Episode 194 | SHAHIDHA BARI, A PHILOSOPHY OF CLOTHES + HOW SOCIAL DISTANCING IS TRANSFORMING FASHION
In episode 194, Kestrel welcomes Shahidha Bari, author of Dressed: A Philosophy Of Clothes, to the show. A Professor of Fashion Cultures and Histories at the London College of Fashion and a fellow of the Forum for European Philosophy at London School of Economics, Shahidha is dedicated to contributing a discourse around fashion to the philosophy field.
“I feel like there has to be some sort of intellectual, cultural shift about the way that we regard our clothes— the forms of attention we give them — not just in how we buy, but how we think about them as artifacts: artifacts that have passed through many hands before they come to our own and artifacts that are expressive of our humanity.”
-Shahidha Bari, Author of Dressed: A Philosophy Of Clothes
IMAGES FROM DRESSED: A PHILOSOPHY OF CLOTHES
On this week’s show, Shahidha shares more on her background and how her unique experiences with dressing throughout her childhood along with her synesthesia have influenced the work that she does today.
While Shahidha was writing her book, Dressed: A Philosophy of Clothes, the Rana Plaza disaster happened. According to her, this garment factory tragedy impacted the book was was writing. For Shahidha, she believes there must be some sort of cultural shift in the way that we regard our garments, and that they warrant dignity as well.
The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:
Synesthesia: when your sensory faculties can get muddled up — Shahidha has a unique way in which her perceptual factors and memories work where she often associates people and words with color and texture
“So I lived in a world where the way you existed and moved through the world was shaped by your clothes.”
Phenomenology: recording or thinking about the feeling of things, the feeling of existence
“I think the quintessential experience of womanhood is the failure to be a woman, which is why I’m so interested in the experience of trans women too.”
“There’s a kind of dignity that I wanted to give our clothes — I think that the people who make our clothes very often make it in such unhappy circumstances, that they warrant dignity too, and us being able to give our clothes dignity is one way that we start to recognize the kind of dignity we need to extend to the people who make our clothes too.”
“I think there’s a lot to be said for being comfortable right now.”
This week’s Conscious Chatter episode is brought to you by:
Dominique Drakeford + Whitney McGuire of Sustainable Brooklyn
Certifying and promoting fair trade products, Fair Trade USA enables sustainable development and community empowerment by cultivating a more equitable global trade model that benefits farmers, workers, fishermen, consumers, industry, and the earth.
Each year, Fair Trade USA honors the people who make your clothes and advocates for safer and more sustainable practices in its ‘We Wear Fair Trade’ campaign.
This year, the nonprofit highlights the powerful stories of the women inside of its Fair Trade Certified factories, as well as seven prominent female advocates here in the US, who are advancing the movement for fair fashion.
MEET THE ACTIVISTS FROM THE 2020 CAMPAIGN
Why Women?
Because they make up nearly 80% of the garment industry but are historically underrepresented and working in unsafe conditions. As fair trade advocate and Remake Founder, Ayesha Barenblat, said, “Early on, I understood the power of these jobs to lift young women out of poverty. The fashion supply chain is one of the few industries that employs mostly women.”
When these jobs are safe, well-paid, and equal in opportunity, women in the garment industry can thrive.
To learn about the fair trade difference in fashion, visit the We Wear Fair Trade campaign page >
Follow @fairtradecertified and #WeWearFairTrade
Join the movement by texting "WearFair" to 52886
We Wear Fair Trade 2020 Stylist + Creative Director: Rachael Wang
We Wear Fair Trade 2020 Photographer: Christelle de Castro
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