What do your clothes say about you? Dear listener, I bet you've thought about this before. Fashion is a language in itself. But, what about the language we use to describe - and by extension to include, or to exclude - the people who wear it? Or don't get to wear it? The people we're marketing it to, or employing.
Fashion communication isn't just about the clothes. It's about how we talk to each other.
Meet Lou Croff Blake, a Berlin-based non-binary fashion practitioner, scholar, artist and community organiser. Their work merges queer theory with community-building, advocating for intersectional equity and amplifying the visibility of marginalised genders. Which sounds like a of words! Because it is. Carefully considered words chosen to challenge the dominant narrative.
Open to learn? Join us for a deep dive on DIEB - diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging - as we consider the existential question: do we really want to build a more ethical fashion industry? If so, doesn't that have to be one where everyone can feel a true sense of belonging?
NOTES
PRONOUNS He/ him, she/ her, they/them are commonly used pronouns. Words matter. “Letting people self-identify/ self-label is so important,” says Lou. If in doubt, just ask.
SEMIOTICS Semiotics is the study of visual language and signs. It looks at how meaning is created, not just with words but also with images, symbols, gestures, sounds, and design. We use semiotics to look at how different modes of communication (e.g. language, visuals, or gestures) work together to create meaning in context. The SEMIOTICS OF FASHION is the study of how humans signify specific social and cultural positions through dress.
FASHION PRACTICE Think of this as the ‘do-ing’ of fashion. It’s not transactional. It’s not shopping. It’s the creating, wearing, living with, adapting, mending, sharing of clothes. It’s fashion systems. Considering how we interact with our clothes and they people and processes behind them, and, ultimately, how that builds broader meaning. More of this please! So this is also a conversation about fashion as practice - as opposed to shopping - and the importance and joy of taking the time to consider how fashion works.
D.I.E.B stands for diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging. What does that mean? Well, I can tell you what it’s not, for free: it’s not a slogan on a $15 T-shirt. The corporatisation of everything is a problem. But businesses do need to consider DIEB.
Here’s how Lou introduces it:
“DIVERSITY is having this very multiversal approach to identity, and having everyone represented.
INCLUSION is then the tools and the strategies to implement that.
EQUITY acknowledges the fact that we are all coming from different levels of power in society, and we need different solutions based on our experiences. It’s this balancing out that needs to happen in order to give everyone a truly even playing field.
BELONGING is more nebulous, harder to describe. How do you implement belonging at your company? Belonging is this feeling of home, of ownership. It’s so deep and so powerful.”
Want to work with Lou on a DIEB strategy for your business? Get in touch here.
Lou (right) with (from left) Magdalena Schaffrin, Max Gilgenmann, and Clare Press.
202030 SUMMIT is a sustainable fashion conference held in Berlin, and organised by Studio MM04. The February 24 event, held at Kronprinzenpalais during Berlin Fashion Week, was themed Culture and Communication. Speakers included: actor Mick Morris Mehnert (Auf Augenhöhe Design), LGBTQI activist Anbid Zaman (Campaign against Homophobia Germany), and academic Beatrace Angut Oola (Fashion Africa Now).
Keen to attend the next summit? More info here.
BOTH& APPAREL is a inclusive clothing label based on the idea that “we all deserve gender joy”. They say they offer: “The best fit for tranmasc and enby, masc presenting people. We’ve gathered thousands of data points to build clothing that makes you feel comfortable and confident.” Discover here.
WOMENSWEAR PATTERN GRADING Clare says most pattern-cutting blocks still date from the 20s - she meant the 1920s! Is she correct? Not really! But it is true that many sizing and grading systems today are antiquated and have not kept up with the times. This article gives a fascinating historical deep-dive.
Also, as Michaela Stark notes in Episode 204, most fashion design courses are still not teaching students how to pattern make for supposedly non-*classic proportions.
QUEER NEEDLEWORK CIRCLE is an independent group of LGBTQIAP+ textile-needleworkers who gather in incidental crafting circles. Come join our inclusive space where creativity and unity intertwine! More here.
Lou talks about a "MILLENNIAL NON-BINARY CULTURE WAVE”. What’s that all about then? It’s certainly a media pre-occupation. See here, and here. In this BBC piece, Bel Jacobs decodes the rise of gender non-conforming style in Fashion (yes put Harry Styles in a ballgown gets a mention). But writing back in 2020 on Australian website, The Drum, Erminia Blackden summarised the bigger picture: “The reality is that we are living in an increasingly fluid world. How we define sex and gender is changing. More than ever, people do not believe in gender as a binary construct.” Lou says the connectivity of the internet and social media was a game changer for a generation - suddenly non binary folks don’t feel so isolated. Of course some people don’t want to talk about gender at all, and that’s okay too.
Others are developing a new language around the topic. Lou mentions GENDER ANARCHY and embraces the term ANTI-BINARY.
ALOK VAID MENON is gender non-conforming writer and performance artist. Listen to them on Episode 114 of the podcast, interviewed by Aditi Mayer.
P.S. Here’s SOFTEIS Magazine.
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Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress (& rarely these days, but anyway, X @mrspress).