The article is from 2006, but now more than ever politics is entering the realm of fashion. The effects of the reccession, the war and 9/11 can be seen on international runways. What happens in the political realm effects, nearly everything.
But how seriously should it be taken?
Fashion item or political statement?
This is an interesting read, I would really like to know what you guys think about this.
Interesting comment about a "controversial" item of clothing raising awareness of situations overseas... Personally, I'm not convinced that the hip kids (and those that jump on the bandwagon) care very much about what's happening outside of their back garden...
ReplyDeleteVery interesting article. I strongly agree with the comment "Whether the scarf is seen as a political statement is usually in the eye of the beholder...I think the meaning is given to it as much by the viewer as the wearer." Prior to reading this article I wasn't at all aware of the history and politic surrounding kaffiyeh and am embarrassed to admit I only viewed it as a fashion accessory. It would be interesting to know who started manufacturing the kaffiyehs to sell directly to the public and what their intentions were. I think that in a Western context, where common knowledge of Eastern history and culture isn't comprehensive (as a generalisation), many wearers don't realise the connotations that exist in wearing these 'scarves'. It's insightful that political statements can be this far-reaching, entering the realm of fashion but interests me if this was ever the intended effect of the designers.
ReplyDeleteI also had no knowledge and never made any connections. It leads me to further thinking in what else we wear that is actually taken from another culture or has symbolic meaning to other people. At the end of the day I think this is an issue of symbols and who depicts what from which symbol. Symbols can be very powerful, Divinci code anyone? I would say the manufacturing company got their idea for it from the Arabs but thought maybe they could pull it off. Isnt' that what designers do? take ideas from everywhere and try to put it together to create a 'new look'.
ReplyDeleteI don't think politics can really be separated from anything (*cough* sport), because it's about how we live life in a society and in relation to the world. But really, aren't there more important things going on to devote energy to than obsessing over whether one item of Western fashion clothing indicates support for terrorism or not? I'd wager that half the people wearing Che Guevara t-shirts have no idea who he is, let alone what he stood for. Does that make them communists when they wear it? No.
ReplyDeleteI think it would only really matter if the message being put out by the kaffiyeh manufacturers was "hey guys, being Middle Eastern is so hot right now!" or that looking, supposedly, like a terrorist was somehow "edgy". Like the Derelicte campaign in Zoolander. Heh.
I think this is only a big issue because of Americas hostility towards terrorism and Islam in particular.
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