Writing by Emma Dulcie Rigby
Utopian Studies, 2017
The production of the special issue Utopia and Fashion, at a time when the future of our relation... more The production of the special issue Utopia and Fashion, at a time when the future of our relationship with fashion is being so widely discussed, aims to be an initial contribution to what we hope will become a long-term dialogue regarding both the role of fashion in utopian thinking and the potential of utopian thinking to reimagine and inspire better futures for fashion. The issue embraces Ruth Levitas’s conceptualization of utopia as a method of exploring alternative scenarios for the future and it combines perspectives from academics and practitioners across multiple disciplines.
There is no arguing with the fact that the history of fashion, like the history of utopian thought, has been stained by suffering, exploitation, and even totalitarianism, but despite their deficiencies and faults, both have also fuelled human imagination, encouraged aspiration and innovation, and provided hope for a better sense of self and an improved, more inclusive society. A world without fashion, like a world without utopia, would be a very sad one. Through this special issue we propose a dialogue that embraces the significance of fashion in utopian visions and one that exploits the potential of utopian imagination to inspire better and more sustainable fashion futures. A dialogue that is fuelled by the belief that positive social change is both possible and desirable.
Guest editor: Mila Burcikova
Contributors: Jane MacRae Campbell, Justyna Galant, Annebella Pollen, Andrew Brookes, Kate Fletcher, Robert A. Francis, Emma Dulcie Rigby, Thomas Roberts, Otto von Busch, Timo Rissanen, Vidmina Stasiulyte, Celia Pym, Ryan Yasin
Papers by Emma Dulcie Rigby
Utopian Studies, 2018
The unbridled consumption of clothing threatens the environment. A discussion is developing aroun... more The unbridled consumption of clothing threatens the environment. A discussion is developing around the adoption of new materials and economic models to reduce the impacts of clothing production and use. We discuss these emergent technologies in the wider historical setting of the Anthropocene. The history of human-environmental interactions is interwoven with the development of international garment economies. This article provides an account of how changes in clothing manufacturing and consumption patterns have affected environmental systems, focusing on laundry practices in Britain. We draw on closed-loop recycling to discuss how ideas from clothing businesses privilege the status quo and technological change. Optimistic solutions to fashion and sustainability challenges are an example of mechanisms that are responding to a utopian eco-modernist argument that human systems can adapt and prosper in a changing world. Such flawed solutions hide from view more radical visions to trans...
Uploads
Writing by Emma Dulcie Rigby
There is no arguing with the fact that the history of fashion, like the history of utopian thought, has been stained by suffering, exploitation, and even totalitarianism, but despite their deficiencies and faults, both have also fuelled human imagination, encouraged aspiration and innovation, and provided hope for a better sense of self and an improved, more inclusive society. A world without fashion, like a world without utopia, would be a very sad one. Through this special issue we propose a dialogue that embraces the significance of fashion in utopian visions and one that exploits the potential of utopian imagination to inspire better and more sustainable fashion futures. A dialogue that is fuelled by the belief that positive social change is both possible and desirable.
Guest editor: Mila Burcikova
Contributors: Jane MacRae Campbell, Justyna Galant, Annebella Pollen, Andrew Brookes, Kate Fletcher, Robert A. Francis, Emma Dulcie Rigby, Thomas Roberts, Otto von Busch, Timo Rissanen, Vidmina Stasiulyte, Celia Pym, Ryan Yasin
Papers by Emma Dulcie Rigby
There is no arguing with the fact that the history of fashion, like the history of utopian thought, has been stained by suffering, exploitation, and even totalitarianism, but despite their deficiencies and faults, both have also fuelled human imagination, encouraged aspiration and innovation, and provided hope for a better sense of self and an improved, more inclusive society. A world without fashion, like a world without utopia, would be a very sad one. Through this special issue we propose a dialogue that embraces the significance of fashion in utopian visions and one that exploits the potential of utopian imagination to inspire better and more sustainable fashion futures. A dialogue that is fuelled by the belief that positive social change is both possible and desirable.
Guest editor: Mila Burcikova
Contributors: Jane MacRae Campbell, Justyna Galant, Annebella Pollen, Andrew Brookes, Kate Fletcher, Robert A. Francis, Emma Dulcie Rigby, Thomas Roberts, Otto von Busch, Timo Rissanen, Vidmina Stasiulyte, Celia Pym, Ryan Yasin