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Introduction: Fashion and American Culture

2023; Wiley; Volume: 46; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/jacc.13441

1542-734X

Clare Sauro, Joseph H. Hancock,

Art, Politics, and Modernism

It is an honor and a privilege to present this special issue of the Journal of American Culture (JAC). In it, we look at fashion in American culture and how media, politics, film, and material culture impact what we choose to wear and how we view the choices of others. This is the second special issue of The Journal of American Culture dedicated to fashion; the first appeared in March 2009, with guest editors Dr. Judy Miler, Appalachian State University, and Dr. Joseph H. Hancock II, Drexel University, and was a remarkable success. We chose to revisit this topic now because fashion remains a dynamic and significant process influencing our entire dress, body, and how we create style. It is also an interdisciplinary subject incorporating the arts, humanities, social sciences, and technology. The chimeric nature of fashion is reflected in the variety of subjects and approaches found in this issue. From the historical fashion icons of cowboy boots to the technological impacts of Tinder, this issue reflects the diversity of fashion and its many intersections with American culture. We were eager to assemble an issue that reflects the diversified interests of this journal's readership and highlights unusual aspects of American fashion that may fly under the radar of existing scholarship. It was not easy to accomplish, but we want to thank our scholarly contributors, some of whom we called upon to bring you these articles. “Fashion Time: The Fashion Calendar and Scheduling an Industry” offers insight into the hidden figures and inner workings of the American fashion industry, while “The Fashion Editrix in the Cinematic Imagination: From Funny Face to The Devil Wears Prada” explores how the relatively obscure role of the fashion editor has been portrayed onscreen. More recent developments in fashion and culture are examined in “Dialectical MAGA: Sociopolitical and Legal Perspectives of a Little Red Hat” and “The Most Swipeable You: Experiences and Self-Perception of Tinder Users”. Lastly, “Texas Cowboy Boots: America's Material Culture Melting Pot” and “Jeans and their Fashionable Meanings: Revisiting Beverly Gordon's Cultural Conceptual Framework” take a closer look at some of the “icons” of American fashion. The interviews with Fran Lebowitz and Marc Balet made a strong issue even better because of their longstanding ties to fashion. We also genuinely wish to thank Camille McCutcheon for her work on a brand new fashion bibliography. Both editors applaud journal editor Carl Sederholm for this opportunity, as he made the process straightforward and trouble-free. This issue is dedicated to Dr. Patricia A. Cunningham, Emeritus, The Ohio State University. Many consider Cunningham the "queen" of dress, fashion, and popular culture, and without her pioneering efforts, this special issue would not be possible today. Clare Sauro is the director and chief curator of the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection (FHCC), a museum-quality research collection at Drexel University in Philadelphia. At Drexel, Sauro has mounted several notable exhibitions, including Immortal Beauty: Highlights from the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection (2015), James Galanos: Design Integrity (2017), and Venus & Diana: Fashioning the Jazz Age (2021). In addition to her role in the FHCC, Sauro is an assistant professor at the Westphal College of Media, Arts & Design at Drexel University. Her current research includes cellophane fashions from 1930 to 1939, Hollywood Designer Bernard Newman, and Philadelphia retailer Nan Duskin. She is a frequent lecturer on the history of fashion and is regularly interviewed on topics ranging from red-carpet fashion to the history of pajamas. She does not currently own a pair of jeans. Dr. Joseph H. Hancock II is an international authority on fashion branding as a form of storytelling. He is known across the globe for his scholarship on cargo pants, LGBTQIA fashion, and retail culture. He started in academia after twenty years in the retail industry, having worked for legendary companies like The Gap, L. Brands, and the Target Corporation. He is the author of Fashion Brand Stories, 3rd Edition (Bloomsbury, 2022). For the past ten years, Dr. Hancock has been the principal editor of the peer-reviewed journal Fashion, Style & Popular Culture. He has served the Popular Culture and American Culture Associations in several roles since 1996. He is the program director for the MS online in Retail & Merchandising and a Professor of Design at Drexel University in the Westphal College of Media, Arts & Design.