Fashion and war: new book explores an unlikely relationship

Fashion and war may seem strange partners but regime change is often the catalyst for alterations in people’s clothing, says a Southern Cross University lecturer and textile artist.

“For example in the 1600s, as a way of enforcing his power, Manchu leader Dorgan had all Chinese men dress in the short jacket with the Mandarin collar and wear their hair in a long, single plait down their back,” said Dr Denise N Rall.

While living in Central America at a research station in the 1990s, Dr Rall enjoyed the rich history of the textiles in the region. But it was a costume project at TAFE in 2008 that caused her to study the clothing brought about by the Spanish conquistadors after the conquest of the Incas in Peru.

“The Incas controlled almost one million square kilometres in the centre of South America until the Spaniard Pizarro defeated them with fewer than 200 soldiers. What followed was devastation of the local ways of life, which was also reflected in their textiles and clothing,” she said.

These examples and more are explored in the new book Fashion and War in Popular Culture, edited by Dr Rall, which explores the impact of war on fashion through the lens of popular culture. Eight authors, from three Anglophone traditions - Australian, British and American - explore multiple meanings for costume and conquest around the world.

“I was in England during the first US incursion into Iraq and I noticed that the young people were all wearing camouflage-patterned jeans and tee-shirts. This made me wonder about the connections between war and fashion,” Dr Rall said.

Fashion and War in Popular Culture includes three main areas: how war is reflected in popular culture, such as wartime comic strips and the rise of so-called ‘Nazi chic’; and the ‘fashion and the military’ which includes commentaries on uniforms in the early Australian airline industry and recent controversy on whether military medals should or shouldn’t be used by fashion designers. The third section deals with present day conflicts, like British youth culture and the adoption of the ‘hoodie’ as a battle costume, and postcolonial impacts that followed from imposing European values on native customs and dress in sub-Saharan Africa and Peru.

“Books on military clothing tend to focus on the uniform of the soldier,” said Dr Rall.

“I was interested in what other narratives should be explored in regards to costume and war. After all, war is often with us, even today, and its aftermath impacts civilian lives and how they dress.”

Dr Rall’s chapter, outlined at her recent talk at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra during the Gold and the Incas Exhibition, is titled ‘Costume & conquest: Introducing a proximity framework for post-war impacts on textile and fashion’ which suggests how costume changes following postcolonial invasion.

Dr Rall has been making costumed-mannequin textile sculptures and wearable art since completing the TAFE costume course. Her work has been exhibited around Australia, including the School of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT, Melbourne, and at The Rocks in Sydney, as well as in the United States. Dr Rall’s eclectic research interests includes publications on textiles, fashion and wearable art, as well as how technology and the World Wide Web impacts on women's roles in computing, domestic work, and craft and social protest.

Book Launch
Fashion and War in Popular Culture will be launched at the Lismore Regional Gallery on Thursday 10 April at 5.30pm for a 6pm start. To RSVP for this free event, please phone the Gallery on 02 6622 2209.

Guest speaker is the eminent cultural scholar and author of The Flight Attendant’s Shoe, Dr Prudence Black of The University of Sydney. Dr Black contributed a chapter to Fashion and War, called ‘The Discipline of Appearance: Military Style and Australian Flight Hostess Uniforms’.

Dr Black will be introduced by Brett Adlington, director of the Lismore Regional Gallery and Professor Matthew Marshall, acting Head of the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Southern Cross University.

Copies of Fashion and War in Popular Culture will be available for purchase on the night.

Photo: The cover of Fashion and War in Popular Culture.