Beyond Aesthetics: Unraveling the Liberation Potential of Soviet Fashion Design, Cinema, and Art

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

This panel aims to explore the multifaceted role of Soviet fashion design, cinema, and art in fostering liberation beyond mere aesthetics. It unravels how fashion, film, and art served as vehicles for cultural expression, resistance, and identity formation.

The presentations will cover diverse perspectives, including the influence of state structures, the experiences of individual artists navigating societal constraints, and the promotion of national design and art. By going beyond the surface of aesthetics, the panel seeks to uncover the nuanced ways in which Soviet fashion and cinema contributed to liberation across different spheres of society.

First, Assiya Issemberdiyeva examines the phenomenon of folklorisation within Soviet mass culture during the 1930s-1950s, drawing from examples of Central Asian cinema. Virginia Olmsted McGraw then explores the artistic opportunities and limitations within Soviet fashion design during the Thaw period. Finally, Olha Korniienko scrutinizes the role of fashion in driving national emancipation during late socialism, presenting a case study on Ukrainian designers navigating challenges under authoritarian rule.

Sub Unit

• Arts I: Visual Culture, Material Culture, Applied and Fine Arts

Papers

• National Dress, National Identity: Folklorisation of Central Asia through Soviet Cinema - Assiya Issemberdiyeva, Queen Mary, U of London (UK)

• Navigating the Thaw: Limits and Opportunities in Khrushchev Era Fashion Design - Virginia Carter Olmsted McGraw, U.S. Naval Academy

• Fashioning Freedom: Ukrainian Soviet Designers as Agents of National Emancipation - Olha Korniienko, Centre for Contemporary History (Germany)

Discussant

• Kateryna Yeremieieva, Ludwig-Maximilians-U Munich (Germany)