On March 30th, 2017, the Fashion Studies Masters’ students in Parsons Paris, welcomed Professor Hazel Clark from the New York City campus to introduce her most recently published co-authored book, Fashion and Everyday Life: London and New York (Bloomsbury, 2017).
Professor Clark has a PhD in Design History and a first degree in Fine Arts. Her research interests are focused on discovering new approaches of studying fashion, in Europe, the United States, and China. Presently, Professor Clark teaches Design Studies and Fashion Studies at Parsons the New School of Design in New York City, where she initiated the MA Fashion Studies program.
Nevertheless, the book Fashion and Everyday Life: London and New York (Bloomsbury, 2017) was co-edited by Hazel Clark and Cheryl Buckley, with Clark focusing on New York City and Buckley focusing on London. At the very beginning of the discussion, Professor Clark defined everyday life as what happens in typical form today, as it was done yesterday, and as it will be done tomorrow. She also argued that what constitutes everyday life also changes according to time and place. When we discuss fashion, study culture and history through fashion, and only with the emphasis on high fashion; or to highlight extraordinary fashion, it is certainly not enough. Ordinary fashion in everyday life is an essential part that we as scholars often overlook.
Moreover, Professor Clark explained the methodology she used, through mapping the city of New York according to the period of time. During her research, Professor Clark used mainly secondary materials as her resources, such as photo documentations, personal photographs, and fictions written during the time period considered as descriptors of different eras. The book is split into seven chapters, which are London and New York: Clothing the City, Street Walking, Dreams to Reality, Dressing Up, Dressing Down, Going Out, and Showing Off. Lastly, Professor Clark talked to the students in depth regarding her research, about immigrants coming to America and dressing like Americans to quickly assimilate, how women started to be appear on the street, the development of Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance, Queer history in New York, and many other controversial issues.
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Written by Anqi Ni, Parsons Paris MA Candidate, 2018.
Edited by Rachel Fenderson, Parsons Paris MA Candidate, 2018.
Photo credited to Parsons The New School of Design Fashion Blog.
