What is ‘space’ for dress? Theoretical considerations of a spatial turn for fashion studies

This paper seeks to contribute to the increasing body of fashion scholarship focussed on space. Along with a spatial turn in human and social sciences, it is increasingly recognised by fashion researchers that spaces and places of fashion matter – but it is less discussed how a theoretical framework could be created to explore these. I here consider a Lefebvrian spatial analysis. The approach suggested recognises that dress is fundamentally political, as is the space which it inhabits. Dressed bodies are subject to hegemonic ideologies, but individuals have the power to resist these, too. I consider some parameters of a spatialized fashion sociology and what benefits such an approach can bring for fashion scholarship more generally.

I contend that dress should be understood as spatial practice, which in its turn it creates spaces and realities, too. Such a framing allows for analysis of various spaces dressed bodies move through, and of how garments operate in these. Furthermore, it allows for extending the analysis by following garments through their whole life cycle, exploring the different kinds of spaces they enter. Such an approach has the potential for overcoming some persistent biases inherent in fashion scholarship, which tends to focus more on the ‘core’ than the ‘periphery’ locations of fashion.