LIBERATION

THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS, DRAG AND DEFYING GENDER NORMS

Dior’s designs were accused of objectifying women and faced heavy criticism amongst second-wave feminists. They saw the ‘New Look’ as epitomising the traditional role women were expected to take during this decade by creating the image of the glamorous 1950s housewife. The swinging sixties told a different story. With rising hemlines and a growing air of informality, the youth of the time lived a post-war hedonistic lifestyle and their fashion reflected that with vivid colours and playful, innovative pieces rejecting the ritual and conformity of the previous decade. The sexual revolution of the 1960s celebrated the female form but not in the way Dior’s “perfect” hourglass silhouette did. Instead, it birthed the mini skirt, flares, and clothing characterised by sequins and satins. An era of true expression and freedom, the sixties brought feminism into the mainstream; more jobs became available for young women and the fashion of the time presented young women with physical liberation from the restrictive garments of the past mirroring the decade’s social and political liberty.

In the 1970s, Vivienne Westwood’s designs helped revolutionise a new movement; she moved away from sartorial convention, playing a vital role in the birth of punk fashion. The era of punk is thought of as a fashion era marked by anger, rebellion and defiance against the establishment. For women, this meant no longer dressing to please the male gaze, in fact often aiming to do the opposite. This freedom from trying to attract men allowed the women of the punk movement to weaponize fashion for their own empowerment.

As an early designer of the ‘New Romantic’ era, Vivienne Westwood stood beside other designers that reinvented identity in the seventies. The fashion of the ‘New Romantics’ was eccentric, flamboyant and expressive. More glamorous than punk fashion, this era influenced by period cos- tumes empowered subcultures and blurred the lines of gendered fashion. The late seventies and early eighties were full of political and social unrest and this underground youth culture, hand in hand with the emerging British clubbing scene, allowed the population’s youth to take control of their own expression and image. The ‘New Romantic’ era was one of exploration. Through actively defying gender norms in a political climate that was debating gender roles, fashion gave the youth of the time freedom of expression in a time of social turbulence.

These movements and eras of fashion paved the way for beautifully diverse forms of expression today. Designers birthed and aided social revolutions. Changing fashion had an immense role in shaping history and therefore shaping the present.

Undeniably influenced by the ‘New Romantics’, the triumphant drag scene of today presents yet another example of freedom through fashion and appearance. During the eighties conservative politicians were still trying to penalise homosexuality despite its legality. Policy was ridden with homophobia, yet the modern drag race was born. As an underground form of entertainment, it also provided safety and solidarity for the LGBTQ+ community.

With its powerful history, drag symbolised a community persevering through difficult times, a community who stayed true to their identity in a society that pushed so hard for them to do otherwise. Drag has always been an incredibly liberating form of creativity, and continues to give the LGBTQ+ community a way to express and celebrate themselves and their identities through fashion.

Throughout the years, different communities have been inspired and empowered by the work of different designers to embrace their identities and reclaim their pasts. From the children of immigrants intertwining their own culture with Western culture through clothes, to the corset coming back into fashion as a celebration of the female body and overwriting its oppressive history. Fashion has constantly adapted, empowered and brought about change.

The fashion industry has a long way to go in terms of inclusivity, diversity and recognition. Elements of it, particularly the fast fashion industry, need to make immense changes by way of sustainability and human rights. For the industry to truly reach the potential it has for positive impact, these changes are crucial.

As articles of oppression become articles of empowerment and designers continue to venture into new territories of identity, fashion continues to be a vital form of social anthropology. Perhaps it even defines us in many ways. Its history, present and future can be characterised by liberation and increasing self-expression.

- Vivika Sahajpal