While status dressing was once reserved for monarchs and aristocrats, today Peter McNeil and Giorgio Reillo observe that “consumers think that luxury is something that everyone should aspire to.” This is the paradox of contemporary status dressing – accessible luxury. In 1899, Thorstein Veblen laid out his theory of “conspicuous consumption” to highlight the performance in owning and displaying status goods. To wear them conveyed wealth, dominant social position, and, therefore, power.Īlso at play in status dressing are issues of class, taste, and anxiety. As historian Philip Mansel observes, “Monarchs considered lace, velvet, silk, and embroidery to be as necessary and agreeable at court as noble names and large, lavishly decorated palaces.” Furs, fine metal, precious gems, and ornately woven textiles were all expensive, ostentatious, and recognizable. Take, for example, the stereotypical image of a king clad in fur, jewels, and a crown. Close OpenĬlothing has been a harbinger of status since the beginning of civilization. The exhibition also examines how fashion designers have interpreted these stylistic archetypes - both to convey and to subvert power. Each section investigates how certain designs and garments have come to be culturally associated with power, as well as how their meanings have evolved over time. It includes both men’s and women’s clothing from the 18th century to the present, organized thematically to concentrate on five categories: military, suits, status, rebellion, and sex. Power Mode: The Force of Fashion explores the role fashion plays in establishing, reinforcing, and challenging power dynamics within society. Each form of power has found sartorial expression in a variety of ways, from gray flannel suits to latex fetish wear, and from gilded brocades to distressed jeans. It is political position and economic status, but also military strength, sexual authority, rebellion, and protest. The way we outfit ourselves can play an outsized role in conveying power to others – whether it be the pink “pussy hats” at the 2017 Women’s March or the Cleveland Cavaliers’ coordinated Thom Browne suits during the 2018 NBA playoffs. Power is part identity, part behavior, and part physicality.
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