Miss Nash

    A Mr Sameer Reddy has written a very interesting article for Newsweek.com, analysing and commenting on the ‘uniforms’ of each nation’s athletes in the Olympic Opening Ceremony. To read the article in full, click on this link:

I would urge you to also read just a sampling of some of the comments that were written in response.

I just could not believe the reactions it provoked! Those people are angry – but i somehow think that they’ve missed the point – and misdirected their anger… 

   As a Womenswear Designer who has a deep love of history and politics, i constantly relate fashion and that form of self expression to ‘the bigger picture’ – the events going on in the world around us have the ability to make massive impacts on our lifestyles, therefore somewhat dictating our tastes and behaviours. It is fascinating how you can really gauge the mood of a people/nation by looking at what they choose to wear. Some of us think about style and dress more than others – some of us being more comfortable with using our bodies as vehicles of self-expression – but a vast majority of us choose ‘not to bother’. Little do they know that by making that choice, they have already thought about what they are wearing more than they would like to admit. 

   If each country/nation competing in the Olympics had paraded a work of art around the Bird’s Nest Arena in the place of their kitted-out teams, and Mr Reddy had then written a similar article analysing the self-expression of each nation through that work, I doubt very much that his article would have garnered such a violent response from its readers.

   I think that people are quick to judge Mr Reddy’s opinions and studies in this case as ‘frivolous’ and ‘pointless’ because they don’t consider fashion as a worthwhile or important form of expression. But it is – more so than any other form, because we don’t all paint pictures and write poems everyday – but we do all have to get dressed (for the most part!) Even those who do not have a choice in what they wear and are dressed out of necessity – the condition and function of their garments still make powerful visual impressions and tell the wearer’s story, better than any amount of words. This form of expression transcends language barriers – making communication between different nationalities possible where it otherwise would have been completely impossible.

 

  For all of these reason, it is perfectly natural and appropriate to read meanings in a person’s dress or uniform – especially when they present themselves on such a high profile international platform such as the Olympic Games!