LAIS Program, Experimental Humanities Program, and Anthropology Program Present
Designing Ethics: Racial Imaginaries and the Interweaving of Power in Peruvian Ethical Fashion Design
Monday, October 15, 2018
Olin Humanities, Room 102
4:45 pm – 6:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
4:45 pm – 6:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
Patricia Alvarez, Brandeis University
In Peru, garments bring together bodies, fabrics, and symbols in a textured weave that has everything to do with power and the power of representation. The expansion of “ethical fashion” - akin to fair trade commodities - has opened a space of dialogue across an intractable racial divide. In this talk, Patricia will trace how fashion designers attempt to create a new post-conflict, inclusive, indigenous-oriented, multicultural “look” for Peru. At stake in her analysis are the ethical claims of design practices in ethical capitalist fashion supply chains.Patricia's film Entretejido will also be presented. Entretejido weaves together the different sites and communities involved in the making of alpaca wool fashions, from animal to runway. The film is a sensorial immersion into the textures that compose this supply chain, bringing viewers into contact with the ways objects we wear are entangled in national racial politics.
For more information, call 845-758-7662, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 4:45 pm – 6:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Olin Humanities, Room 102