Fashion Tales 2012 Milan

This afternoon I will present my paper The Metaphysics of Fashion Blogging in Milan at the Fashion Tales 2012 conference. Of course, I wanted to wear something out of the ordinary and I asked a talented friend - Anna Zygowski - to create a dress for me. She first created a digitally printed silk fabric from photos of distressed lace and then copied a style of sheath dress that I often wear. The fabric presented its own challenges for Anna, but I think the result is fabulous. Even if my paper doesn't get rave reviews, no doubt the dress will!

The abstract of my paper is:

The emergence of the fashion blog is an aspect of culture that has gone largely unexamined. Although fashion blogs seem to be a relatively recent phenomenon, the drive to document aspects of one’s life goes back many centuries. Journals, diaries, sketchbooks and albums are evidence of the urge to memorialize and share ideas, events, activities, and accomplishments. For example, Barbara Johnson, a well-to-do Englishwoman from a clerical family, made detailed notes about her wardrobe for the period 1760-1823. Her album, which is now in the archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum, includes a detailed description of each garment, fabric swatches, information about cost and trimmings as well as clipped pocketbook engravings with the styles of the day. Drawing on historic precedents and the author’s experience as a blogger, blogs are reconsidered in the context of theorist Michel Foucault’s theories on the aesthetics of existence as creative portals for identity construction. In equating bloggers to Walter Benjamin and Charles Baudelaire’s concept of the flâneur, this social media tool is also recast as a forum in which the ephemeral and transitory processes of fashion can be captured. 

An Invitation to Tell Me More

Image from saena http://onewomanonedress.com/

The title of my talk in Milan at Fashion Tales 2012 will be The Metaphysics of Blogging. What that really means is that I will be considering the philosophy of blogging - the essence of its existence as an expressive medium. Blogging seems to be a new phenomena but it is not. People have been writing diaries and keeping sketchbooks for centuries and many such documents have ended up being published or in archives for use as research tools. By reconsidering the nature of blogging and using theorists like Walter Benjamin and Michel Foucault to support my argument, I hope to recast the blog as something more than just a dumping ground of images and ideas. In taking a theoretical approach to my analysis, I might put a new spin on this medium.

I'd love to hear from you, old and new bloggers alike, to tell me more about:
why you write a blog.
how you see your blog,
how you decide what to write about,
where blogging fits into your life,
what blogging has given you.

Tell me your stories and have your voice recorded as part of of fashion theory research. You can leave a comment here or email your comments/thoughts to me at fashionismymuse@me.com. I will keep all personal details confidential and will acknowledge your contribution to my research. Please pass this on to anyone you think might like to be heard.

And by the way, anyone can attend this conference in Milan. Please join me there if you are so inclined. Details are here.

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

Meet me in Milan at Fashion Tales 2012

The competition was fierce (with over 200 submissions), but I got the call and I'm on the roster of speakers. I'll be presenting my paper at the Fashion Tales 2012 conference in Milan on The Metaphysics of Fashion Blogging. Blogging will be reconsidered in the context of historic precedents such as Barbara Johnson's album of her wardrobe selections from the 18th century and as well as in terms of theorists Walter Benjamin and Michel Foucault as a tool of identity construction and conversational erudition. This international conference will be held at the Center for the Study of Fashion and Cultural Production of the Universita Cattolica and runs from June 7-9, 2012. Fashion gurus like Valerie Steele and Christopher Breward will be among the keynote speakers.  Shall we meet in Milan?

Details here.

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.