Reconstructing a National Silhouette: Avant-Garde Fashion and Perceptions of the Japanese Body (original) (raw)

Abstract

We present our identities, both wittingly and unwittingly, through the aesthetic choices we make in regards to our bodies. Adorning the body through fashion represents a genuine solution to a paradox of basic human needs: to express individuality and conform to a larger group or society. Three designers in particular, Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto, fostered the recognition of Japanese fashion in Paris in the 1970s by shattering industry conventions. The success of these three designers has consequently tied their heritage to their work and its impact on the global stage. Using Rei Kawakubo as a case study, this research aims to understand how fashion can redefine society’s image of a clothed body’s race, gender or ability, while simultaneously delineating the political and social expectations of that body’s behavior. In other words, how has Kawakubo’s work shaped fashion’s view on the body, and is there something inherently Japanese to this reconstruction process? The paper investigates two specific collections, “Dress Meets Body, Body Meets Dress” (S/S 1997) and “Broken Bride” (A/W 2005). The dates of these collections offer two distinct snapshots of the industry’s willingness to accept Japanese fashion. Analysis of the clothes’ silhouettes, patterns, materials, construction and deviations from tradition underscores the capacity of fashion to create meaningful change in the embodiment of class, gender, race and disability.

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References (61)

  1. designers reach the ends of their careers, their collections of work will begin to gain the domestic appreciation they deserve. ! 32 Power 3 ! 63 this may be sexual, egotistical, or racial, the change itself affords the wearer the most potent form of power fashion has to offer. Individual power is the most important to Kawakubo, and is the fundamental starting point from which change in the industry originates. Judith Thurman calls Rei Kawakubo a "misfit." She "plays the game" of the fashion industry, but apparently does not have winning in mind. Her relationship with power is unlike that of any other designer to reach her level of success. It seems as though the more she rejects opportunities for power, the more they fall into her lap. She clearly does not align with the industry's perceptions of a fashion designer, and for this reason has attracted the attention of countless critics and academics. I am not the first to draw the link between fashion and manifestations of power, nor am I the first to thoroughly analyze the impact, motivation, and reception of Kawakubo's work. I hope, however, that in conjunction with a cross-analysis of the impact of heritage and gender, academia and the arts can use this case study on Rei Kawakubo as evidence of the pressing need to treat fashion as a viable field of critical analysis. In blurring the line between designer, businesswoman, artist and icon, Rei Kawakubo represents the pinnacle of fashion's ability to shape our perceptions of gender and race and the power they hold. ! 84 References
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