Modern Fashion Traditions: Negotiating Tradition and Modernity through Fashion (Dress and Fashion Research)

Modern Fashion Traditions is a provocative exploration of the phenomenon of fashion that is found in non-western cultures that are developing fashion cities and spaces of consumption in contradistinction to mainstream ‘western’ fashion. To date, insofar as non-western fashion (as opposed to dress) has been studied, non-western fashion has been regarded as a product of globalization and the pervasive spread of western fashion rather than as separate fashion systems with their own logics, tensions and histories. In particular, this volume examines the similarities and differences within and between these self-contained yet dynamic and dialectical fashion systems that can be found in a wide range of non-western regions and contexts. The overarching framework used to explore this phenomenon problematizes the key oppositions conventionally used to describe fashion in non-Eurocentric contexts, namely: tradition and modernity, continuity versus change, local versus global, commodification versus self-expression, and self orientalism versus nationalism; above all, the volume challenges the assumption of fashion as ‘the West versus the Rest’. The chapters in Modern Fashion Traditions bring together case studies from diverse contexts that are cultural powerhouses with distinctive fashion systems including Japan, China, India, Bhutan, Turkey, Africa and Australia to challenge preconceptions about non-western fashion. Throughout, authors question the assumption of tradition as the foundation of non-western dress habits, instead arguing that there are dynamic interplays and re-workings of mainstream global fashion to carve out unique and robust fashion cultures and subcultures with distinctively local references. Furthermore, these defy the usual assumptions about the phenomenon of fashion and the defining role of Euro-centrism as overriding Orientalism and Otherness in the forging of powerful fashion cultures and identities. 1. Introduction M. Angela Jansen, London College of Fashion, UK, and Jennifer Craik, Queensland University of Technology, Australia PART I: FASHION HISTORY REVISED 2. Neither East nor West: Japanese Fashion in Modernity Toby Slade, University of Tokyo, Japan 3. Fashion in the Chinese Context Christine Tsui, University of Hong Kong, China PART II: THE COMMODIFICATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE 4. Being Fashionable in India in the Globalisation Era: Holy Writing on Garments Janaki Turaga, Independent Researcher, India 5. Exotic Narratives in Fashion: The Impact of Motifs of Exotica on Fashion Design and Fashionable Identities Jennifer Craik, Queensland University of Technology, Australia PART III: SELF-ORIENTALISM OR NATION BRANDING? 6. Ottoman Costume in the Context of Modern Turkish Fashion Design S akir z dog?ru, Anadolu University, Turkey 7. Beldi Sells: The Commodification of Moroccan Fashion M. Angela Jansen, London College of Fashion, UK PART IV: LOCAL CONSTRUCTS OF THE GLOBAL 8. History, Art, and Plastic Bags: Viewing South Africa Through Fashion Victoria L. Rovine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA 9. Constructing Fashionable Dress and Identity in Bhutan Emma Dick, Middlesex University, UK PART V: CONCLUSION 10. Afterword: Fashion s Fallacy Sandra Niessen, Independent Anthropologist, The Netherlands Index "Modern Fashion Traditions questions the dynamics of fashion systems and spaces of consumption outside the West. Too often, these fashion systems are studied as a mere and recent result of globalization and Western fashion influences, but this book draws on a wide range of non-Western case studies and analyses their similarities and differences as legitimate fashion systems, contesting Eurocentric notions of tradition and modernity, continuity versus change, and 'the West versus the Rest'. Preconceptions about non-Western fashion are challenged through diverse case studies from international scholars, including street-style identity in Bhutan, the influence of Ottoman cultural heritage on contemporary Turkish fashion design, and an investigation into the origins of the word 'fashion' in Chinese. Negotiating tradition, foreign influences and the contemporary global dominance of Western fashion cities, Modern Fashion Traditions will give readers a clearer understanding of non-Western fashion identities in the present. Accessibly written, this ground-breaking text makes an essential contribution to the study of non-Western fashion and will be an important resource for students of fashion history and theory, anthropology, and cultural studies."-- Provided by publisher Cover Half-title Title Copyright Contents List of Illustrations List of Contributors 1. Introduction Part I: Fashion History Revised 2. Neither East nor West: Japanese fashion in modernity 3. “Fashion” in the Chinese context Part II: The Commodification of Cultural Heritage 4. Being fashionable in the globalization era in India: Holy writing on garments 5. Exotic narratives in fashion: The impact of motifs of exotica on fashion design and fashionable identities Part III: Self-Orientalism or Nation Branding? 6. Ottoman costume in the context of modern Turkish fashion design 7. Beldi sells: The commodification of Moroccan fashion Part IV: Local Constructs of The Global 8. History, art, and plastic bags: Viewing South Africa through fashion 9. Constructing fashionable dress and identity in Bhutan Part V: Conclusion 10. Afterword: Fashion’s fallacy Index This volume questions the role of emerging fashion cities and spaces of consumption independently from the West. Too often, these fashion systems are studied in relation to globalisation and Western fashion, but this book draws on a wide range of non-Western regions and analyses their similarities and differences as self-contained fashion systems, contesting ambiguous notions of tradition and modernity, continuity versus change, and 'the West versus the Rest'