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Argumentative Essay: Upending Convention
Fashion Theory (FTH01)

Buhle Manyathi
MAN019
Thursday 13Hrs class Blairgowrie

Intro: Fashion has always played a leading role in constructing images and meanings during periods of rapid social, economic and technological change. It can act out gender issues, ideals of beauty, it can stake out the territory of new social and sexual identities. For Evans, fashion is a kind of historical scavenging. In this essay I will convey how Alexandra McQueen uses the design strategy of terror as defined by Caroline Evans in order to represent female sexuality as terror. The power of female display is pictured as terrifying and scary. I will also show how uses the strategy of fear towards a similar effect.
Theme: The symbolic production of fashion has taken an almost mystical role, outside temporal or physical dimension. A female’s sexuality can either be extremely feminine or extremely terrifyingly male. Evans mentions that “the representation of female sexuality as terror” (Evans; 2004:6) has been used to display female strength and domination through designer Alexandra McQueen’s designs. For instance female sexuality can be deceptive due to how females use “power to terrify” (Evans; 2004:6). This can be found “precisely in the distance between their purely biological femininity and their transgender actions” (Evans; 2004:6). Therefore a female uses” her sexuality as a sword” (Evans; 2004:6) rather than a way to protect layer. Due to the fact that gender “was unsettled by women” (Evans; 2004:6) it suggested the absence of men in a way to encourage women empowerment. Terror is defined as extreme fear, females embodied fear by using their sexuality as the trope of cruelty and domination.
McQueen collection: For McQueen fame, controversy and public interest were a central part of his image. The garment expresses emotion of fear.

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