Abstract
In this paper, fashion is analyzed as a complex system that synthesizes the provision of clothes with the production of symbolic value. Through a case study of Denmark, I question contemporary links between fashion, museum and nation, and introduce the concepts of “fashion nation” and “fashion museology”. I argue that the museum’s and nation’s longing for newness, appeal to attention, and adaptation to the commercial market do not merely constitute a shallow quick-fix; rather, deeper ramifications and potentials arise as fashion promotes cosmopolitan nationalism, one in which cultural heritage and national values are not reduced to defensive strongholds in the face of globalization, but cultivated as renewable resources that can be reinvented in interaction with global society.
Keywords
cosmopolitan nationalism, fashion museology, fashion nation, catwalk economy
How to Cite
Melchior, M. R., (2012) “VANITY FAIR?”, Ethnologia Europaea 42(1), 54-63. doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/ee.1091
Publisher Notes
- This article was previously published by Museum Tusculanum Press.