Passing to Be Noticed: An Interview with Christopher Smith

This special edition of Fashion Theory explores the theme of Passing, a term generally used to designate an individual’s ability to enter a new group, by employing performative techniques that enable him, her or them to pass as a member of the crowd. It is a performance that invariably applies dress —referred to here in its broadest possible sense as “all body modifications and/or supplements” (Eicher 1995, 5) — to disguise elements of identity previously presumed to be “natural” or “essential.” The act of passing underlines the transformative potential of the fashioned body which, through deliberate alterations of physical appearance, enables the wearer to go unnoticed as a certain race, nationality, sexuality, ethnicity or social class. However complex or ambiguous the motivation behind passing may be, the process is, ultimately, all about self-invention. And social media artist Christopher Smith is highly adept at reinventing himself. What his images make palpably clear is that identity is fluid and performative, neither static nor fixed.