Fashion and Costume

When we meet a character in a performance, the implicit understanding is that they have existed until the point where we join their journey and will continue existing after we leave them. Their clothing tells a hi/story to the audience before we hear them speak and before any action takes place. As a Costume Designer and Lecturer, my awareness of costuming as an anthropological practice has led me to explore these principles using myself as the subject of scrutiny. For one year I am logging every clothing combination I go through along with memories, prices, locations and dates etc. in order to explore the sub/conscious clothing decisions I make and the stories, embedded in my clothes, that I am surrounded by every day. What does my wardrobe mean to me inwardly and reveal to my audience outwardly, and how does this ‘me-search’ extend my artistic practice?

The Wear Project will be a visual archive, a teaching tool, and a foundation for further academic research/writing through the questions it raises about storytelling, memory, dress and audience: a personal interrogation generating a critical framework for understanding the dramaturgical significance of costume. I welcome any interest, suggestions, questions, provocations, conversations or counter-projects that could lead my research, costume design or performance related teaching in general into unexplored areas. The Wear Project is available for anyone to view or use on flickr at http://bit.ly/1kAYv74

When Chiara Faggella wrote to me about today’s event, she suggested I might want to revisit my 1997 book Undressing Cinema: Clothing and Identity in the Movies as a route to discussing the relationship between teaching and research within the burgeoning field of fashion and film.

(222 plates of illustrations will be in special file. The pages' numeration is special for each big chapter. For real book numeration move the cursor to the right border of each pages / 222 таблицы иллюстраций будут в специальном файле. Нумерация по техническим причинам – отдельная для каждого большого раздела. Подлинную нумерацию стрнице в книге можно выяснить, подведя курсор к правой границе каждой страницы).
ABSTRACT:
In this book, you will find a complex research of the clothes of Iranian-speaking peoples beginning from their appearance in the world politics and in the written sources of the 7th–6th cc. BC and up to the Islamization of Iran and Transoxiana in the 7th–8th cc. AD. The accessories of the costume (except belts), the military costume, the rulers’ crowns and the costume materials themselves are not the subject matter of the text; but the hairstyle and sometimes tattoos are being under consideration. The first three chapters are devoted to analysis of the main periods of pre-Islamic history of the Iranian world (the time bounds being different for different regions): [1] the Achaemenid-Scythian time (the 7th–6th cc. BC — 4th–3rd cc. BC, for Transoxiana—up to the mid. of the 2nd cc. BC); [2] the Parthian-Sarmatian time (the 4th/3rd cc. BC — the 3rd/4th cc. AD); [3] the Sassanid and Early Medieval time (the 3/4th — the 7/8th cc. AD). The sections of these chapters deal with materials on the 13 peoples: (1) the Persians of the Achaemenian time; (2) the Early Scythians; (3) the Scythians of the “classic” period (the 5th–4th cc. BC); (4) the “Pazyrykians” of the Altai; (5) the Chorasmians (for all the 3 periods); (6) the Parnes—Parthians of Iran; (7) the Sarmatians and Early Alans; (8) the Yuech-chihs / Kushans of Bactria; (9) the Sogdians (the 2nd and 3rd periods); (10) the Indo-Scythians of Gandhara; 11) the Persians of the Sassanid time; (12) the Khotano-Sakas of Southern Xinjiang (the 2nd and 3rd periods); (13) the Tokharistanians (with other ethnic elements). As far as each of the above-mentioned peoples is concerned the above-stated ideas are analyzed and new materials (including unpublished ones) are taken into account, the details of many depictions are defined and the data on peoples are generalized for the first time. First of all, we have studied the costume of these 13 peoples, which gives the most abundant and many-sided information on the costume as clothes in real life are a mass phenomenon and can be studied productively and correctly only in big series (in case of single depictions rare costume elements and the looks of gods of foreign origin are mistakenly taken for typical ones).
The main tasks of the book are: 1. The reconstruction of the look of the ethnic clothing complex for each of the above-mentioned peoples: the silhouette, the cut (the information about the latter is limited) and the decorative prin-ciples, the last task being the most labour-intensive. The results allow of a reliable attribution of many artifacts from museums and private collections. 2. Eliciting the aesthetical ideal of different ethnic groups reflected in the costume; the analysis of the depictions of supposed representatives of a certain people in the art of other countries for defining the degree of the authenticity in the costume depiction and its representativeness for this ethnic group. 3. The comparative analysis of the costume of each separately taken synchronous people in each of the three main historical epochs; the analysis of the costume of each ethnic group in different periods for defining the character of the costume evolution and heredity. 4. The retrospective eliciting of the look of the original costume of the most ancient Iranians and the “costume” traces of the Iranian penetration to the west of Iran. 5. Eliciting the type of the costume contacts of ancient Iranian-speaking peoples and the difference in their importance. 6. The analysis of the summarized data on the least studied significant functions of the costume aiming at eliciting the specificity of the Iranian world and some of its peoples.
We suggest a complex approach including following elements: (1) dealing with all kinds of sources alongside ob-serving the most possible scope of facts on each studied people (in case of a technical impossibility, the representative statistic excerpts are studied); (2) the proper selection of the costume décor remnants from burials under analysis (only the accounts and publications of high quality are used) excluding significantly fragmented and stylized depictions and, for some regions, images of gods; (3) the analysis of the material according to the linguistic and ethnic principles—not a regional one (which is not typical for modern research on the costume history); (4) considering all the main costume attributes of the ethnic group as a single costume complex that reflects the specificity of the people; 5) the description of the costume of each ethnic group according to the common program in chapters 1–3; (6) considering ethnic complexes against the background of the synchronous neighbouring ones and both earlier and later ones up to their successors in the 19th–20th cc. AD (otherwise the rightfulness of most conclusions is difficult to guarantee); (7) the analysis of costume evolution of separate ethnic groups under the influence of different factors; (8) compiling a special summary tables on the costume of each people (each drawing in them not being an exact copy of a definite depiction, but given in the most appropriate foreshortening without unnecessary details interfering with perception).
MORE INFORMATION: 2nd Internet ed., Moscow: X-lab, 2011: http://www.narodko.ru/article/yatsenko/eurazia/ .

CONTENTS:
PREFACE 5
CHAPTER 1. The Achaemenian-Scythian time (7th/6th cc. — 4th/3rd cc. BC) 29
1.1. The Persians 29
1.2. The European Scythians 47
1.3. The Pazyryk culture of the Altai Mountains 83
1.4. The Khorasmians 102
The main conclusions 106
CHAPTER 2. The Parthian-Sarmatian time (3rd cc. BC — 3rd/4th cc. AD) 112
2.1. Parthian Iran 113
2.2. The Sarmatians, the Early Alans and the “Late Scythians” 131
2.3. The Yuech-chihs/Kushans 170
2.4. The Khorasmians 187
2.5. The Indo-Scythians 192
2.6. The Sogdians 197
2.7. The Khotano-Sakas 201
The main conclusions 207
CHAPTER 3. The Sasanian and Early Medieval (Pre-Islamic) time (3rd/4th–7th/8th cc. AD) 212
3.1. Sasanian Iran 213
3.2. The Sogdians 231
3.3. Tokharistan and the neighboring regions to the South 247
3.4. The Khorasmians 262
3.4. The Khotano-Sakas 266
The main conclusions 274
CHAPTER 4. The mechanisms of the costume contacts and
the ways of evolution of the costume of ancient Iranians.
The symbolism of costume 279
4.1. The mechanisms of the costume contacts 280
4.2. The ways of evolution of the costume of various peoples 314
4.3. The sign functions of the costume 322
The main conclusions 362
CONCLUSION 364
APPENDIX. The suggestions on the methods of fixation and description of the costume relics
in burial complexes 367
Glossary 370
BIBLIOGRAPHY 371
Abbreviations 416
List of Iluustrations (in English)          418
List of illustrations (in Russian) 423
Illustrations 435-657
Summary                    658
Contents                      663

Fashion Digital Memories
EUROPEANA FASHION SYMPOSIUM 2017
Venice, May 22-23, 2017

Conservation/Explication: The Costume Institute’s use of digital technologies for the preservation and interpretation of its Charles James collection by Sarah Scaturro

The Costume Institute’s 2014 exhibition  Charles James: Beyond Fashion achieved an unprecedented depth in the understanding and explication of Charles James’ mastery of fashion through its critical use of technology, which included moving cameras, robots, animations, and projections. Curated by Harold Koda and Jan Reeder, the success of the exhibition hinged on the synergistic relationship between technology and fashion object, mediated through knowledge gleaned by the conservation team, who dissected and analyzed all of the garments on display. The conservators’ active role in the exhibition’s interpretive content was itself unprecedented for the Institute, as they were tasked with not only analyzing how James made his garments, but with translating information gleaned through 3D scanning, x-radiography, 360 photography, and material analyses to the designers, engineers, and computer programmers responsible for the development of the technological exhibition components.
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The conservators were inspired by the exhibition’s successful integration of digital technologies, and thus began explorations into the potential of technology to aid the preservation of Costume Institute’s collection. One significant outcome is the completion of an innovative project utilizing 3D scanning to create custom manufactured storage torso forms for Charles James gowns that cannot be hung or stored flat. The success of this project has encouraged the conservation team to deploy scanning and other digital technologies to preserve other aspects of the Institute’s collection, such as synthetic materials. This paper will explore the conservator’s role in the creation of explicative digital materials that were a critical part of the  Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition, and will show how the exhibition’s use of technology has inspired further digital explorations aimed at preserving the Costume Institute’s collection.

VITTORIO UGO VICARI, Evoluzioni della moda, della sartoria e dei costumi per lo spettacolo tra XVI e XVIII secolo. Con il ragguaglio storico intorno ad alcuni ruoli femminili, atti della Giornata di studi, Puta/Putana. Declinazioni del femminile nella scena teatrale e musicale tra XVI e XVIII secolo, a cura di Maria Paola Altese, Pierina Cangemi, Palermo, Conservatorio musicale V. Bellini, 29-30 maggio 2015, Il Palindromo ed., Palermo 2016, pp. 79-95 (17 pp.) ISBN 978-88-98447-26-8.

Abstract
One of Aristophanes’ most popular ancient Greek comedies is The Birds. In 1959, the celebrated, Academy Award-winning Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis wrote the music for prominent director's Karolos Koun’s version of the play at Theatro Technis - a pioneering production in the history of Modern Greek theatre, thanks to Koun’s revolutionary vision. The staging by Theatro Technis was choreographed by Zouzou Nikoloudi and designed by the famous Greek painter Yannis Tsarouchis. In 1964, Hadjidakis rewrote his score as a cantata, later performed by Maurice Béjart’s 20th Century Ballet, introducing The Birds as an independent dance piece. In 2000, Greek National Opera invited the American choreographer Karole Armitage to stage Hadjidakis’ full score of The Birds in the framework of the Athens Festival, at the Herod Atticus Roman Odeon at the foot of the Acropolis. Armitage collaborated with Peter Speliopoulos, a Greek-American fashion designer, creating an innovative version of The Birds. This chapter is a comparative study of the visual aesthetics of the painter Tsarouchis and the fashion designer Speliopoulos, both acting as the costume designer in designing The Birds. What is the contribution of the designers’ disciplinary background to the design of the costumes? Which visual characteristics are embodied in the specific productions and how do they reflect each artist’s cultural background? This chapter examines cross-cultural elements in these specific designs and investigates the designers’ personal perspective, which becomes evident in the aesthetic/design identity of their costumes.

Introduzione

Il presente lavoro vuole essere uno studio che, attraverso differenti fonti, tenta di inquadrare la particolare evoluzione del costume ampezzano, a partire dai primi segni della codificazione di alcune fogge nel primissimo Ottocento, sino a trattare della sua ancor viva presenza alla metà del Novecento, analizzando nel contempo il ruolo che a tale proposito ebbe il regime fascista. È tuttavia dalle carte risalenti all’epoca napoleonica, emerse nel corso della ricerca d’archivio, che si evidenzia come queste -pur essendo il frutto di una popolazione da secoli sottoposta al dominio austriaco, con cui si erano tra l'altro intessuti stretti e duraturi rapporti- fossero state scritte in lingua italiana, con marcati influssi veneziani commisti alla parlata locale, ossia un dialetto ladino riscontrabile, pur con variazioni, anche nelle valli limitrofe. Benché non sia vero che negli archivi locali non vi siano documenti in tedesco, ciò va a rafforzare l'indicazione relativa alla questione che gli ampezzani non vollero mai saperne di imparare il tedesco per obbligo e che la lingua scritta e ufficiale rimase sempre il veneto o l’italiano, mentre le pressioni austriache per tedeschizzare almeno in parte gli ampezzani stessi cominciarono appena alla metà dell'Ottocento. Quanto detto per la lingua è in verità il problema centrale di questa ricerca, ossia comprendere fino a che punto si possa dire che il costume ampezzano è derivato da una tradizione prettamente italiana, veneta nello specifico, o al contrario quanto sia consentito pensare che esso sia indissolubilmente legato all’abbigliamento popolare della bassa Austria e del Sud Tirolo. Tali questioni vanno a intrecciarsi con quella relativa al radicato desiderio di Cortina d’Ampezzo di affermare la sua essenza ladina, caratteristica delle popolazioni a cui vuole ancora ricongiungersi, riunendosi così ai territori cui era stata legata per secoli.

Introduction

This work wants to be a study which tries to set the peculiar evolution of Cortina d’Ampezzo costume through different sources, starting from the first codes of some fashions at the beginning of the nineteenth century, to the living presence of the costume at the half of the twentieth century. Moreover, the work wants to analyse the role that the Fascist regime had in this field. It’s from the papers of the Napoleonic period emerged during the archive search that we can realize something important. Indeed, even if those documents were issued from a population for ages subjected to the Austrian domination, with which close and lasting relations were interwoven, we notice they were written in Italian language, with marked Venetian influences mixed with the local speech, a Ladin dialect that may be also found in the neighbouring valleys, with the due variations. Moreover, from the observation of other papers we can remark that it is not true that in the local archives there are no documents in German language, but there is a preference for the Italian, which is confirmed by the papers of the Napoleonic period. This fact consolidates the peculiarity of the people of Ampezzo, who never wanted to use the German language; in fact the official language (oral and written) always remained that one of Veneto or the Italian. Indeed, the Austrian pressures to germanize at least partially the population of Ampezzo started just at the half of the nineteenth century. This information about the language of Ampezzo has created the central problem of this study, that is to understand to which degree the Ampezzo costume derives from a typically Italian tradition, in the specific instance from Veneto, or in which way it is closely linked with the traditional clothes of the southern Austria and of the South Tirol. These questions go to interweave with the deep-rooted desire of Cortina d’Ampezzo to affirm its Ladin essence, that is the distinctive peculiarity of those populations to which Ampezzo wants to be joined nowadays, unifying in this way its territories together with the lands to which it was bound for centuries.

"Abstract One of Aristophanes’ most popular ancient Greek comedies is The Birds. In 1959, the celebrated, Academy Award-winning Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis wrote the music for prominent director's Karolos Koun’s version of the play at Theatro Technis - a pioneering production in the history of Modern Greek theatre, thanks to Koun’s revolutionary vision. The staging by Theatro Technis was choreographed by Zouzou Nikoloudi and designed by the famous Greek painter Yannis Tsarouchis. In 1964, Hadjidakis rewrote his score as a cantata, later performed by Maurice Béjart’s 20th Century Ballet, introducing The Birds as an independent dance piece. In 2000, Greek National Opera invited the American choreographer Karole Armitage to stage Hadjidakis’ full score of The Birds in the framework of the Athens Festival, at the Herod Atticus Roman Odeon at the foot of the Acropolis. Armitage collaborated with Peter Speliopoulos, a Greek-American fashion designer, creating an innovative version of The Birds. This chapter is a comparative study of the visual aesthetics of the painter Tsarouchis and the fashion designer Speliopoulos, both acting as the costume designer in designing The Birds. What is the contribution of the designers’ disciplinary background to the design of the costumes? Which visual characteristics are embodied in the specific productions and how do they reflect each artist’s cultural background? This chapter examines cross-cultural elements in these specific designs and investigates the designers’ personal perspective, which becomes evident in the aesthetic/design identity of their costumes. "

Although it is part of the more general history of costume and dress, the history of dressmaking and tailoring and the tools that have made the creation of textiles and clothing possible is certainly worthy of more specific studeies. The analysis of the evolution of the tools, the pattern making and dressmaking is a useful exercise under many aspects - history of fashion, material culture, socioeconomics, etc. -  event though often quite difficult for the multiple competence it involves.

A Public Lecture for Stony Arts and Heritage Week

Ever wondered why morris dancers where bells?  Or white? Or have black faces? Or quaint straw hats? This talk explores the evolution of morris costume from the 15th century to the present day. Hold on to your baldrics...it’s going to be quite a ride

Critical Costume 2015 invites contributions from scholars and practitioners that seek to ad-dress the implications of research processes, new technologies and media for the study and practice of costuming today and in history.
We invite all interested parties to submit their proposals stating which presentation format you wish to be considered for:

• 20min paper presentation (title and 300-word abstract)
• Flash Talk presentations (title and 200-word summary)
• Exhibition or Installation work – physical or mediated object (title and 200-word description)

Deadline for the submission of proposals: 31 October 2014
Please submit your proposals online: http://costumeinfocus.com/?page_id=118