Cultural Studies
Indonesian metrosexuals on Instagram: A phenomenological approach of male fashion style experiences in communicating the identity
This 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.
Canadian Critical Luxury Studies: Decentring Luxury, Jessica P. Clark and Nigel Lezama (eds) (2022)
Review 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
Camouflage in popular culture, fashion and accessory design in India
This 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.
Wholesale Couture: London and Beyond, 1930–1970, Liz Tregenza (2023)
Review 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
‘It is normal, that is, difficult’: Care obligation and solidarity in Balkan-Swiss families during the COVID-19 pandemic
This article explores the dynamics of care obligations and family solidarity within Balkan-Swiss families specifically concerning ageing parents against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through interviews with adult children residing in Switzerland whose ageing parents reside in Kosovo North Macedonia and Serbia we uncover the challenges exacerbated by the pandemic’s global border closures and lockdowns. Our conceptual framework places a spotlight on family solidarity central during our interviews in contrast to major discussions in social science literature on ageing in cross-border families revolving around moral obligation. We explore how family solidarity plays a pivotal role in the support systems for ageing parents in the interviewed families. We contextualize by the history of migration between the Balkans and Switzerland and the relevant migration laws before we shed light on the conditions of parents in the Balkans both before and during the pandemic. We analyse the impact of international border closures on family relationships support structures and international travel patterns. We highlight a pattern of cooperation and unity a solidarity as it manifests in specific relationships within families. Yet the notion of solidarity encompasses the broader ‘public’ sphere and social movements. Solidary connections transcend one’s immediate (family) circle encompassing also a global dimension of solidarity. We argue that the intricate dynamics of cross-border family caregiving for ageing parents during the COVID-19 pandemic represent a contemporary social issue suitable for discussion in the context of the solidarity concept. This discussion we believe offers a valuable contribution to the discourses on solidarity.
The Neoliberal Self in Bollywood
This book explores the consequences of unbridled expansion of neoliberal values within India through the lens of popular film and culture. The focus of the book is the neoliberal self which far from being a stable marker of urban liberal millennial Indian identity has a schizophrenic quality one that is replete with contradictions and oppositions unable to sustain the weight of its own need for self-promotion optimism and belief in a narrative of progress and prosperity that has marked mainstream cultural discourse in India. The unstable and schizophrenic neoliberal identity that is the concern of this book however belies this narrative and lays bare the sense of precarity and inherent inequality that neoliberal regimes confer upon their subjects.
The analysis is explicitly political and draws upon theories of feminist media studies popular culture analyses and film studies to critique mainstream Hindi cinema texts produced in the last two decades. Rele Sathe also examine a variety of other peripheral ‘texts’ in her analysis such as the film star the urban space web series YouTube videos and social media content.
The Urban Refugee
The presence of the refugee in the contemporary metropolis is marked by precarity a quality that has become a characteristic feature of the neoliberal urban milieu. Bringing together essays from diverse disciplines from architectural history to cultural anthropology and urban planning this collection sheds light on both the specificities of the contemporary urban condition that affects the refugees and the multi-dimensional impact that the refugees have on the city. The authors propose investigating this connection through three interlinked themes: identity (informality imagination and belonging); place (transnational homemaking practices); and site (the navigation of urban space).
In recent years there has been a significant growth in scholarship on forced migration particularly on the relationship between displacement and the built environment. Scholars have focused on spatial practices and forms that arise under conditions of displacement with much attention given to refugee camps and the social and political aspects of temporariness. While these issues are important the essays in this volume aim to contribute to a less explored aspect of displacement namely the interaction between refugees and the cities they inhabit. In this respect the volume underlines the specificity of the urban refugee as well as their spatial agency and investigates the irreversible effect they have on the contemporary urban condition.
The authors argue that viewing urban refugees solely as dislocated individuals outside the camp-like spaces of containment fails to understand the agency of the urban refugee and the blurred boundaries of identity that result. The term "refugee crisis" objectifies and denies active agency to refugees homogenizing dislocated individuals and groups. The neoliberalization of the past four decades has led to the precarization of labour and the displacement of refugees who frequently blend into the urban environment as hidden populations. Refugees are subjected to constant surveillance and the state's attempts to control them. However these attempts are not uncontested and the involvement of activist interventions further politicizes the urban refugee.