HCRT-335: Fashion & Revolutionary Dress

Fashion is inherently political. We see this from the way our clothing produces social signals to the way it is bought, sold, worn and made. Clothes sit at the threshold between self and other, as such, they have often been a site for political resistance and utopian experimentation. Just as often, our clothes divide us, enforcing race, class and gender hierarchies. In this class, we will discuss texts by fashion designers, artists and theorists, tracing a history of fashion and revolution. Starting with the rise of the garment industry, we will trace a path to the present moment. Topics include the relationship between fashion, race and protest, feminist and queer histories of dress, cyborgs, prosthetics, labor and environmental collapse. Together, we will engage in a collective reimagining of our relationship to dress, and by extension, the world. ?