The Second International Non-Western Fashion Conference, on Constructing National Identity through Fashion, took place at the London College of Fashion, UK, November 21-22.
From the London College of Fashion website:
This second edition of the Non-Western Fashion Conference will focus on the construction of national identity in fashion and the roles of so-called ‘tradition’ and ‘modernity’ in this process. Fashion designers are increasingly branding their national heritage/tradition as a successful marketing tool, while simultaneously reinventing/modernizing it. On the one hand, in a globalizing world, it allows them to differentiate themselves on a highly competitive international fashion market, while on the other hand, on a national level, it seems to make them successful as a result of a general revaluation of national culture as a counter reaction to increasing foreign cultural influences. However, when non-Western designers use their cultural heritage as a source of inspiration, it is considered ‘traditional identity’ whereas when Western fashion designers brand their cultural heritage, it is considered ‘fashion identity.’
The conference not only wishes to be interdisciplinary but also cross-regional, assembling researchers who are engaged in creative and critical rethinking of (non-Western) fashion systems in a wide scope of geographical areas in ways that may include, but certainly are not limited to the ideas above.
Head over to the conference website to view the video recordings of the presentations.
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