feminist review 71 2002

(1–1) �c 2002 Feminist Review. 0141-7789/02 $15 www.feminist-review.com

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71 editorial

fashion and beauty

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The contemporary recognition of diversity in feminisms, and the more complex

theorizations of femininity that have taken place in recent years have created

different, more playful spaces and identities for feminists. Lipstick is no longer

the issue. Or is it? Feminist Review 71 explores the tension between pleasure

and constraint in women’s investments in fashion and beauty. It also engages

with debates on the relationship between political economy approaches, and

those concerned with culture and identity, and considers questions of

production as well as consumption.

Both Paula Black and Merl Storr provide accounts of empirical research on

women’s experiences of the fashion and beauty industries: they point to the

complex and ambivalent nature of these social spaces as sites where

femininity is constructed, and is also a source of pleasure. In the dialogue

section, Rita Rupal gives a personal account of her experience of beauty

parlors in India. Rachel Moseley brings into this discussion the role of a female

star as fashion icon, with her analysis of Audrey Hepburn’s film roles, and of

women’s responses to them. Responses to the incorporation of ‘other’ cultures

and styles within the fashion industry are explored by Nirmal Puwar in her

discussion of a different sense of aesthetics and memory. Pursuing the theme

of the aesthetics of the everyday, Joy Gregory’s images question the politics

and pleasures of being blonde. The dynamics of the fashion industry are

addressed by Angela McRobbie, who provides a critical analysis of current

trends, focusing on the conflict between the creative economy and neo-liberal

globalization. Elizabeth Wilson’s review of the ‘Radical Fashion’ exhibition at

the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2001 raises the related question

of the roles played by haute couture and high street fashion. In her dialogue

piece, Juliet Ash gives an example of an attempt to counteract the effects of

globalized production by a group of Asian women textile workers in East

London. Finally, the review of the ‘Stitched Up’ exhibition shown in Leamington

Spa, UK, points to the questions that need to be asked if production and

consumption are to be considered together.

The images and texts that we have brought together here are an original and

timely intervention in this crucial area for women and for feminist analysis.

One of the particular contributions of this collection is a full engagement with

the intersectionality of gender, ‘race’ and class in relation to experiences and

structures of the fashion and beauty industries.

Lucy Bland, Lyn Thomas, Merl Storr, Nirmal Puwar, Rita Rupal
doi:10.1057/palgrave.fr.9400041


	71 editorial 
fashion and beauty����