Hi everyone! I'm Sovannarith, a student of BISMCS Visual Culture for a Digital World  (W19) under Professor Lauren Berliner at UW Bothell. On my blog I will be focusing on the fashion community. High fashion is not only a business catered to rich elites but it's a form of shared visual communication in our culture. The industry have accommodated well with the times by having most of their content accessible online which gives brands more exposure and coverage; it also means that they are now vulnerable to critics (like me). If you've noticed recently a lot of brands have been called out for being problematic because they keep perpetuating or selling ignorance on the internet. 

 

I'm particularly interested in investigating how luxury brands are producers of controversial representations in digital media that jeopardizes minorities. I will be focusing on problematic images of clothes, accessories, runway shows, advertisements, and designer comments that have been shared/circulating online (ex. Vogue, Times, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook) and how they are deemed offensive to marginalized communities in relation to cultural/race/diversity studies. Some topics that I will be exploring are cultural appropriation, offensive stereotypes, racist imagery, and ignorant comments. I want to present how powerful these images can be in the digital world since they get a lot of coverage and reach the masses quickly (especially Vogue). High fashion has proved its relevance in shaping our culture because they influence beauty standards, trends, pop culture, and people. But overall produce and distribute meaning. I think that it's important to call out offensive images of fashion when they sell ignorance as stylistic choice. Regardless if we as viewers are their customers or not, they shouldn't be perpetuating fashion that is offensive and make money off of it. But I also want to bring attention to cases in which high fashion brands have been using their position to bring diversity into the brand's visual representation. 
 

Fashion needs to evolve and value social justice for the well being of all peoples.