Couture and the Postcolonial Lens

我的博士项目将探讨在欧洲和南亚高级时装之间造成持久等级制度的令人担忧的历史和殖民偏见。欧洲高级定制服装——一个受法律保护的术语，指的是独家手工制作的服装——被认为是全球服装生产的顶峰，而次大陆设计师的高级定制服装则被称为“民族”服装。为了质疑和挑战这种结构，我将对来自欧洲和印度的高级定制服装进行首次比较研究。我的项目将开发三个案例研究（上面有详细说明），以构建一个完整的分析，殖民的历史和现在的角色，在创造高定/服装鸿沟。这种方法将基于对象的研究与仔细阅读相应的文本和照片记录相结合。每件服装都隐含着文化、地理和政治背景，这对理解高级定制/民族服装的等级制度至关重要。我将使用案例研究的材料和比较分析来发展一种历史、文化和批判性的方法来研究这两个地区生产的高级定制服装，这种方法关注物质文化、跨国创作和消费回路之间的相互作用，以及服装在传达殖民权力方面的作用。

My doctoral project will explore the fraught history and colonial biases that have created an enduringhierarchy between European and South Asian high fashion. European haute couture - a legally-protectedterm describing exclusive, hand-made garments - is held as the pinnacle of global clothing production,while the couture-level output of subcontinental designers is designated as 'ethnic' costume. In order tointerrogate and challenge this construct, I will conduct the first comparative study of couture garmentsfrom Europe and India. My project will develop three case-studies (detailed above) to construct acomplete analysis of colonization's historical and present role in creating the couture/costume divide.This approach combines object-based study with a close reading of corresponding textual andphotographic records. Each garment implicates cultural, geographic, and political contexts of periodscrucial to understanding the couture/ethnic costume hierarchy. I will use the case studies' material andcomparative analysis to develop a historical, cultural, and critical approach to couture produced in bothregions that pays attention to the interplay between material culture, transnational circuits of creationand consumption, as well as the role of dress in telegraphing colonial power.