Conference

Culture Costume and Dress
The Body Politic: Dress, Identity and Power

Faculty of Arts, Design and Media, Birmingham City University
5 – 7 May 2021 

Please note that this year’s conference will be online.

The Dress in Context Research Centre is pleased to announce its third international conference. This year’s theme will be the role of dress and the body in the manifestation of power, whether through fashion, history, literature, or other fields. 

The role that dress plays in power and politics has been a common thread throughout history and across cultures, from the purple togas of Roman emperors to the burkas forced on disenfranchised women by Islamic fundamentalists. Certain aspects of dress are sufficiently well-established signifiers of status that they provide a shorthand to convey power (or the lack thereof) in life, literature, art and performance. Many studies have looked at the relationship between dress and power and politics through the lens of their own specific discipline. This conference will bring into focus the fundamental principles that underpin their distinct understandings. 

In addition to full papers and posters, we are also inviting contributions from postgraduate (and strong undergraduate) students to take part in a series of Round Table events on the evening (GMT) of 5 May 2021.