ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses some of the main concerns that are forming part of the broader political discourse within fashion studies. Fashion knowledge is informed by the incorporation of otherness into designs, notably by Western designers, referencing non-Western sources as a form of exoticism. The body is formed and shaped by fashion, which assumes the power to reveal, conceal or enhance unclothed flesh. Fashionable dress practices make human bodies legible as long as the prevailing codes are familiar to the given audience. Fashion has the power to confirm and emphasize gender, and to hide parts of the body that fail to cohere with gendered and aesthetic ideals of the body. Transgender people rely heavily on dress to enhance their bodies. Androgynous fashion design retains the power to disturb entrenched gender and social stereotypes. The images of demolished buildings and corpses provided a chilling and lasting contrast to the perfect models' bodies that appear seasonally in fashion advertisements and on runways.
