When the left-wing world became outraged by the announcement that Ivanka Trump and Usha Vance would be outfitted by famed American design house Oscar de la Renta – a designer who famously, and quite selfishly, said “Fashion is nonpolitical and nonpartisan”— it became clear to me that my outrage was a touch different. Yes, I am thrilled that culturally, we began to question the connections that exist between a designer’s legacy and their tangible (sometimes harmful) contributions to the collective. And yes, I agree with, am grateful for and am always looking northward toward my guiding light, Toni Morrison as she said, “I insist on being shocked. I am never going to become immune…I want to be surprised and shocked every time.” Ashe.
However, I became enraged by the kind of amnesia that is at the foundation of the shock and outrage in the first place. My life is consumed with questions surrounding the archive – in fashion, art, literature, the quotidian. To me, the old adage, “There’s nothing new under the sun” takes on a sinister hue when you’re trying to understand our connected histories and the unoriginal tactics used to convince us that we are a disparate and disentangled folk. The only way one can continue to be fooled by a pattern of behaviors is if the sequencing of events – the dizzying, centripetal recurrence of a specific kind of violence (evil?) — is obscured or forgotten. Like some stale trick a slimy uncle plays when he pulls a coin from behind an entranced child’s ear.
Do I believe that our ability to retain information and history has been tampered with by the rampant propagandizing in our education system? Indisputably. What’s easier to control than a population deficient in critical thinking skills? I think it’s important, always, to call injustices out. Sing them loud and with complete and unabashed fervor. I think it equally important to contextualize and reach for a more nuanced understanding of an almost infinite interconnectedness. While Oscar de la Renta’s work is of the highest quality and craftsmanship, how can we understand his work as an extension of a more complex history of outfitting empire? What does it mean that James Galanos simultaneously created true feats in American couture and was one of Nancy Raegan’s favorite designers? How can I hold an appreciation for Galanos’ work and exist in the wake of some of Ronald Raegan’s most violent and depraved policies – his handling of the AIDS epidemic, the “War on Drugs”? How can Oscar de la Renta and James Galanos be understood as descendants of Charles Frederick Worth and the nameless designers of the 17th Century Mughal court?
Identity politics and self-fashioning aside, fashion’s reach is pervasive. I always caution the over-intellectualization of fashion. Focusing on a designer’s “ideas” betrays questions around ideals, morals and a responsibility to the collective. In addition to the scrutinization of their clientele are there other questions that should be asked to hold brands accountable? Like: Who is making the clothes? Are they paid a living wage? Where are the fibers grown and under what conditions? This kind of questioning I fear is missing from contemporary fashion critics, many of whom are buttressed by bulky brand communications budgets delivering more marketing messaging than the truth.
Tattooed on my arm is a quote from my favorite short story by Virginia Woolf, “Monday or Tuesday” where she repeats a refrain I live by, “For ever desiring truth.” For me the desire for truth is eternal. Truth is a moving target that must be endlessly pursued. How does one get to truth? Through unabashed and informed curiosity? I must admit, I have many questions and fewer answers. I’m okay with that fact.
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