Over the last decade, and variably motivated, fashion brands have increasingly aimed to address a wider range of identities and bodies. This ambition has largely been realized through more inclusive product offerings and improved representational diversity in visual communications. More recently though, fashion brands are seeking to broaden access and authentically engage audiences through initiatives that bring attention to social issues, offer space for dialogue, and empower (often marginalized) communities. This forthcoming book chapter focuses on these outcomes, applying Helguera’s (2011) framework for developing socially engaged art, including Community, Conversation, and Collaboration, to suggest a model for future brand engagements. The practical aspects are supported by concepts from art theory such as Bishop’s (2006) writing on collaboration, Kester’s (2004) view on dialogic artworks and Pena’s (2019) recent examination of the role of care in the socially engaged work of Black women artists. Through a case study of Rebirth Garments – a socially engaged brand that centers non-binary, transgender, disabled and queer persons of all sizes and ages – it will consider how a “social turn” in fashion indicates an expanded role and opportunities for brands.
Manuscript in progress.
References:
Bishop, C. (2006) The Social Turn: Collaboration and Its Discontents. Artforum International, Vol. 44 No. 6, pp. 178-183.
Helguera, P. (2011) Education for Socially Engaged Art: A Materials and Techniques Handbook. New York: Jorge Pinto Books.
Kester, G. (2004) Conversation Pieces: Community and Communication in Modern Art. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Pena, M. (2019) Black Public Art: On the Socially Engaged Work of Black Women Artist-Activist. Open Cultural Studies, Vol. 3, pp. 604-614.
Thompson, N. (2012) Living as Form: Socially Engaged Art from 1991-2011. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Photo by Marc Newberry on Unsplash