Game On: The World Fashion Conquest

Fashion weeks are increasingly incorporated into the cultural policies of many cities that are not traditionally associated with fashion. The number of such events has escalated rapidly since 2000. This phenomenon has become a topic of discussion not only within the fashion industry, but also in the field of cultural geography, urban development and cultural policy. Accounts on the cultural and economic role of fashion week are briefly included in some studies (Breward and Gilbert 2006, Breward and Evans 2005). However, there was no official record of the number of fashion weeks in the world and their host cities. This work maps fashion weeks around the world by means of an art installation.

The artwork explores the cultural and economic role of fashion week. Based on an extensive research on 85 cities claiming a fashion week and inspired by the world domination board game, 'Risk', this interactive installation invited viewers to play in order to learn about the reasons behind organising fashion weeks.

Wessie Ling

Research Interests

Postcolonial theory, cultural production, identities, Asian fashion, fashion cities

Current Research

My research concerns identities with an emphasis on the discourse of cultural identities in the production of fashion. I am interested in the construction of identities, the expression and creation of an identity when producing fashion, the relation of such identity with one's locality and the tension within the industry in which it is produced. I have written on the engagement process of Paris-based Oriental designers, examining diasporic aesthetics that is born out of both the place and fashion system in which it is created.
My recent geographical focus on China has led me to publish a monograph (Fusionable Cheongsam 2007) and articles on how the identities of the Chinese dress have been constructed through its social and cultural history, popular culture and fashion production.
Further to the theme of identities is my practice-based research which draws on the relation between fashion, cities and identities, whereby fashion is acknowledged as a major social force and an interplay of consumer tastes, social habits and personal identities.
My installation aspires to consider how fashion represents our cultural selves and such liaisons within the society we inhabit. Projects being undertaken include Fusionable Cheongsam (2007), a solo exhibition at the Hong Kong Arts Centre which considers the dichotomous representations of the Chinese dress by means of a series of installations, and Game On: The World Fashion Conquest, a touring solo exhibition (Vienna 2007, London 2006) which inquires into the economic and cultural role that a homogenised fashion week serves beyond the fashion industry.

• http://www.wessieling.com
• http://www.lifestyle.sg/articles/arts-an...
• http://sites.a-n.co.uk/interface/reviews...