FASHION & LOCATION Concepts of Comparison Ethiopian Bahir Dar University students and CUNY Graduate Center Style Julia Pollack, Kat Roberts, Chrislande Dorcilus, & Brian Boyle

Fashion and location project serves as a space to consider fashion trends worldwide. Here at the GC we documented local styles and then asked students from other schools worldwide to look at their styles. The following presentation is a consideration of the observations and points of comparison between the Ethiopian students who shared their style’s with us, and the styles we documented here at the GC.

1st Concept

Brian Boyle The first Ethiopian student I observed was wearing a gown and headpiece. What caught my eye was the obvious personal touches implemented by this student to what would typically be a common cultural look. Her headpiece was a far from plain, featuring a myriad of pastel colors and designs. In addition, she was wearing an unbuttoned flannel button shirt, a look I find to be common amongst Americans, particularly during the fall season. Although it is clear there are significant religious undertones at play in the wardrobes of the Ethiopian students, this particular student’s decision to implement individualistic components to a standard wardrobe very much reminded me of how students at the Graduate Center shape their own style. I would be interested in what fashion designers made their clothes. In particular, I am wondering whether there is a particular brand of religious wear that is most popular amongst women of this culture/age group.

Brian Boyle The second Ethiopian student I observed designed the symbol of a star in her hair. Although it did not remind me of students at the Graduate Center, it brought me back to when I was younger, particularly the fad amongst kids of getting logos of sports teams designed into their hair. When looking at the picture, I asked myself if the star was religious related, or just a means of implementing a design into her look. Regardless of whether the designs are of sports logo or symbols, it is interesting to see similar style techniques implemented across different cultures.

2nd Concept

Bahir Dar University Kids Hair styles Julia Pollack All of the Kids from Bahir Dar University have great casual tails (shirts untucked) out style. It looks like they are comfortable and focused on being able to move and play. While these pics were sent to us as a focus on the kids hair styles I think their ensembles are just as stylish.

GC LIBRARIANS Julia Pollack I think some of the GC style could be similar to the young boys from Bahir Dar University. I think GC students and librarians value the feel and cut of clothing. They would be equally as interested in the ability to jump into a playground setting as any Bahir Dar University Kid. What does one really need but a great pair of slacks and a solid or patterned cotton shirt. keep it simple keep it cool.

Julia Pollack sent a message to one of the students brought up by Prof Manlow. She asked about Librarians’ style, she has yet to receive a response.

Questions from examining style in Ethiopia, Aix, and the GC

GC Style and The style of students on Aix Ethiopian Students at Bahir

In Aix we find a competition between who can stand out the least while being the most “elegant.” In the context of both Aix and The Graduate Center, this “elegance” or chicness usually refers to the wearing of simple and casual clothes that give off the impression of comfort, effortless, and “middle class” sensibilities (as understood from an American lens.) The students of Aix, and those at the GC, hold on to a very popular casual dress aesthetic that has been the socio-dress-aesthetic system on college campuses since the 1910s when sportswear made its mark on collegiate (and later American) style. T-shirts, cardigans, sneakers, and jeans are currency in the socio-dress-aesthetic system of both Aix and the GC. We also have another aesthetic system at play in these presentations: that of photography. While the images from Ethiopia seem more candid, and literal, the poses of western students, especially of the undergraduates of Aix, are reminiscent of the more staged and performative natures of American and European fashion bloggers. This aesthetic reveals a great deal about the way in which fashion across our oceans have become very “Brooklyn,” as it were. -Chrislande Dorcilus

In the Ethiopian context of conformity, the rules appear to require that students attempt to stand out within their perspective guidelines as per their religious and cultural scaffolding--which may be more permissive on one end or less at the other. Images of traditional embroidery and dress seem to emphasize brightness, intricate pattern work, and individual color sensibilities, and desires for bright personal adornment. One may wear patterns and colors that are powerful and that clash with what the sensibilities of a friend’s. On the Ethiopian campus, even the shoes appear to be heavily accented with colors and patterns. These students do not quite practice a similar aesthetic even among their close peer groups. The Muslim girls above wear a litany of prints that run from basic to wild. The Ethiopian campus allows for more personal expression of dress that translates from hair to shoes and etc. -Chrislande Dorcilus

Is there an irony in the use of the term “classic style” when comparing students from Aix with their Ethiopian counterparts? There can be an argument made that costume dress is more classic than western ideas of “classic” fashion. Another large question looms over the possibilities of student fashion. Can traditional dress or costume dress worn outside their original context by a large number of people become, in a sense, contemporary fashion? Can this wearing and making of “costume” or “traditional” dress transcend the trappings of the modern fashion system while living and playing within it. Muslim girls vs embroidered orthodox girls. As they stand on a history that appears to be fraught with cultural tensions, the Ethiopian fashion sensibility on campus is quite prolific, varied, and visually interesting. On college campuses in Ethiopia, young women are mixing prints, colors, in interesting ways that complement each other by actually clashing against western concepts of matching and classic that are part of the campus narrative in Aix. Traditional, cultural, and religious dress aside, globalization has normalized a few of our favorites here at the GC: Jeans and T-Shirts. GC Style and The style of students on Aix are very similar. A sense of “classic-ness” and easiness dominates the aesthetic. “I just threw this on” is the motif of the western campuses, and effort is hidden behind symbols of effortlessness like jeans, sneakers, and simple blazers. It’s a very restrained aesthetic. In Ethiopia, we may find a narrative that strays from the idea of effortless. Outfits speak of overt intentionality. Whether it be to be religiously covered, or to be bright and “outshine” while complimenting others, fashion on Ethiopian campuses is lively.

Conclusions When looking at images of students from all over the world one thing that I kept thinking was that I could easily imagine anyone of them walking around in New York City. One of my favorite things about living in this city is that you seem to see every type of self-expression walking these streets, and remarkably, no matter how varied, they all fit in somewhere. I especially had this in mind when looking at the photos of students from Aix de Provence and Ethiopia.

4th Concept

There are plenty of people we see each day who ascribe to the aesthetic of having a quiet fashion with an obvious sense of style and elegance to it, but just as frequently we see individuals whose fashion expresses a mentality of standing out. There is joy in their dress that is expressed a deliberate mix of vibrant colors, mixed prints and varied silhouettes. I believe that fashion is important to both of these groups, but the interpretations are extremely different. One group values an effortless “can’t go wrong” way of handling daily dress. The other group seems to have less rules in a sense, making each day’s task of dressing a chance for a whole different look and opportunity for expression. -Kat Roberts

Even though the GC is located in NYC, I find the GC style to be a bit of a watered down version of NYC fashion at large. It was pointed out in earlier discussions, that the students at this campus tend to be older than the students you might find at other campus which offer undergraduate degrees. This adds numerous factors that may affect how they appear at school each day, a predominant factor being that many of them are likely coming from work, thus how they appear on campus may not be an accurate representation of how the student would characterize themselves or their style on a whole. The style we see here on campus could potentially to be more of a function of meeting expectations at work than what the student’s personal fashion aesthetic really is. It may also be of note that the GC offers no degrees in design, while it has been confirmed that many of the international students are currently in pursuit of design degrees, particularly in the area of fashion. I believe this is a very relevant factor in understanding the importance of daily fashion and/or a willingness to take risks in fashion for all of the students being compared. -Kat Roberts