Today’s post marks the third time that we’ve highlighted a fashion-related appropriation of homelessness. We saw it on America’s Next Top Model and in a catwalk show for a Vivienne Westwood collection. This time it’s a fashion editorial in Vogue Germany in which a model poses as a “bag lady.” Thanks to Ann Marie N. for sending it in.
When homelessness is made into a fashion object, it trivializes the pain and suffering of the homeless, transporting the issue into “something hip adopted by the beautiful people.” Dressing like a “bag lady” can only be understood as fashionable when it’s a purposeful choice. As I wrote in a previous post about the topic, “actual homeless people are not and never will be ‘fashionable’ in this sense; they will always simply be homeless.”
Or, as Judith Williamson was quoted saying on Threadbared (a sociology and fashion blog):
It is currently “in” for the young and well-fed to go around in torn rags, but not for tramps to do so. In other words, the appropriation of other people’s dress is fashionable provided it is perfectly clear that you are, in fact, different from whoever would normally wear such clothes.
So, while the appropriation of homelessness in the fashion industry may look like an homage, really it’s just a way to further marginalize and “other” the actual homeless. It’s a way for fashionable people to demonstrate difference from, not similarity to, actual homeless people.
For the same phenomenon with race and people from post-colonial countries, also see: whiteness in fashion, non-whites as fashion props, black bodies as props, exotification of people and places in fashion, Orthodox Jew-inspired fashion show, and exoticizing India in Vogue UK.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 27
Guest — October 18, 2012
I cannot see these without thinking of the "Derelicte" collection from Zoolander. Life imitating art imitating life...
decius — October 18, 2012
Note that most homeless people don't actually dress like that. And most people who dress like that aren't homeless.
TK — October 18, 2012
These horrible (in every sense) fashion spreads aside, I don't think everyone wearing ripped or wildly mismatched outfits is trying to emulate a homeless person.
At the same time, being able to dress like a homeless person but still get treated with respect is a privilege. there's a reason grunge was the domain of middle class caucasians, at least back in the '90s. No first-generation immigrants were going to let their kids dress like their parents couldn't afford to clothe them. It's only when you're confident enough that people will treat you like a human being, when you're particularly attractive or part of another privileged group, that you can afford to dress like you don't give a damn. (Then again, the same could be said with other types of unflattering fashion.)
Tusconian — October 18, 2012
The fact that this showed up in German Vogue is really interesting. When I spent time in Germany, homelessness was hardly a thing (at least compared to the US), and the situation did not seem at all like what American homeless people experience. But this spread plays off the stereotype of a homeless American in an urban area. I did also notice that young Germans are weirdly obsessed with anything to do with the American working and lower classes. I've seen spreads like this in American magazines, but it's a lot more striking coming from a German magazine.
cielo — October 18, 2012
The clothes seem like your basic, over-the-top high fashion stuff that few would wear off the rack. That part doesn't bother me. What feels icky is the props and postures used to lend a "homeless" vibe to these outfits.
Naomi — October 18, 2012
This reminds me of a story in the book Haunted, where a rich woman and her husband pretend to be homeless for fun... They have done all of the cool rich status things and got bored with it, so slumming around as a homeless person became the new cocktail party.
Thomas Gokey — October 19, 2012
It seems like Brother Sharp is worth considering in this context which is a fascinating sociological phenomenon in it's own right which I'd love to see SocImages explore: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/brother-sharp-%E7%8A%80%E5%88%A9%E5%93%A5
It's hard to say if the story of Brother Sharp is a sad one or a happy one since there are both aspects, together with a question of exploiting someone in various ways who is homeless and mentally ill.
But to me Brother Sharp complicates the quote from Judith Williamson since I don't think it applies in this case. Here is a tramp who dressed in rags and was considered "in" or fashionable and cool. He is perhaps the exception who proves the rule.
Yuuki — October 19, 2012
Anybody has some good references (books or papers) to recommend on clothing and fashion?
Fashion-related appropriation of homelessness | Discover New York — October 20, 2012
[...] Sociological Images blog on The Society Pages addresses the “bag lady” fashion trend: When homelessness is made into a fashion object, it trivializes the pain and suffering of the [...]
Link Round Up: 10/22/2012 « The Social Expression — October 22, 2012
[...] “Bag Lady” fashion? Huh? [...]
Auriane — October 31, 2012
John Galliano used the homeless "theme" for Dior's catwalk in 2000 in Paris.
And I just discovered the Italian brand "Maison clochard" (clochard being the french slang for homeless) which defines their philosophy on their website as "It's joie de vivre and elegant stupidity, irony and liberty, talent and simplicity." hmmm...
The fantasy of the "Vagabond" is still strong and I remember my mom (French, 69 yo and mid-class) telling me when I was a kid that some of them choose to be on the streets.I still do not understand if wealthy people are so afraid/disgusted by poverty that they need to take the drama out of it by playing with it like some play with death or if it is a way to make "normal" people accept that poverty is usual and even a beautiful way of freedom.Anyways, I really dislike this trend.
Born Londoner, in Germany — September 3, 2013
Both Vivienne and Galliano are Londoners (or spent a large portion of their lives there), the visuals are very old London. I think it has not only to do with the visual aspects but the heritage of the London Streets.
Love Wins Ministries - “Bag Lady” Fashion In Vogue Germany | — January 3, 2014
[…] Homelessness is fashion to some, according to Sociological Images blogger and sociology professor Lisa Wade. Is this an example of mockery? Poor taste? Something else all together? […]