In 1824, poet Giacomo Leopardi, described fashion and death to be ‘both born of transience’ illustrating the long standing connection between the two.
Sex and sexuality remains a major component of the fashion industry, from the overtly sexual advertising we are bombarded with daily, to clothing being a telling sign of what class one was part of and how large their fortune was, to it being suggestive of how well travelled and intelligent one is; clothing and fashion therefore are ultimately a symptom of one’s surroundings. Women have tightly laced themselves into corsets, restricting their breathing for centuries and it was only recently deemed as acceptable for them to wear trousers – sexuality and modesty have been wrestling with each other ever since. As clothing revolves around the body, inevitably for a woman, it will always suggest an element of sexuality, whether that be how much of her body a woman reveals, how tight she wears her clothes or how eccentrically she dresses. Desire in turn, goes hand in hand with sexuality, whether that is desire for the clothing itself, or desire for example, a fashion blogger’s lifestyle (or merely what the clothing suggested her lifestyle is) or indeed, sexual desire for the woman wearing the clothes. Alexander McQueen himself said,’fashion is about attracting a mate, it’s about sexuality and it’s about showing a person who you are’. (Fashion Television, The Incredible Life and Tragic Death of Alexander McQueen)
Overtime, fashion has pushed the boundaries of what is deemed acceptable and designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, and more recently, Gareth Pugh fig 10, have sexualised their collections more than ever. Colours such as deep red, materials such as leather and garments such as corsets will constantly hold connotations of sexuality and fetishisation in fashion. A woman’s body will always be subject to sexualisation, whether that is through the male gaze or as a form of liberation and empowerment. Throughout Literature this theme is explored, in Thomas Hardy’s ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’, Angel Clare parts Tess’ seductive lips to feed her strawberries – a luxurious blood red fruit. Throughout the novel, her sexuality is linked to the rural land and nature that surrounds her and as the plot progresses it is revealed that men perceive her sexuality as threatening. (Hardy, T, Tess of the D’Urbervilles.)