BA1 CLASS VISUALS - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY - GENDER AND SEXUALITY (STILETTOS)
KEY TERMS
ergonomics
libertarianism
signifiers
ergonomics
libertarianism
signifiers
KEY POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
1. The double identity of women in stilettos i.e. sexual predator but also a symbol of femininity...
2. The medical problems caused by stilettos and how that compares to 19th C concerns about corsets ...
3. The symbolism of stilettos in film, fashion photography and advertisements...
4. Stilettos' association with soft porn (Allen Jones)...
5. Girl Power (Madonna)...
1. The double identity of women in stilettos i.e. sexual predator but also a symbol of femininity...
2. The medical problems caused by stilettos and how that compares to 19th C concerns about corsets ...
3. The symbolism of stilettos in film, fashion photography and advertisements...
4. Stilettos' association with soft porn (Allen Jones)...
5. Girl Power (Madonna)...
1. The double identity of women in stilettos i.e. sexual predator but also a symbol of femininity...
There is no item of clothing in the modern fashion systems for men or women imbued with more sexuality than the stiletto high heeled shoe ... Women in stilettos are commonly portrayed as sexual predators and as a threat to the social order, but at the same time, women are encouraged to wear stilettos as a symbol of their essential femininity and fashionability. (Craik and Peoples in Craik, 2009, p.127).
2. The medical problems caused by stilettos and how that compares to 19th C concerns about corsets ...
The 1950s generation of stiletto wearers often experienced significant deformation of their toes and balls of the feet. Some women couldn't even put their heels on the ground when bare footed. Medical journals carried articles warning of the dangers of stilettos (in a repeat of the corset controversy of the late nineteenth century). (Craik and Peoples in Craik, 2009, p.128).
3. The symbolism of stilettos in film, fashion photography and advertisements...
In films, fashion photography, and advertisements showing women removing stilettos symbolised an implied or imminent sexual encounter. (Craik and Peoples in Craik 2009, p.128).
The Graduate trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsdvhJTqLak
The Graduate seduction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x5fJzmqza8
The Graduate final scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahFARm2j38c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsdvhJTqLak
The Graduate seduction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x5fJzmqza8
The Graduate final scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahFARm2j38c
4. Stilettos' association with soft porn (Allen Jones)...
The multiple signifiers of stilettos were referenced by artist Allen Jones in his 1972 table sculpture of a female mannequin on all fours dressed in a black latex hooded body suit, black stockings, and knee-length black leather stiletto boots underneath a glass top. The emergence of the fast-growing luxury and erotic lingerie sector accompanied this trend, which sparked controversy about soft-porn connotations, especially once lingerie became popularised as outerwear. (Craik and Peoples in Craik, 2009, p.129).
Allen Jones Chair 1969
Royal Academy exhibition until 25 January 2015
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/oct/31/allen-jones-i-think-of-myself-as-a-feminist
Royal Academy exhibition until 25 January 2015
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/oct/31/allen-jones-i-think-of-myself-as-a-feminist
5. Girl Power (Madonna)...
The new female power called girl power was epitomised by Madonna because she 'dressed like a sex object, but ... suggested that the trappings of femininity could be used to make a sexual statement that was powerful rather than passive' (Stoller quoted by Semmelhack 2006: 242, 245). In this take on the stiletto women could achieve equality and power through the conspicuous consumption of erotic symbols. (Craik and Peoples in Craik, 2009, p.129).
REFERENCE
Craik. J. and Peoples. S. in Craik, J. (2009) Fashion - the key concepts. Oxford: Berg.
Craik. J. and Peoples. S. in Craik, J. (2009) Fashion - the key concepts. Oxford: Berg.
See also ...
