Review: "Fashion, Body and Culture" International Conference

"Fashion, Body and Culture" International Conference, London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, St Anne's College, University of Oxford (February 15, 2020)

The shoes delivered to Theresa May

Introduction

My journey into the world of fashion studies is perhaps not an orthodox one. On May 9th, 2017, then-British Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip May gave an interview on BBC’s The One Show as part of her election campaign. During this interview, Theresa May discussed her love of shoes, and mentioned how, around four or five years ago, she was talking to a young woman in the elevator in the House of Commons: 

"I said, 'ooh nice pair of shoes,' and she said, 'ooh I like your shoes,' and then she looked at me and said, 'your shoes got me involved in politics.'"

Since her entry into mainstream politics, Theresa May’s shoes have been a key part of her image. Their jazzy designs, such as her famous leopard print heels, gave a hint of the personality behind the politician, and acted as a contrast to her rather sober and serious public persona. [1] Therefore, like any story relating to May’s shoes, these comments gained significant media attention (Interestingly, Philip May—a man certainly not known for his fashion sense—also disclosed a “passion for jackets and ties,” but this did not spark as much interest as the Prime Minister’s shoes). [2] [3]

This anecdote became the spark that inspired learning disabilities charity Hft’s Walk In Our Shoes campaign: a campaign aimed at encouraging politicians to spend time with people with learning disabilities, in order to better understand what life is like for them—in other words, to walk in their shoes! 

Inspired by Theresa May’s love of shoes, the campaign was officially launched by the delivery of a pair of custom-made shoes to the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street, decorated with the faces of people supported by Hft. As part of this campaign, we conducted a poll of British Members of Parliament asking them how likely they were to judge others by the shoes they wore, and what kind of shoes MPs liked to wear themselves. [4]

The headline findings of the poll were originally issued as a press release to mark the one-year anniversary of the Downing Street visit. A deeper analysis of these findings formed the basis of two journal papers—Walk In Our Shoes: Differences Amongst British Members of Parliament on How Likely They Are to Judge Others by the Shoes They Wear and If The Shoe Fits: Differences in Footwear Preferences Between UK Parliamentarians— for which we are currently awaiting publication. These papers formed the basis of our presentation at the London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research’s "Fashion, Body and Culture" International Conference, held on 15 February 2020 at St Anne's College, University of Oxford.

Session 1 - “Body Politics: Perspectives on Power and Apparel”

I, Billy Davis (Hft, UK), opened the first session by exploring the overlaps between politics and fashion. Theresa May facing media attention over her choice of footwear is in line with a long tradition of politicians and leaders throughout history enduring scrutiny over their choice of attire. Leaders are often seen as a representation of the country they lead, and so fashion is used as a method of asserting authority and communicating ideas, whether it was Tutankhamun and his gold and jewel encrusted clothing, Louis XIV’s focus on opulence and luxurious clothing, or modern day politicians such as Ellen Sirleaf, who mixed traditional African clothing with Western designs and colours to show herself as an ordinary Liberian not aligned to any single tribe.  

I then summarized the literature showing how clothes and shoes are strong influencers for first impressions. There are also many studies on how people judge professionals in various industries based on their attire, from librarians and doctors through to football referees. The existing literature on MPs, however, focuses on how their attire is interpreted by voters. To our knowledge, this is the first time a study has been conducted on how MPs perceive others. Our poll found that almost a quarter (23%) of MPs surveyed admitted to being likely to judge someone by the shoes they wear. Broken down along party lines, 42% of Conservative MPs said they would judge a person by the shoes that they wear, compared to just 9% of Labour MPs. 

Based on existing studies, Hft had theorized that more Conservative (big “C”) politicians would be more likely to choose more conservative (small “C”) shoes to wear. Indeed, our findings did show that Conservative women were more likely to choose more formal footwear choices, such as heels, whereas Labour women opted for flats and trainers. Interestingly, men of all political parties tended to gravitate towards formal shoe choices, like Oxford shoes and brogues. I closed by pointing out that, to our knowledge, our study represented the first time MPs were examined as actors making their own fashion decisions, rather than images being decoded by voters. We also hope this exploratory study will help build on our wider understanding of how people judge others by their attire. 

Billy Davis giving presentation

This was followed by a presentation by Claire Salmon (Royal College of Art, UK) on Sexualised Dress and the Strip Club and Society. In her research on “ho couture,”  Claire sought to challenge the idea that girls are influenced negatively by sexual imagery, and that women wearing sexy clothes are, in fact, women reclaiming their own agency. Claire gave an overview of much of the existing literature, which either tends to focus on whether women wear sexual dress to please men or themselves, or how women’s attire is judged as acceptable or unacceptable in the workplace.

Claire’s research interest came from the #NotAStripper hashtag, which began being used by pole dancers pointing out the difference between dancers and strippers. This eventually became appropriated by other women as a way of showing their defiance and commitment to dressing however they choose. 

When interviewing pole dancers for her research, Claire realized how sexualized clothing can be used to be both provocative and empowering. Pleaser shoes, for example, have extremely long heels, appearing to be both a fetishistic piece of clothing, but also as a weapon—allowing a woman to assert her boundaries and acting as a warning to any wayward clients. Thongs, as well as being revealing, are a tool of empowerment. By pulling the elastic side, the pole dancer can indicate where money should be dispensed, but also suggest an amount to tip (coins would be inappropriate, as the thong would not be able to hold them, so she is demanding a bill).  

Mainstream sexualized clothing, while certainly inspired by clothes worn by pole dancers and strippers, also allows women to reclaim their sexuality. This was perhaps best embodied by the phenomenon of Slut Walks— with women marching in so-called slutty clothing to challenge the idea that a woman who wears sexualized clothing is somehow “asking for it.” 

Claire noted that historically, in times when greater gender imbalance is perceived, provocative clothing seems to make a resurgence. Looking at the current political situation, it was not hard to see why provocative clothing would be making a comeback now. She concluded her presentation by encouraging us all to put on some kinky shoes and join a Slut Walk! 

Alisa Takashima (Nagoya University, Japan) then introduced us all to the world of “Joso” (Japanese for “female clothing”). This tradition of men dressing in women’s clothing dates back to 18th century Japan. In modern day Japan, JosoCon is a popular festival on many university campuses, and allows men to dress as women to perform for the adoration of an audience. 

Based on interviews with three participants, Alisa sought to understand why men would want to participate in such competitions. For many of them, Joso was a way for them to placate their own body insecurities, and “perfect” themselves by embodying an idealized version of femininity. This is echoed by respondents reporting that they were more interested in the make-up than the clothing. However, while a lot of effort was taken to appear feminine, analysis of conversations with emcees showed that many of them viewed JosoCon as an opportunity to entertain, with many successful contestants parodying, rather than mimicking, feminine traits. 

Alisa concluded by opining that, while LGBT rights are improving in Japan, and that with that, traditional conceptions of gender are starting to blur, in Joso competitions it is widely recognized that boys who already look and act feminine in their day-to-day lives tend to be the most successful in these competitions.  

Closing this session was Cynthia Umezulike (Birkbeck, University of London, UK). Cynthia presented a paper on Self Starvation: Media Influence on the Development of the Thin Body. Cynthia’s paper explored the role the media plays in forming body image amongst adolescents. She notes that, while both boys and girls suffer from body issues throughout puberty, boys tend to grow out of it, whereas girls can carry their insecurities into womanhood. 

Cynthia argued that both boys and girls are affected by the media when establishing their own sense of body image. This is something that has only worsened with the advent of social media, which has allowed for more opportunities for social comparison. Western media in particular portrays the thin body as the pinnacle of beauty, with fatness portrayed as something “other.” Cynthia argued that fashion magazines and other related media, with their focus on diets and quick weight loss, are becoming increasingly responsible for teenagers engaging in extreme dieting and food refusal. This then leads to a vicious circle, with the demand for diets that deliver quicker weight loss, which in turn leads to increased food refusal.

Turning to her native Nigeria, Cynthia concluded her presentation by looking at the media reaction to Beauty Anna Homutova, a “size zero” model, winning the Miss Nigeria 2019 competition. With a country renowned for its celebration of curvy women now embracing more Western ideals, Cynthia argued that it is essential we establish cross-disciplinary knowledge and values transcending Western clinical ideologies on the way the female body shapes, forms, and develops in today’s society. 

Session 2 - “Redrawn Lines: When Image Confronts Convention”

This session was opened by Dominique Norman (Parsons School of Design, USA), who used the Afro-Punk subculture as a way of exploring the body as an act of resistance. Speaking of her own experience growing up as a black woman, Dominique said she used to use fashion as her way of resisting — by owning her appearance, she was able to own her “otherness.”  

For those who are not white, cishet, or fitting into other normative categories, fashion becomes a way of asserting control. Quoting one of her research participants, Maya Stone, Dominique told us, “there is your appearance, then there is your ownership of it.” Her research focused on the AfroPunk festival (founded in 2008, although Afro-Punk culture dates back to the 1970s) as a way in which black folks use a particular space to express themselves.

Showing delegates photos of many of the revellers at Afropunk, Dominique highlighted how fashion is used as a way of asserting identity and rebelling against the norm. For example, fashionista and performance artist @HippyPotter uses terms like “Boy” and “Colored” to describe himself, but reinterpret them in a positive way. 

Dominique closed by stating that the Instragramization of music festivals has allowed marginalized black folks to use their body as media. In a world of Eurocentric clothing and beauty standards, these black bodies “disrupt the scheduled programming.”  

Suvarna Variyar (University of Sydney, Australia) apologized to delegates: “Sorry I’m late, I had to straighten my hair!” As a curly-haired woman of Indian heritage, Suvarna had noted anecdotally that relatives and friends would spend a significant amount of time straightening their hair when they were dating, as would she herself. 

This compelled her to look into the research, but found that the majority of studies focused on Afro-Caribbean hair. Suvarna decided to conduct some auto-ethnographic fieldwork to see how coiffuring affects social interaction in spaces where physical attraction shapes levels and modes of engagement. She did this by going to nightclubs on consecutive nights, wearing the same clothes, but straightening her hair one night and leaving it curly the next. 

Suvarna found that she was looked at an equal amount of times on both nights. However, she was actively approached more with straight hair and men were more forward with her. Even within herself, she noticed she talked about her hair more when it was curly, but worried about how her hair looked more when it was straight. While this was an exploratory study, Suvarna argued there were some interesting findings for the effect this has on women with non-Eurocentric hair. 

Finally, Tina Shingler (Independent Scholar, UK) gave us an overview of her memoir “Hair Apparent.” She explored how her ‘hairstory’ became her history — exploring how changing attitudes to natural black hair in fashion, politics, media, and cultural trends shaped her sense of identity and self-esteem as a black woman over the years. 

Charting her life story, Tina spoke about growing up mixed-race in a predominantly white Yorkshire village in the 1950s, with her hair being a source of amusement. Tina’s adult life included experiences of working in other countries including Italy, where hairdressers refused to serve her due to their lack of experience with afro hair, and later America, where the initial celebration of afro hair in 1970s disco culture gave way to the chemically straightened hairstyles of the 1980s and 1990s. She marveled at the idea that black hair still has the ability to amuse, repel, shock, and cause a minor sensation. 

Finally, Tina welcomed the news that today’s black men and women are unapologetically ‘getting in sync with their kink’ by positively recognizing the toughness and versatility of their own hair not just to make a fashion statement but to express personality, creativity, and pride in racial heritage.

Delegates at the “Fashion, Body and Culture” conference

Session 3 - “(In)vestment: Fashion’s Role in Societal Change”

Coming to this conference from a STEM background, Kristof Avramsson (Carleton University, Canada) asked if fashion companies were Dedicated to Smart Consumption? Using Canadian sportswear/yogawear brand LOLË as a case study, Kristof argued that the fashion retail industry had appropriated terminology from the energy sector to greenwash their own practices. 

LOLË presents itself as a sustainable brand, and actively targets an environmentally conscious consumer. Kristof examined the marketing materials issued by LOLË and noted they appropriated much jargon around smart consumption, as used by the energy sector. However, whereas in the energy sector smart consumption was grounded in technologies that recorded power consumption and promoted energy efficiency through the display of real-time usage and costing, in the fashion industry, smart consumption seemed to be little more than a greenwash for the “dirty consumption” inherent in the fashion industry. 

Kristof concluded by saying that there needs to be greater regulation of the fashion industry. At present, consumers trust brands to be honest about their environmental footprint, but there is nothing to ensure the fashion industry is really being sustainable. This needs to change. 

Next, Margarida Pocinho, (University of Madeira, Portugal) opened her presentation by thanking LCIR for allowing her to present, noting that fashion is not yet seen as an academic field in Portugal. Her interest has been in the positive effect shopping can have on wellbeing, and whether or not “retail therapy” is really therapeutic. 

Margarida argued that shopping is indeed positive for people’s mental health. However, this can also lead to the creation of shopaholism, which can be damaging for both the person and the environment. She therefore asked if there was a way that psychology can be used to promote positive and sustainable behaviors amongst consumers.

Unveiling her PERMA model (Positivity; Engagement; Relationships; Meaning; Achievement), Margarida believed she had found a model for promoting sustainability in our consumption of fashion. She called on delegates who were interested in participating in her study to contact her.  

Session 4 – “Corridors in Time: Fashion as a Dynamic Passageway” 

Alice Naylor (Royal College of Art / Victoria and Albert Museum, UK) opened this session by exploring the elevation of the boiler suit from an everyday uniform for the proletariat in the 1940s, through to the high fashion item of the 1980s. 

In the 1940s, women were conscripted to factories to replace men fighting in the war. Wearing boiler suits to protect themselves, these “Eve’s in overalls” were not only doing the job of men, but wearing the clothes of men as well. This was the beginning of the boiler suit’s journey away from being simply a uniform to something more symbolic — in this case, as a symbol of female empowerment. 

The return of men to the workplace was matched with a reframing of masculinity. Throughout the 1950s, American Vogue and other fashion media presented idealized versions of working class men, with boiler suits becoming a symbol of the working man.

By the 1960s, the use of boiler suits had changed, with James Bond turning the boiler suit into the “New Masculinities” identity of the modern adventurer. These ideas were turned on their head by the likes of David Bowie and Mick Jagger transforming it into a gender fluid clothing item; proving you didn’t have to be masculine to be a sex symbol. By the 1980s, the boiler suit had evolved into the “jump suit.” It had now become a more high-fashion feminine item, and had become a mainstay of dance floors throughout the decade.

Alice closed her presentation by arguing that while the boiler suit’s design is little changed since its inception, its meaning and use has been significantly altered. Sharing a 2018 article from the Paris Review showing models in jumpsuits, Alice argued the boiler suit will be with us for years to come. 

Next, Eilidh Wright (Royal College of Art / Victoria and Albert Museum, UK) quoted Sir John Chardin’s observations on the fixed nature of Persian fashion. However, Eilidh argued that, under the rule of Mohammad Reza Shah, a dual nationality, comprising modern Western influences with a romanticized Persian ideal, was created in Iran. 

By analyzing the wardrobe of Farah Pahlavi, Eilidh demonstrated how regional dresses, materials, and patterns were mixed with couture clothing from Dior and other Western designers. As a representative of the state, Pahlavi’s blending of these two styles were the embodiment of an Iran that had a preeminent position in the modern world, while at the same time had a romanticized ideal of its past.  

As Iran opened up, Eilidh showed how Iran was also impacting Western fashion. Analyzing photo shoots from Vogue and from the personal collection of Elizabeth Taylor, Eilidh showed how Western women were increasingly dressing in Iranian-inspired clothing in the 1950s, with Vogue celebrating the exotic nature of the colors and fabrics. 

Going back to Chardin’s original quote, Eilidh argued that the Shah had been successful in building a dual identity within Iran, blending modern Western style with traditional Persian fashions. However, it was not universally adopted, with the rich, metropolitan elites adopting Western fashions at a much more accelerated rate than those in more rural areas.

Session 5 – “Reflected Identity: Experimental Views of Culture, Costume, and Self” 

The final session of the day was hosted by Réa de Matas (H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online, USA). Her interactive workshop opened with us watching footage of Carnival from her native Trinidad and describing how we felt about the images and costumes we’d just seen on screen. 

We had been asked to provide photographs of people in traditional religious or celebratory costumes. The group was encouraged to browse these photos and discuss how the images made us feel, the memories they may have evoked, and what it told us about the culture(s) these photos came from. 

Through her workshop, de Matas aimed to show how our personal opinions impact on what we see and how we view others. She hoped that this equipped us with some tools that we might use when we conduct autoethnographic research in the future. 

Conclusion

And so ended a day of fascinating insight from a range of fields showing how fashion is so much more than just the business of the clothes that we wear. Having arrived at this conference a newbie to the world of fashion studies, I left seeing how our research fits into existing literature and ongoing studies and it has given me renewed momentum to get our papers published.

Finally, many thanks to the Pasold Research Fund, whose kind support of a Research Activity Grant meant that I was able to attend this important conference. 

Notes

[1] “An unapologetic ogle at Theresa May’s shoes”, Women and Home, 3 April 2017, URL: www.womanandhome.com/Ffashion/an-unapologetic-ogle-at-theresa-mays-shoes-97753

[2] Tim Shipman (2017), Fall Out: A Year Of Political Mayhem, London: Biteback Publishing, p. 244

[3] John Crace (2018) I, Maybot: The Rise and Fall, London: Guardian Faber, pp. 131-135 

[4] “Putting their best foot forward? MP’s reveal their footwear preferences in a new poll”, Hft, 7 June 2019, URL: https://www.hft.org.uk/blog/mp-footwear-poll/