While the use of sheer fabrics in fashion is most definitely not a new thing, there was a recent article from the New York Times that made me think about nudity and the runway. Is it simply a matter of the context of the runway versus that of the everyday? It seems a bit ironic because in a way, models are supposedly the most good looking people and are therefore the most sexualized and coveted women, and yet when they walk the runway it's not sexual for them to wear sheer tops, or no tops at all? Is it a matter of small breasts vs larger ones?
I haven't quite made up my mind, but it brought to mind Adel Abdessemed's "Real Time," a thirty second video on a loop of a performance he made asking people from Craigslist to come to the gallery and have sex with each other while visitors watched. It's the same situation of context: sex in a gallery versus sex in a porn. Granted there is a more overt message of voyeurism in the artwork, but I think fashion is also voyeuristic in the way it makes makes it alright to see half nude women.
2 comments:
When nude people are rolled out in mass quantities as part of an unsubtle attempt to sell things, most of the human emotions associated with nudity are pounded into oblivion. While there is some expectation that the bodies or the sense of voyeurism will help make the sale, everyone involved--designer, hired model, potential buyer--is part of a fairly cold-blooded commercial transaction. As Marx would say, the models have been alienated from their own boobs through commodification.
oh man, I am totally rocking the hell some sheer [black] clothing this early '09. Letting the world see my AA bra.
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