Unit 2: Influence of Popular Culture & Media on Fashion
Key Concept:
Examining, interpreting, and analyzing images in advertising, magazines, movies, art and other forms of visual and popular culture and what they mean to us.
Essential Questions:
Group Activities For This Unit:
1. The History of Jeans- View this PowerPoint I created which shows the history of jeans, and the relationship between their popularity and the movies, especially Westerns, Easy Rider, and Elvis Presley movies. Click on the image below to link to my PowerPoint on The History of Jeans.
Examining, interpreting, and analyzing images in advertising, magazines, movies, art and other forms of visual and popular culture and what they mean to us.
Essential Questions:
- In what way does media (movies, television, magazines, advertising) influence fashion?
- For example: How did cowboy movies of the 1930’s, and movies such as Born to be Wild of the 1950’s influence Americans to wear jeans for the first time? How do celebrities still influence fashion today?
- How does our culture, community, and social group affect our fashion choices?
Group Activities For This Unit:
1. The History of Jeans- View this PowerPoint I created which shows the history of jeans, and the relationship between their popularity and the movies, especially Westerns, Easy Rider, and Elvis Presley movies. Click on the image below to link to my PowerPoint on The History of Jeans.
2. History of the Hoody- The social and cultural history and significance of wearing the hoody- from medieval monks, to the KKK, to skateboard and Rapper culture is examined in this PowerPoint I created. Click on the image below:
3. Fashion and Costuming in Film & Movies- Watch segments or an entire movie such as the Devil Wears Prada as a class (good sub plan), or assign as homework. There are many other movies with connections to fashion as you can see from the recommendations below. Students can take notes ,draw designs, or analyze and write about what they see in the movie. They can also draw a costume for a character in the film, or from a book they read.
Fashion and Film Resources:
Activity 1: Advertising for Fashion:
The Abercrombie controversy
Look at and examine ads for Abercrombie and Fitch either on the computer, or allow students to use cell phones to look up on the spot. Consider what they are selling when their clothing isn’t even shown in the ads? How they are depicting teens in the ad. Is this morally right to use teens in this way? As a consumer, do you want to purchase from a company that uses these types of practices?
Fashion and Film Resources:
- Best Fashion Movies For Education And Inspiration
- Film’s Influence on Fashion, Then and Now- New York Times -Fashion and Style
Activity 1: Advertising for Fashion:
The Abercrombie controversy
Look at and examine ads for Abercrombie and Fitch either on the computer, or allow students to use cell phones to look up on the spot. Consider what they are selling when their clothing isn’t even shown in the ads? How they are depicting teens in the ad. Is this morally right to use teens in this way? As a consumer, do you want to purchase from a company that uses these types of practices?
Have students break into small groups, and read one or two of the articles. Come back together and report back a summary of the articles to the rest of the class. Discuss them as a group. Or students can evaluate the articles and write a persuasive essay that explains and defends their opinions of this new information about Abercrombie & Fitch. This aligns with Common Core Standards to evaluate from various sources, write, and defend their opinions. Click on the words in the list to link to the articles.
Abercrombie controversial articles (click to open in another window):
Activity 2: Barbie/Bratz Controversy
Essential Questions:
Abercrombie controversial articles (click to open in another window):
- Nudity in Abercrombie and Fitch
- The Indecency of Abercrombie
- A& F Sexualized Ads
- Abercrombie’s Push Up Bra for 8 yr Olds
- Objectifying Men
- Ads test limits in taste
- Abercrombie model fired for eating a croissant on the job
- Sex Sells
- Abercrombie Forces Workers to Work Out as Punishment
- Dove Vs. Axe Ads- How are women depicted in these ads?
- Objectification of Women in the Media- Discuss this article, and look through magazines to find examples of ads like these.
- Sexualization of women in popular culture.
Activity 2: Barbie/Bratz Controversy
Essential Questions:
- How does our culture, community, and social group affect our fashion choices?
- How are fashion and identity influenced by one another?
- How can I become aware of the effect advertising,and discern if it is a positive or negative effect?
1. Compare in a Venn Diagram the similarities and differences between a Barbie and a Bratz Doll. Have both kind of doll there to hold and examine, or have photos of them. What are the messages behind each that are sent to little girls? How do they compare with a real female body? Why do you think they are made this way?
2. Think/Pair/Share- What do these dolls say about our society values? Did you have one when you were a child? How does it influence a child’s idea of womanhood? Report your partner’s opinions and discuss with class.
3. Discuss the origins of the Barbie proportions being influence by fashion illustrations. Show students the artwork being made about Barbie proportions being compared to a real woman. There are many websites and links dedicated to this topic. Here is a Pinterest page link about Barbie vs. Real Women leading to many of them and you can click on the photos below to see articles on the topic too.
2. Think/Pair/Share- What do these dolls say about our society values? Did you have one when you were a child? How does it influence a child’s idea of womanhood? Report your partner’s opinions and discuss with class.
3. Discuss the origins of the Barbie proportions being influence by fashion illustrations. Show students the artwork being made about Barbie proportions being compared to a real woman. There are many websites and links dedicated to this topic. Here is a Pinterest page link about Barbie vs. Real Women leading to many of them and you can click on the photos below to see articles on the topic too.
Individual Activity:
Make a personal journal entry (combining written and visual) showing and explaining in what way you feel these dolls may have affected your body image, or what your opinions are on these dolls. Consider that we are defined in our society by a number from the day we are born (height, weight, social security numbers). How do these numbers make us feel about ourselves during our lives?
Assessment:
Does the journal entry demonstrate insight and depth of content? Does the artwork reflect deliberate control and good craftsmanship?
Resources: American Psychological Association on the Sexualization of Girls
Activity 3: Lady Gaga Avant Guarde
1. As a class, look at the links and images below. Analyze examples of fashions worn by Lady Gaga, and what they are trying to say. They may seem kooky and outlandish. However, when you take a closer look you see that she employs her fashion designer to express her social and cultural opinions. What social or political concept is the designer questioning?
Lady Gaga’s Meat Dress- What cause was this dress made of meat meant to bring attention to? The fact is that we wear fur from an animal on our clothes, boots, leather belts and purses, and we eat meat, so why is it so controversial? Another statement she says she was making is that she herself is not a piece of meat? What other meanings could it have? Should artists use meat to make art?
Make a personal journal entry (combining written and visual) showing and explaining in what way you feel these dolls may have affected your body image, or what your opinions are on these dolls. Consider that we are defined in our society by a number from the day we are born (height, weight, social security numbers). How do these numbers make us feel about ourselves during our lives?
Assessment:
Does the journal entry demonstrate insight and depth of content? Does the artwork reflect deliberate control and good craftsmanship?
Resources: American Psychological Association on the Sexualization of Girls
Activity 3: Lady Gaga Avant Guarde
1. As a class, look at the links and images below. Analyze examples of fashions worn by Lady Gaga, and what they are trying to say. They may seem kooky and outlandish. However, when you take a closer look you see that she employs her fashion designer to express her social and cultural opinions. What social or political concept is the designer questioning?
Lady Gaga’s Meat Dress- What cause was this dress made of meat meant to bring attention to? The fact is that we wear fur from an animal on our clothes, boots, leather belts and purses, and we eat meat, so why is it so controversial? Another statement she says she was making is that she herself is not a piece of meat? What other meanings could it have? Should artists use meat to make art?
She also made headlines wearing a top made entirely of plush Kermit the Frogs by Jean Charles de Castelbajac. She wore the outfit as a statement against wearing fur. Lady Gaga wears gun bra to make
statement about American fascination with guns and the Sandy Hook tragedy.
2. Design an outfit for Lady Gaga that advocates for, or protests against, a political or social cause you care about. Use watercolors and watercolor paper and draw it onto the croquis of your choice. Write a paragraph about the topic, to be displayed on the board with your finished design.
Assessment:
Students create a PowerPoint presentation with a biography of a famous fashion designer or artist. See assignment handout here for description of project. A sample student project on Isaac Mizrahi is linked here:
*********Click here for a printable PDF of Unit 2: Influence of Popular Culture and Media On FashionMassachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for this Unit: 5.12, 7.9
2. Design an outfit for Lady Gaga that advocates for, or protests against, a political or social cause you care about. Use watercolors and watercolor paper and draw it onto the croquis of your choice. Write a paragraph about the topic, to be displayed on the board with your finished design.
Assessment:
- To what extent were students able to express their own responses about using fashion as a means to bring attention to social or political controversies.
- How do students identify and articulate their own opinions/feelings about the social and political statements made by Lady Gaga’s fashions.
Students create a PowerPoint presentation with a biography of a famous fashion designer or artist. See assignment handout here for description of project. A sample student project on Isaac Mizrahi is linked here:
*********Click here for a printable PDF of Unit 2: Influence of Popular Culture and Media On FashionMassachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for this Unit: 5.12, 7.9