Clothing as Constructed Identity(case study: Naser al-Din Shah Qajar)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Textile Design Department, Faculty of Art, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran.

2 Master's Graduate, Art Research Department, Faculty of Art, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran.

Abstract

In all human communities throughout the history, it has always been only the elites who have been privileged enough to be able to use their clothing as a means of expressing their wealth, power, and grandeur. Since the audience form their very first impressions upon judgments which are solely based on visual cues, clothing has always been a strong tool for the ones in power to express their identity in visual mediums. The main question that this research tries to answer is how clothing as a form expression influences the opinions that people hold about their rulers, and also what the effects of clothing are on forming factors such as hegemony and sovereignty in visual culture. This descriptive-analytical study is done by gathering documentaries and draws on Michel Foucault's power discourse theory. It examines the mechanism of power in clothing during the Islamic period, focusing specifically on Naser al-Din Shah Qajar—the Persian monarch who brought the first camera to Iran during his reign. Additionally, the research tries to shed light on the thought process of people of that era as they came to perceive their clothing as their identity. The aim of this research is expression of power through visual cues in clothing. The results of the research show the importance of clothing in maintaining one's identity and indicate how clothing constructs the identity of a society. Hence clothing as a means of expression plays a significant role in constructing the identity of a society as a whole and is an indicator of cultural features of each historical era. Therefore, people who hold the most power and authority, with the help of media as an exclusive instrument of control, have been able to use clothing as a non-verbal language to express their dominance and superiority to the public in a highly impactful manner.

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History

  • Receive Date: 23 August 2021
  • Revise Date: 07 September 2021
  • Accept Date: 21 September 2021

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