SHOWstudio: Blog: POLITICAL FASHION: Your SHOWstudio Needs You!

POLITICAL FASHION: Your SHOWstudio Needs You!

By SHOWstudio, 10:56 Mon 03 Dec 2007

Parisians registering their outrage at Dior's 'New Look' - apparently

Here's one to mobilise you all! Believing fashion to be political in its sheer ability to communicate, Nick Knight has conceived of a multi-level project, encouraging creatives to use the medium of fashion to convey their political beliefs, agendas and thoughts. From the beginning of December 2007, the first stage of 'Political Fashion Films' invites you to submit a film of between 30 seconds and 3 minutes that articulates some kind of political point -be it an ideological platitude or a petty grudge- using fashion. Inkeeping with previous film seasons 'Moving Fashion' Editing Fashion', in February 2008, this invitation will be opened up to a wide selection of fashion industry, art world and celebrity figures, whose Political Fashion Films will also be broadcast on the SHOWstudio website, one-per-day. The end of the project will be marked by a screening event to be held in London during Spring 2008.

In the meantime, we look forward to seeing your views! To help you get your thinking caps on, take a look at Nick Knight's film brief and transcript and in addition, here are a couple of stimulus press images of the 'outrage' caused by Christian Dior's New Look in 1947, sent to us by Stephen Jones with reference to this project. Stephen tells us that these were in fact staged - how lucky are we to have such an esteemed and knowledgeable picture researcher?

View this project

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Wonderful Project !!!! ... FREE THINKING ..... YES ! .... cannot wait to see the political views and statements to be presented with Fashion as a medium doing its part !...

Love the eloquent and beautifully stylish ' film brief and transcript' .... great thinking!

By Galileo's Universe at 11:51 Mon 03 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

Knick says that he thinks it's absurd that people's fashion imagery is given so much exposure, and yet this is not used to transmit their political views. How has Knick got his views across in his photos?

By Karl Fuler at 11:52 Mon 03 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

Hello GU!

By Karl Fuler at 11:53 Mon 03 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

Hello there Karl !!

By Galileo's Universe at 11:57 Mon 03 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

I am meaning to reply to your comment on beauty GU, but need to give it some thought.

By Karl Fuler at 11:59 Mon 03 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

about time. I'm kinda tierd of all this model/muse-stuff, but this project will be interesting, even though it can become really lame (remember those "dior, not war"-tshirts?)

I hope you invite scandinavian designers like Siv Støldal and Ann Sofie Back.

By Tor Erik at 13:08 Mon 03 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

Two thoughts/question to share. I'm not sure I'll find time to build a script around these themes, so whoever this may inspire is welcome.

One: Fashion - the pants, the flat shoes ... - have revolutionized women's life in the 20th century. These days, it feels we're going backwards - especially with shoes. As it's almost impossible to walk with these balenciaga and others pumps, it means we have to stand like statues or dolls.
What does this politically say about feminine condition?

Second - and last for today: when magazines only feature shoes or pants worth more than an average american's paycheck, is fashion aware it's contributing to the overall economic crisis by not considering middle-class?

By sylouzoun at 16:09 Mon 03 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

beautiful idea

By Funkliquid at 19:07 Mon 03 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

Cant wait to participate N

By NICOLASPADRON.COM at 01:01 Wed 05 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

I really like the idea...i thinking in something to submit soon, and i hope to be there, the next spring 2008.... sin azucar means no sugar.....no sugar means AMARGO the opositive whit sweet ..fashion and political !!!!

By strasser at 02:35 Wed 05 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

can't wait to see it.

By kombizz at 11:06 Wed 05 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

definitely going to submit this,

By sunnylim at 06:29 Fri 07 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

One of the themes that I hope some artist will be able to dedicated his creativity to is ......... ' Year 2030 A.C. game over ! .... about the huge rapid deterioration of the earth environment since the 1950's when mass consumption took off at an incredible frightening and almost ' Apocalyptic ' rate !..... By that time if China, India and a lot many third world countries keep using the western model of industrial development,
then by the year 2030 , all based on statistics , China in particular will be consuming 2/3 of the world's grain supplies ... the glaciers in Asia will disappear totally !! meaning that the water supplies to the life line of billions of people will dry totally !!....wars and fragmentation in society will follow .... a process already in the making .....I sincerely HOPE then that this project will contribute to
CREATE far more awareness about this absolutely earnest problem ..... people always seems to pay attention to FASHION therefore a perfect and a good medium to help ... and that is the beauty of it !! :):):)

By Galileo's Universe at 07:23 Sat 08 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

splendid, can one participate if not from England but say Romania?

By roxanne radu at 20:58 Tue 11 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

Yes, of course, Roxanne!

By Penny Martin at 17:15 Fri 14 Dec 2007 | reply to this >

i am trying to upload my film but always it failed... please please let me know the reason plus pacific file requires please... my film is quicktime less then 3 mins...and less than 150 MB...

POLITICAL FASHION: Your SHOWstudio Needs You!

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