January 2023More LessAfrican animal fur patterns were part of the flapper’s wardrobe. Fur trade publications and the fashion press specifically linked leopard to flapper fashion. Wearing leopard fur connected the modern woman to the wilds of jazz dance and sexual promiscuity for which she was known. Celebrity flappers like Nancy Cunard wore leopard. Illustrators like John Held Jr. made giraffe fur patterns part of this flapper look, though giraffe was short-lived and had more aristocratic and graceful connotations than leopard. African leopard, giraffe, gazelle and zebra were all linked to the new clothing category called sportswear. These furs were sometimes called jungle furs to exoticize their origins in Africa and connect them to the popularity of jazz, ‘jungle’ music. The fur patterns eventually became part of the exotic pyjama, thus promoting an early form of sportswear pant being worn outside the home for the beach by the end of the twenties.
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Futurism on the streets of London
Available online: 18 January 2023More LessObvious evidence does not exist linking the Italian Futurists’ conception of men’s fashion in the 1910s and 1920s with the tastes of the Mod subculture in London of the 1950s and 1960s. Yet the aesthetic behind both Futurist fashion and the Mod subculture is strikingly similar and suggests that ideas on style and lifestyle can cross-pollinate each other across decades and countries, given the right circumstances. Both Futurists and Mods wanted to be, as Giacomo Balla put it in a 1913 manifesto, ‘Dynamic/Aggressive/Shocking/Energetic/Violent … [with] Pattern changes […] available by pneumatic dispatch; in this way anyone may change his clothes according to the needs of mood’. London’s Mod subculture came from a directly coincident desire to abandon traditional aesthetics and methods of expression in favour of a constant turnover. The Futurists promoted an artistic movement as a lifestyle, declared in manifestos and acted out in the streets and in politics and that bled into fashion as a manifestation of their ideas, worn literally on their sleeves. The Mods promoted a lifestyle as an art, acted out on the streets, with fashion as the manifestation of their individuality, brought down to the level of the tapering of their pants legs. In both cases, the expression of their lifestyle and values was consciously manifested in the clothes one wore on an everyday basis and connected through the talents of Italian tailors for quick, inexpensive alterations. The similarity suggests an association between Futurism and the Mod subculture, in the appeal of Italian men’s fashion to both groups and demonstrating that certain avant-garde ideals in western art had filtered to the level of the average person over the course of five decades.
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From Marlene to Conchita and Kim: Gender performativities and iconicity in ‘naked’ dresses
Available online: 13 December 2022More LessThis article presents a whistle-stop tour through fashion history from Marlene Dietrich to Conchita Wurst and beyond, illustrating the complex iconicity of ‘naked’ dresses, also referred to as ‘nude illusion’ dresses. It interrogates notions of selfhood and performativity in relation to gender and celebrity. The article utilizes the embellished costumes made by Jean Louis for Marlene Dietrich as a starting point to explore the recurring image of a celebrity clad seemingly in nothing but rhinestones, sequins or similar embellishments. By providing an overview of notable instances of such ‘naked’ dresses, the article explores the accumulation of meaning through historical reference points ranging from the 1950s to the 2020s. In particular, it analyses images of femininity and desirability as evoked through these particular garments. The seeming exposure of the desirable body is set in relation to the careful construction of the image which brings together vulnerability and apparent truthfulness through the specific nature of the garment. The article explores how seemingly ‘baring it all’ is a carefully orchestrated performance with a long history and subversive potential.
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Is fashion stupid? Ironic representations of fashion in popular Hollywood films
Authors: Kristina Stankevičiūtė and Pietari KääpäAvailable online: 09 December 2022More LessPopular culture, especially cinema, tends to view the world of fashion from a distance, often in admiration but mixed with feelings of incomprehension, perplexion and even derision. The current article will analyse the films Pret-à-Porter (Altman 1994), Zoolander (Stiller 2001) and The Devil Wears Prada (Frankel 2006) as expressions of general approaches to the fashion industry in the comedy film genre. As high profile films, they embody a pattern of representation endemic to film comedy at the turn of the 1990s and 2000s and emphasize a frivolous, ironic attitude to the superficial and exploitative nature of the fashion industry, reflecting a wider sense of postmodernist cultural critique in American cinema of the shallowness of commercialism and pop culture (while, ironically, being part of precisely the same system as the target of its critique). By conducting narrative analysis of these films, we will show how they use stereotyping as a mechanism to satirize the fashion industry, creating superficial flashes of ridiculous behaviour and excessiveness, while they reinforce these approaches themselves through the use of genre and aesthetic conventions. In doing so, the films highlight the idea that fashion, as a form of popular culture, functions as an exemplary locus of cultural critique to satirize hyper-consumption and hyper-commercialism. As these films evoke wider questions about the concept of irony within and towards fashion, the chapter is a part of a larger project on the theme of fashion irony that aims at defining it as a field of academic study.
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The effectiveness of augmented reality in marketing communications on Generation Z consumer behaviour
Authors: Smith Boonchutima and Kanokrat SahakitpijarnAvailable online: 23 November 2022More LessMultiple brands, especially in the beauty industry, have considered and employed marketing strategies involving augmented reality (AR) in the past few years. However, the efficiency of augmented reality marketing (ARM) remains understudied. There are few experimental studies, and most are based on samples from western cultures and feature a narrow range of products. This study aims to fill this gap by conducting an experimental study using a sample of Generation Z women in Thailand to examine the effect of AR on lipstick purchase behaviour. This study primarily compares the efficiency of traditional and ARM in improving brand attitudes, reducing the perceived risk related to making a purchase and increasing purchase intentions. The results demonstrate that traditional marketing and ARM lead to significantly different results regarding the three constructs. Nonetheless, both approaches are effective in achieving all three desired outcomes. ARM is slightly more effective in reducing perceived risk, thereby providing valuable insights into its potential for successfully marketing cosmetics.
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Recalling forgotten principles: A cultural reading of fashion, death and sacredness
Available online: 04 November 2022More LessThis work presents a thesis on how fashion might reorganize and redefine its cultural presence and relevance by shifting its focus from material progress, expansion and profit to a re-emphasis on the more sacred principles that the author believes once defined its purpose. This discussion is particularly pertinent given the youth’s increasing cynicism with fashion as a capitalist concept and their disenchantment with the fashion system for its transparent commercial, superficial and socially irresponsible ethos. This research is in effect, presented as a retrospective and focuses on a particular era which for the author, represents an important, and final cultural moment where arguably fashion was oriented and underpinned by sacred principles. The cultural context to be explored is the 1990s. Within this context, three cultural moments (and intermediaries) are identified, each presented as a short case to illustrate the orienting presence of sacred principles within fashion at this time. It is felt that by reflecting on and analysing these contexts, similar principles can be reworked and reconfigured to address fashion’s current cultural malaise.
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Effects of recreation of subcultures on social media on the subculture, intersubculture community and intra-subculture community individuals
Authors: Rasika Bhoj, Riya Thapa and Aritrika Roy ChowdhuryAvailable online: 13 September 2022More LessIn order to create their social identity, humans have a tendency to express their feelings and self in the form of views and opinions that they expect from their immediate society. In today’s tech-savvy world, social media has become the most important platform for expressing one’s feelings, experiences and creating selfidentity. Subcultures based on these online identities have a direct or indirect effect on fashion, subculture, intercommunity (individuals within the subculture community) and intracommunity (individuals outside the subculture community) individuals. The rise in popularity of social media platforms has led to the recreation of such subculture communities as an online trend. The current article talks about the relation between fashion, social media and these online identities. Multiple identities that are shaped and expressed through fashion and style are created and enacted through social media. Multiple case studies were analysed for qualitative secondary research to understand the effects of recreation of multiple online subcultures, which was filtered down to the Cottagecore, E-girls and Dark Academia subcultures while keeping in mind the relevance on social media and availability of resources. These were taken as interviews from articles and blogs as secondary research pertaining to each subculture. The objective of the article is to understand the effects of recreation of online subcultures on the particular subcultures, its intercommunity, intracommunity individuals, as well as the fashion industry. Mixing and recreation of subcultures create different styles and aesthetics; thus, fashion keeps changing according to that, and trends keep coming up in the fashion industry.
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Personal clothing style and self-concept: Embracing the true, the ideal and the creative self
Authors: Justina Vingilyte and Ameerah KhadarooAvailable online: 30 May 2022More LessResearch shows that clothing style can influence self-perception, cognition and behaviour. However, the concept of personal clothing style and how it is linked to self-concept from an individual and subjective perspective of the wearer has received limited empirical attention. This qualitative study aimed to explore women’s lived experiences and perceptions of personal clothing style. Using a homogeneous sample of seven female participants, data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed that personal clothing style constitutes an embodiment of the true self, representation of the ideal self and expression of the creative self. More specifically, personal clothing style is predicated on self-knowledge, consistency and enduring sense of comfort. It is also perceived to actualize desired self-conceptions and one’s creative potential. Findings not only provide an empirically founded conceptualization of personal clothing style, but also identify its important psychological properties with implications for both psychology and fashion research.
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Adjusting standard retail practices for nonstandard consumers: How punk and subcultural fashion boutiques find success and build community
Authors: Monica Sklar, Maureen Lehto Brewster and Brett WhitleyAvailable online: 30 May 2022More LessThis research analyses the merchandising practices used to create a punk retail environment and shopping experience, distinct from more mainstream forms of consumption available simultaneously, as well as to document the merchandising history of United States punk style development, which is not widely known. Through primary interviews and archival data, this research discerns the practices that set these boutiques apart from their merchandising counterparts, Do It Yourself, or mass market chains. Analysis reviewed how these boutiques reconciled the challenge of appealing to critical consumers who were otherwise poised to potentially not need or want their services as scene members were a niche market segment that leaned anti-capitalist. Owner involvement, employee knowledge and retention, visual display, careful object selection and non-merchandising interaction with regional and national punk scenes are significant considerations. These stores provided community, commerce and educational spaces that projected subcultural authenticity through their business methods and cultural awareness. While not without some criticism of packaging a caricature of a lifestyle, overall the boutiques’ attempts at thoughtful practices led to consumer loyalty and business longevity, gaining market success alongside scene approval.
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Exploring young consumers’ perceptions towards sustainable practices of fashion brands
Available online: 12 April 2022More LessThe purpose of this study is to bridge the gap between sustainable fashion and customer purchase intentions by analysing the current trends and offering techniques to increase sustainable fashion awareness and overcome price consumption issues among Generation Z (Gen Z) consumers. A mixed methods approach was employed in this study consisting of online surveys and focus groups surrounding the topic of sustainable apparel consumption among the Gen Z age group. Focus groups served to lead to an online survey of questions to help better understand the phenomena on an exploratory scale. Three focus groups of eight to ten volunteers each aged 18–25 from a large Midwestern university took part in 60-minute discussions regarding their understanding of fast fashion and their purchase intentions/awareness of ethical issues within the apparel industry. Online surveys were conducted through the online platform Qualtrics consisting of 29 questions with a total of 445 participants ranging from 18 to 23 years old taking part in the online survey. Main themes found in the focus groups are the idea of shopping second hand, laziness among consumers and the quality of garments. Surveys found that this age group was willing to pay up to 25 per cent more for a sustainable apparel item and that uniqueness of the item was of utmost importance. Implications for brands and retailers as well as academics are presented.
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Indonesian women’s preferences regarding robe: Naisha Hijrah’s production matches future customers’ desires
Authors: Sumiyana Sumiyana and Andhika Oktafatria PrasetyaAvailable online: 04 April 2022More LessThe Indonesian textile industry grew by 15.35 per cent in 2019, whereas previously, it had only seen a growth of around 8.73 per cent. As a result, it occurred to the textile and apparel manufacturers that they needed to enlarge their business lines swiftly. Naisha Hijrah, a designer, producer and textile retailer, sells clothes based on Islamic styles with a post-modernist concept. This study elaborates on how Naisha Hijrah has met its customers’ needs. It also analyses why Naisha Hijrah could become the leading producer and retailer. Naisha Hijrah initially captured the Arabian clothes. This research shows that Naisha’s products have attributes that include crease-free fabric, strong seams, unnoticed fabric fibres, cut patterns, delicate stitching and a design that permits the wearer to perform their ablutions without removing the garment. On the other hand, the technical qualities include many of Naisha’s prioritized fabrics, such as Balotelli and Toyobo, accompanied by zippers designs. Therefore, Naisha develops its product that focuses on technical attributes that Indonesian women prioritize to fulfil their future desires. Finally, this study suggests that Naisha’s robes should combine several kinds of materials in each garment, improve the tailors’ skills, ensure no defects in its production and continuously push the workers to make firmer and smoother stitches. Therefore, Naisha Hijrah should increase sales because it sells what Indonesian women need and love. All this implies that it could be the leading retailer of Islamic fashion items.
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Knitting masculinities: How men are challenging masculinity and needlework in a post-pandemic age
By Judith BeyerAvailable online: 22 March 2022More LessThe JW Anderson patchwork cardigan from the spring/summer 2020 menswear collection has become an iconic fashion item during the COVID-19 pandemic. Worn by Harry Styles, the cardigan inspired a worldwide TikTok trend of crafting and DIY-ing a replica at home with over 90 million views to date. In response, JW Anderson published the pattern online and the V&A museum acquired the knitwear for its permanent collection. One year later, Olympic gold medallist Tom Daley was pictured knitting in the stands at the 2020 Olympic games – a craft he had picked up during the lockdowns. Both instances are challenging the notion of knitting and needlework as a feminine craft. In the past, men who embroidered, knitted or sewed their clothes were designated as infantile, effeminate and deviant from the hetero masculine norm. In today’s post-pandemic climate, these associations are being challenged. Taking the cardigan and the resurgence of needlework as a case study, this article investigates the ways the COVID-19 pandemic influenced contemporary fashion consumption and re-stitched the meaning of male knitting. Focusing on the transformative aspects of slow fashion and gender fluidity in contemporary society, this article draws on a theoretical framework deriving from queer theory and sustainable fashion. Coined by Kate Fletcher, slow fashion encompasses a recalibration towards a focus on high-quality items over quantity and a slower production that does not exploit natural and human resources. Judith Butler’s notion of gender performativity exposes gender as a social construct produced and maintained by a stylized repetition of acts, such as commonplace speech or nonverbal communication. Analysing the resurgence of male needlework through this critical lens, this article argues that it is the result of seismographic shifts within the contemporary fashion and popular culture that have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Disrupting the fashion industry profoundly on a global scale, this article discusses how the pandemic can be seen as a catalyst for fashion in renegotiating masculinities.
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Living the dream: Executives’ strategic decision-making and the interdependence of ‘pure’ luxury and masstige
Authors: Erik Roeraas and David LorangerAvailable online: 22 March 2022More LessMany companies such as Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors have had success selling both high-end luxury and middle-end ‘masstige’ brands, as consumers seek luxury labels at affordable prices. There have been studies into consumption of both luxury and masstige products, however, few inquiries have attempted to understand this phenomenon through interviews with luxury company executives. This study aimed to understand luxury executives’ perceptions of ‘pure luxury’ versus masstige in order to update current literature and theoretical frameworks. Interviews were conducted with nine (n = 9) luxury executives. Major themes of balance and cohesion and value emerged; sub-themes and minor themes are outlined.
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Maternity swimwear: A tool of female agency
Authors: Elizabeth Anne Weigle and Katalin MedvedevAvailable online: 28 February 2022More LessMaternity swimwear is one of the least researched garment types despite its ability to create a unique affective experience for women during gestation. It contains as well as exposes and liberates the changing female form during pregnancy. The study explores the history of this ‘second skin’ and illuminates how it relates to sociocultural ideals and human agency. It also investigates the changing perceptions of pregnancy and how maternity wear evolved into maternity fashion. It briefly reviews American women’s attitudes towards sports, primarily swimming, and discusses some of the controversies surrounding the most famous swimwear type, the bikini, before refocusing on maternity swimwear. The authors examine the role of maternity swimwear in helping the historically secluded private female body transition into a visible and public body and postulate the harmony created between swimsuit, mother and child, particularly whilst submerged in water. They suggest that the bathing suit enables women to take charge of their pregnant bodies and new identities and conclude that maternity swimwear is a significant tool of female agency.
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Garment fit expectations as determinants of men’s ready-to-wear business apparel purchase decisions: The personal appearance revelation
Authors: Philné Lundie, Mariette Strydom, Elizabeth Kempen and Rejoice Tobias-MaminaAvailable online: 24 February 2022More LessThe purpose of this article is to examine male consumers’ functional expectations, aesthetic expectations and socio-psychological expectations of the fit of ready-to-wear business apparel as potential antecedents of the purchase decision among a sample of male consumers in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Data were collected from 216 respondents using anonymously completed online questionnaires. Research scales were operationalized based on previous work, and modifications were made to match the current research context and purpose. ‘Functional expectations’, ‘aesthetic expectations’ and ‘socio-psychological expectations’ all used eight-item scale measures. All the measurement items were on a five-point Likert scale anchored by 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = undecided, 4 = agree and 5 = strongly agree to express the degree of agreement. The three posited hypotheses were empirically tested. The results significantly supported all the hypotheses, except for H1. The study findings indicate that a robust relationship exists between socio-psychological expectations and purchase decisions, suggesting that socio-psychological expectations can have a strong, direct influence on male consumers’ decision to purchase business apparel. This could be indicative that when consumers evaluate garments, they do not only consider styles that fit comfortably, but also its aesthetic and cognitive impact. Both practitioners and academics may benefit from the implications of this study. A significant contribution is made to the fashion apparel marketing literature by systematically exploring South African male consumers’ functional expectations, aesthetic expectations and socio-psychological expectations of readyto- wear business apparel, and its effect on their purchase decision. Empirically, an understanding of consumers’ motivation to purchase ready-to-wear business apparel can assist retailers in developing more effective marketing strategies. While existing literature claims male consumers focus on the functional expectations of apparel, this study found that socio-psychological and aesthetic expectations have a significantly greater impact on South African male consumers’ business apparel purchase decisions. Overall, the current study’s findings support the proposition that there is a need to acknowledge aesthetic and sociopsychological expectations of business apparel as significant antecedents of male consumers’ purchase decisions in South Africa. This study, therefore, stands to contribute new knowledge to the existing body of consumer decision-making literature and male apparel shopping behaviour.
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Understanding the role of retail therapy (RT) on body shame, weight preoccupation and body mass index (BMI)
Authors: Simar Goyal and Jeong-Ju YooAvailable online: 15 December 2021More LessThe goal of the study is to understand the effect of retail therapy (RT) based on individuals’ body shame, body mass index (BMI) and weight preoccupation. A total of 285 female college students, with an average age of 20.55 years, were collected. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to compare four types of RT (i.e. therapeutic shopping motivation, positive mood reinforcement, negative mood reduction and therapeutic shopping outcomes) based on the degree of body shame, BMI and weight preoccupation. The effect of RT was significantly stronger for individuals who experience body shame. However, based on the individuals’ BMI, the effect of RT did not show statistical differences for any of the subcategories. Only negative mood reduction was significantly stronger for individuals who were highly preoccupied with their weight. Individuals who shop to compensate for personal features may do so to rectify negative perceptions of their weight. Retailers should focus on creating a shopping environment for plus-size consumers and provide a shopping environment that will change their weight perceptions by carrying a broader range of sizes in their stores. Mental health professionals should investigate RT as a modality to treat the symptoms of body image issues.
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How do fashion YouTubers and viewers experience social support?
Authors: Yusun Her and Jaehoon ChunAvailable online: 09 August 2021More LessIncreasingly many studies have provided practical suggestions for fashion YouTubers as fashion information sources, but no research has yet investigated the resources exchanged in the relationships between fashion YouTubers and viewers. Based on interviews with three Korean fashion YouTubers and ten of their viewers, this study examined social support in their relationships. Viewers acquired information from fashion YouTubers and, therefore, experienced informational support. Subsequently, as a sense of belonging to fandom emerged, established mainly by viewers subscribing to a fashion YouTube channel, network support was experienced by both fashion YouTubers and viewers. Along with constant communication, they shared their values and experienced emotional support through mutual empathy. Therefore, this study verified previous theories according to which both informational and emotional exchanges are possible in online relationships. Furthermore, network support was an important process, which may be connected to emotional support, since these relationships were autonomously established by online users.
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Promoting upcycling fashion through DIY tutorials amongst Thai Generation Z
Authors: Smith Boonchutima, Ruja Lertjaruphatthra, Sarita Ukoskit and Tanat YompuckAvailable online: 09 August 2021More LessThe fashion industry’s heightened focus on sustainable production has enhanced the emergence of varied eco-conscious procedures such as re-upcycling. Nonetheless, the multiple steps required for such procedures often lead to more expensive products, consequently lowering consumers’ motivation to purchase such products. Do-it-yourself (DIY) fashion videos can motivate individuals to try DIY fashion, while promoting sustainable production and consumption of clothing. This study tested if DIY fashion videos could be used to change the perception among Thai youth on the DIY sustainable fashion. An Instagram profile named ‘Broke Vogue’ was created and it shared a variety of DIY fashion-related contents and activities. The page gained 300 followers during the six weeks it was active. The profile also invited participants to take a survey to evaluate their attitudes towards DIY fashion. This served as the data source of this study. The majority of participants in the survey were university students (N = 102, 73.5 per cent women). The results confirmed that participants developed a positive opinion concerning DIY fashion after visiting the page. However, it also strengthened some negative stereotypes as participants were more confident that DIY fashion was not appropriate for senior citizens or citizens with financial issues.
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‘Here comes the (Turkish) bride’: American consumer culture and the Turkish bridal industry
Authors: Annessa Ann Babic and Tanfer Emin TuncAvailable online: 09 August 2021More LessThis ethnographic study seeks to position Turkish women within the lucrative global bridal industry, which is today heavily influenced by the style, aesthetics and consumer values of the American wedding. It will add to the existing literature by examining Turkish brides’ participation in transnational networks that promote the commodification of weddings in Turkey – a country where, for many, weddings were until quite recently low-budget affairs designed to maximize newlywed profits. We will explore how such networks establish and reinforce bridal rules and codes through wedding props such as gowns, cakes, jewellery, flatware, china and honeymoons. By unpacking the complexities, symbolism and meaning of the contemporary Turkish bride, we will move beyond simple binaries to examine how tradition and modernity overlap and intersect and how modernity is an intrinsic part of the evolution of traditional Turkish wedding practices. This study will also critique processes of (American) cultural assimilation and reveal how Turkish brides are negotiating western trends, influences and the ‘weddingindustrial complex’. Through lifestyle marketing and other industry practices, these networks are prescribing how Turkish women – regardless of their socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, educational and class status and cultural and religious beliefs – should perform the bridal role. Moreover, because of its ties to aesthetics, style and fashion, the lavish American-style wedding has also become the ultimate platform for the display of purchasing power in Turkey – a way to replicate the conspicuous consumption of the wealthier, leisured classes that, for many Turks, has become synonymous with modernity and elevated social status.
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Hashtags for #fashion on Instagram: Examining hashtag utilization and customer engagement
Available online: 09 August 2021More LessWith the popularity of Instagram, the hashtag (#) symbol has emerged as an important marketing tool. By using hashtags, brands can increase their visibility and reach among Instagrammers. The purpose of this research is to examine how fashion brands utilize hashtags and captions on Instagram and how Instagrammers respond to different hashtag and caption patterns. A computational analysis of a large collection of hashtags and captions posted with fashion images was conducted to identify patterns of utilizing hashtags and captions in terms of frequency, form and content. Specifically, 65,107 hashtags attached to 29,557 fashion images posted on Instagram by ten global fashion brands were analysed. This study also examined how customer engagement levels vary for each variable. Several important findings emerged from this study: (1) while most fashion images were posted with hashtags and captions, indiscriminate use of hashtags (i.e. hashtags that are too frequent or too long) were likely to lower the number of likes and comments; (2) using a hashtag in combination with a caption or only using a caption could be more effective than using a hashtag alone in increasing customer engagement levels; and (3) hashtags containing promotional messages, in general, were less effective in promoting likes and comments.
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Fashion and Appropriation
Authors: Denise Nicole Green and Susan B. Kaiser
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